How Internet Changed My Life !!!

Today I can claim that I learn more from Google, Wiki than what I learnt from my engineering or MBA. I know people better through Facebook, Orkut than personally, I communicate more through email or instant messaging than in person or phone, I get updates faster and reliable through Twitter than any other media, I present my views better in blog than through any presentation or debate. Flashback to 1998...


I was so uninterested when my mom pestered me to create an email id, know more about web, internet because I was suffering from computer-phobia. Internet arrived in some 1995 but was not widely popular until late 90's and also because I was in Kurnool from 1997 to 2001 doing my engineering, the kind of exposure to technological advancement was meager. 


But it was in 1998 I had to create my first ever email id at www.netaddress.com as that was more popular than yahoos, rediffs and hotmails then. Need for communication with US universities' admin and faculty pulled me into the cyber-world. Also when my super-seniors left for US, they forced me to visit netcafe regularly to be in touch. 


An year later, I created my yahoo account as something called Yahoo Messenger (that time with some other name which I don't remember) entered the scene and I looked at it with awe :) Chatting through internet was wicked.  40 per hour was too expensive but I slowly got addicted to that without realizing how it would change my life in years to come :)


I've literally lived on YM and yahoo-mail for next 8 years. Daily communication with professors and admins of US universities, research on universities, preparation for GRE, TOEFL, visa till 2001; eventual preparation for CAT, research about projects in MBA, job applications - I remember doing all these from 2000 - 2003 on internet. Google and Wiki became my best friends during that era. I don't really remember doing anything else during that phase except learning more and more about / from internet resources. I was talking only to people on my email contact list, chat friends list; googled / wikied every management / marketing / finance concept and never got hooked by books (and hence average grades in exams :D)


2005 was an year where Internet played my cupid. I met my girlfriend (then, now wife) on YM. She was working in Korea and I tried to overhaul my daily routine to be able to spend time chatting with her. Days, months and years passed. YM is the biggest witness of our love story. I got close to my sister-in-law during this phase and we are each other's biggest fans, I guess. I don't know what my life would have been, had I not known about internet then :)


The same year, she inspired me to shift my email account to Gmail and get an Orkut account, which again was a life-turner for me. Orkut and Gtalk made me forget my long and eventful association with Yahoo. 2006 was the year when I got inreoduced to my brother-in-law and his friend Srikkanth - my future employer in Canada (yeah, both through internet) and everything happened so fast that I saw myself in Canada, a year later :)... I don't know where I would have been working now, if I didn't know these guys :D


2007, the year of my marriage. The year when my fiancee / wife shifted her base from Korea to India and I shifted from India to Canada. Again a long distance relationship (countries changed, distance didn't) which propelled me to stick more to my lappy than with people around. My mom being more computer-savvy than I ever was, too preferred instant messaging. With mom, wife, sister living on internet, I couldn't help myself :)


2007 saw my debut in 3 different and most influential networks in years to come: Blog, Twitter, Facebook. Wifey influenced me to get into the first two, I inspired her to take up the latter.


Though joined earlier, Orkut took me into its wings only when I joined an online community "My relatives and cousins". Earlier I knew only 10 or 15 of my first cousins. This community gave me 450 of them and 50 got so close to me that I treat them as my closest friends till date, and may be forever too. I met people who liked me, loved me, admired me, supported me and vice-versa. The emotional and psychological support I received from these people made me a better person for sure. I don't know how different and insipid my life would have been, had I not known few very important people here :)


Blog happened to be one of the most beautiful things in my online life. I strongly needed an outlet of emotions, expressions, views but who would care to listen patiently if I speak all these things ? Blog was an instant answer. I started this with the very idea of putting out everything that goes on in my mind. This is the place which is till date acting as my alter-ego, my best-friend, who can listen to anything about me patiently without feeling bored :D ..and today I feel content that there are few people who like to read what I write here. I'm very humbled by the love and support I'm conferred by them. Love to all.


Twitter is a revolution. With my 3 years of twitter-addiction, I can claim without any qualms that those without twitter account are loosing in a hell lot of ways. Twitter is THE world, twitter is THE society and twitter is THE reality. Its something which keeps you connected to the world, makes you street smart, keeps you abreast of the happenings, its the first-hand, unbiased media, its better than Google search for most of the matters, its the biggest source of entertainment and its here to stay.


Facebook is something I didn't get along till recently due to my loyalty towards Orkut. But things changed, people I love shifted to Facebook and now Orkuting has become a mere formality. Today, life is more on FB. 245 friends, their updates, photos, comments, views. Its not an exaggeration if I say FB is the reality and outside world is virtual. I don't think anybody can know about their friends / loved ones in real life as much they can know through FB. Love "The Social Network" and an alternate world Mark has bestowed upon us.


Earlier, life would have been difficult without a computer / laptop. Now its close to impossible without a smartphone with data package. It was more evident when I got restless due to unavailability / inaccessibility of data network for few days during my recent vacation.


Now I can't imagine how my life was without all these things around some 13 years back. Am also amazed to see people who can spend a quality life in current period without internet and its addiction. But I can't. May be am loosing myself to the virtual world, but its way better than the real world :)

26 years of movie watching :)

Somebody was asking me what favorite movie was and I couldn't pick one as I like so many movies, genres in 3 languages. Then I got an idea of capsuling my movie watching history of 26 years :) My tryst with Telugu, Hindi and English movies in a nutshell :)

Telugu Movies

Telugu movies have been staple diet for my family like most others in AP. I tried really hard to recollect which was my first Telugu movie in a theater. The earliest I can remember was "Swathi Muthyam" (1985). Its been 26 years that movie released and hence the title of this blog-post. I vaguely remember watching that movie and my aunts say I used to imitate Kamal Haasan's eccentric dance steps of "suvvi suvvi" song at home after the show. Thanks to such silly steps, I'm such hopeless dancer today :(

I also clearly remember watching other K.Viswanath movies like Sirivennela, Swayamkrushi, Swarnakamalam in the following years. Yes, my parents used to be K.Viswanath's devotees and I grew up to become one too.

The first time I went to movie without parents was in 1991 when Chiranjeevi's gangleader released. That was with my sister who has since been my movie-watching partner for the next 10 years. During that era, RGV movies brought in new flavor and I got hugely attracted to his Kshana Kshanam, Rathri etc.

Slowly my interest in Telugu movies subsided as most of the star studded movies of Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna etc were catered to masses, galleries, song and fight routine, over-heroism or in rural backdrop which I could not relate at all. Many telugu movies could not attract my sensibilities as I got more addicted to Hindi cinema by then. Raghavender Rao, B. Gopal and co ruined my appetite for Telugu movies and I didn't remember watching many Telugu movies until Tholi prema, Nuvve Kavali era.

I don't have favorite actors except that I like Brahmanandam, Prakash Raj.

Favorite movies: All movies of K.Viswanath, Sekhar Kammula, Chandrasekhar Yeleti, Vijayabhaskar and few movies of Ramgopal Varma.

Hindi Movies

I think I started watching Hindi movies and Telugu movies almost at the same time. In mid 80's I just knew a couple of names Anitabachan (Read: Amitabh bachchan) and Mithuchakravarty (Mithun Chakraborty). 1988 witnessed the birth of a soft looking actor by name Aamir Khan through QSQT; my friends at school went gaga over him and Juhi Chawla and I loved Madhuri Dixit in Tezaab which was released during the same time. That was my first brush with Hindi movies. So Aamir and I debuted in Hindi movies at a same time (he started acting and I started watching).

The first few Hindi movies I watched in theater were Tridev followed by Ram Lakhan, Maine Pyar Kiya etc. In the following couple of years stars like Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar debuted; a different era started and I got drifted away with those waves. Simultaneously I watched many older blockbusters of Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan.

In 90's and 2000's I watched all those popcorn movies of SRK -YRF / KJ, action and comedy movies of Akshay and other well-received movies but liked more intense dramas mostly starring Ajay Devgan and Aamir Khan. Among actresses, I was crazy about Raveena Tandon (my first crush in early 90's) succeeded by Manisha Koirala and Sonali Bendre. Kareena and Katrina among the current lot.

All time favorite movies: Mera Naam Joker, Jewel Thief, Abhimaan, Deewar, Sarfarosh, Border, Dil Chahta Hai, Company, Rang De Basanti, Omkara, Gangajal, Rajneeti

English Movies:

During my mid school-days, I often used to come across C grade porn movie posters near my school and associated English movies with such movies and was ashamed of talking about English movies in general :) There were only few theaters in Hyderabad like Sangeet, Kumar, Anand which used to play blockbuster English movies and I had very meager exposure or access to English Movies until the advent of Cable TV.

I remember watching very few movies in theaters in 90's like Jurassic Park, Anaconda, Titanic etc and I just knew Sylvester Stallone and Jackie Chan till then. 2000's saw my exposure to the world of English cinema and thats when I brushed up with most of the good movies which I missed in the previous years / decades.

I was blown away by Godfather series and contemporary heist and crime dramas of Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino. Till date, I'm trying to collect DVDs of all the classics made by these directors. I realized that am liking chick flicks too; but I'm not a huge fan of Steven Spielberg or James Cameron kinda movies or any animation, fantasy, saving-the-humanity kind and action movies (with an exception of few) which lack some plot or drama.

George Clooney has been my favorite since I saw him in some TV series even before I started watching English movies. He is THE handsome man. Acting-wise, I like movies of Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks and after watching older classics, went on to become a devotee of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson.

Don't know much about yesteryear actresses, but among the contemporaries I like Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba and among the senior lot: Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Winslet, JLo. .

All time favorite movies: Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, Shawshank Redemption, Ocean's Eleven, Training Day, Italian Job, The pursuit of Happyness, The Departed, Inglorious Basterds, Inception.

PS: Next post would be about my history of music listening. Stay tuned :)

Rules to be Happy :)

Its easier said than done, eh :), but I thought its worth sharing what I feel and understand to make people I care for, be happy.

I feel so inspired by some people who always seem to be happy and in good spirits. Its not that they never face hardships or blues or some kinda negative vibes. Just that they are clear enough what to take to heart and what not to. And there ends the matter.

Life is a roller coaster ride and we have to take it for granted that we will have to face all kind of situations. Expecting good to happen always is the first reason to get bogged down. Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. If you are mentally prepared to take on the negative situation by its horns, its a game from then on.

Attaching a lot of importance to something not so important will pull your spirits down drastically. If there is something which is harming you or hurting you, just get rid of that and if you can't get rid, stop taking that seriously. Life is short enough to enjoy, don't waste it for unnecessary things, people and situations.

Be yourself. Don't try too hard to impress others or get a goody goody image. Nobody cares for your image for too long. You are not so important for others (or vice versa) that you need to change your way of life to impress others. Its not a sin to be bad in anybody's eyes. Its individual perception and nobody's judgement on you is final. If they like you, good for them and if they don't like you, good for you :) As simple as that is.

Express love. Golden rule of thumb. If you like somebody, don't wait. Just let them know how much you like them. It always works wonders and makes those moments very happy. Being loved or expressed love is the best thing anybody can ask for. Be playful, compliment them, make them feel special and try not to hurt them. The only thing you have to know is "Don't Expect anything in return" since expecting the same degree of love is often suicidal and disastrous to the relationship. The opposite person may / may not like you or may / may not be as expressive as you are. Don't really care, just be expressive and thats it :)

Everybody will have people who like them or admire them immensely, irrespective of what they thing about themselves. Realize that there will be many people who love to see you happy and smiling. Thinking about these people will relieve you of all the mood swings, bad vibes and stress.

So it all boils down to understanding what / who is important to you and doing what you like and finding happiness in wherever you are and whatever you do. Again easier said than done, but definitely worth trying !

So all sweethearts out there, be happy :)

Who developed Hyderabad ?

Despite being a Telanganite, I have never been a supporter of separate Telangana state as I don't believe that the problems Telangana facing now will be solved by a separate state. Now, all protesting for separate Telangana believe that disassociating with Andhra Pradesh will solve all problems. This is a mother of all myths.

All those who are currently fighting for Telangana state on the pretext of injustice were once ministers of the same cabinets which are guilty of injustice. Political unemployment made them start the movement and once the state is bifurcated their future and political career (and also their dynasty`s) will be safe guarded.

Irreparable damage has already been done. The remainder is only a political circus. Nothing is going to make a difference.

BUT what I don't see eye to eye is when people from other regions claim that Hyderabad is what because of the development done by them.

Pro-united AP protestors claim that Telangana is a poor area and people from Andhra and Rayalseema have developed Hyderabad and they have equal share in the fortunes of Hyderabad. The very base of samaikhyandhra movement is the potential loss of Hyderabad to Telangana. If Hyderabad was geographically not in Hyderabad, its a open fact that nobody would be interested in Samaikhyandhra and Telangana would not have been given any credit of developing the combined city.

Its quite an analogy that NRI`s can`t take credit of developing US (despite significant contribution) just because the very exodus to foreign land is to prosper from that land and not to develop that land.

History Speaks:

Telangana area (erstwhile Hyderabad state) was the richest and the largest princely state in the pre-independent India and the ruler of Hyderabad was a celebrated person and the richest man in the world for decades before the state was annexed into the present Andhra Pradesh.

Before formation of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad (a city with 500 yrs of history) was the only city in whole South India with well planned and built reservoirs, drinking water facilities, drainage and sewage facilities, network of hospitals, roads, railways, monuments,oldest university of the state and all development related to administration. British empire, Qutubshahis, Nizams have put the city in the forefront of the economic map centuries ago. 

And during these times, others cities or towns of present AP were relatively non-existent. Visakhapatnam was a small fishing village till late 1930`s till the port was built. Steel plant, BHEL and other industries have been setup only after formation of AP. Vijaywada, Guntur, Tirupati were small towns. Kurnool which was a capital didn`t have sufficient infrastructure to have an assembly building and administrative facilities and Guntur hosted a temporary high court. By then Hyderabad had a developmental history with readymade facilities to work as a political and administrative capital of any state. This explains the mass exodus to the city from other areas (including North Indians)

SO NO ONE DEVELOPED HYDERABAD POST AP FORMATION. Hyderabad was made capital of the state so that the whole state can benefit from the development and facilities which were already in place. After AP formation, if Hyderabad was developed from combined resources, other cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada were given a huge shot in the arm too.

Today Hyderabad city alone generates 37% of state revenue. And a piece of news to all those who claim, Telangana without Hyderabad is a poverty stricken under developed area; Telangana (excluding Hyderabad) generates 24% of the state`s revenue whereas Andhra generates 15% and Rayalaseema generates 4%. 45% of forest area of AP is in Telangana. This shows which is the most resourceful area in AP. But this resourcefulness is not converted into prosperity due to:

Problems:

Telangana state is still the richest area in terms of natural resources. 79% of Godavari, 69% of Krishna flows through Telangana but unfortunately no district of Telangana is benefited from the situation. Karimnagar, Adilabad districts witnessed farmer suicides despite being in the Godavari river-bed. Nalgonda`s population is still suffering from fluoride problem of borewell water though Krishna rivers flows there (and yeah Nagarjuna Sagar is in Nalgonda District). Mahbubnagar district, where Krishna river enters AP, is the most backward and barren district of AP.

Reason: There is no project built to save some river water to irrigate these lands. As a result Godavari districts, Krishna, Guntur are undisputed granaries of AP.

Nagarjuna Sagar was built in Nalgonda district and the reservoir was built after submerging many villages in the district only to end up providing 3/4th of the waters to Guntur, Krishna and Prakasam districts. This explains famers` woes in Telangana.

As mentioned in my previous post about the same issue, Singareni collieries (the largest coal mines of South india), Ramagundam (the biggest power stations in South India) and other heavy and small industries of Telangana employ very less local Telanganites. This explains the unemployemt problem.

After formation of AP, 16 chief ministers ruled the state for 54 years out of which only 6 years were ruled by Telangana CMs (PV Narasimha Rao, Chenna Reddy, Anjaiah). This explains the step-brother treatment towards the region. Though I don`t subscribe to the idea that more CMs from Telangana would have made any difference as not more than 10% of policy makers and bureaucrats are from Telangana. Tadaaaa

Govt of India recognized 13 districts in AP as backward and 9 of them are from Telangana (yes, all Telangana districts except Hyderabad)

Telugu identity of Telangana is always ridiculed and mocked by public, movies, literature and other fora alike. The fact remains that the language gets adulterated by regional factors and so did Telangana slang and same is the case with other slangs of the state. But the history says that Telangana area is the place where authentic Telugu heritage lies. The most impressive and celebrated hertiage of Telugu people comes from Kakatiyas and Satavahanas who established, ruled and contributed to the region.

Coastal area was eclipsed by Tamil dynasties like Cholas and Pandyas (with a brief respite from Chalukyas) and Rayalaseema area was ruled by an able Sri Krishnadevarayalu (a kannadiga). So it goes without saying that Telugu history is synonymous to Telangana history.

Rivers, industries, revenues, heritage - Telangana has been the cradle of Telugu civilization which has been utilized by some and exploited by some for the development of Andhra Pradesh state. But the very host area became a victim of its own benevolence. Probably Telangana is the only area in India which flourished before independence and suffered after independence :)

Solution:

Telangana supporters must understand that bifurcation can never be a solution to the under-development. After separation, Adilabad might be under developed than Hyderabad or Warangal. or Old City might be under developed compared to Banjara Hills. We can't start another movement for every sub-region. Can we ?

Samaikhyandhra supporters must understand that "being united" is about having mutual trust and respect. One can't humiliate Telangana slang, culture, roots and then protest for unity. Lack of trust due to this humiliation and indifference is the root cause for the whole issue, not under-development or other reasons.

Travel Diaries 2 - Reminiscing Hawaii

Warning: This is a really long post in which I have tried to squeeze in all beautiful memories of our vacation to Hawaii in Dec 2010 – Jan 2011. Please go ahead only if you are interested or else you will be bored to death: D

At 8:30 pm on Dec 27, 2010 we landed in Hawaii, a place somewhere in central Pacific Ocean between USA, Japan and Australia. Fresh from the memories of Banff and Jasper, we didn’t have many expectations on Hawaii as we know no place could ever be as beautiful as Banff. And as expected Hawaii is not as stunning as Banff, Lake Louise or Athabasca but there is certain trademark bohemian spirit, lovable crowd, rich canvas which took us into its arms and made us feel at home and at heaven.

The 7 day trip to Hawaii Islands has been a once in a lifetime event which made us so refreshing, recharged, happy and strong that we discovered ourselves and redefined our parameters of bliss and happiness. And I’m glad that my wife’s birthday was celebrated in such an ambience.

Hawaii is an archipelago of 8 islands and there is something for everybody to relish in their vacation. Scenic beauty, natural wonders, sports and adventurous activities, cosmopolitan urban culture, native vernacular spirit, vibrant crowd, multitude cuisines, various climatic zones and more. We were fortunate to witness all of these in a span of 7 days without making it hectic or over-burdening ourselves.

Out of 8 islands, we chose to travel across 3 islands which were completely different from each other.

Oahu – The island with activity; dynamic and oozing energy. We spent most of our time here. This is a paradise for all those who want water sports, adventures, extreme sports, parties, activity and vibrant atmosphere Our first brush with jetskiing and snorkelling happened here.

Jetskiing is not very easy especially for non-swimmers like me who get anxious when the guide warns before hand that there is an ample chance of falling in the waters of pacific :O ..Agreed that a lifejacket is given but grrrrr…..with this premonition I went into the waters and to my misfortune the waves were high enough to scare me off. But after some 20 minutes, I handed over the handle to my wifey who could’ve saved herself even if she capsized the jet ski J. But the experience itself was awesome.

Parasailing on pacific waters was again a different experience not as anxious though. Having tried paragliding and river crossing earlier in Manali (India), this was no different, except we get drenched by the waters amidst the activity.

Snorkelling was splendid. I can’t swim, but the renter handed me over a couple of fins, snorkel gear and asked me to jump into the ocean. They strictly instructed not to walk in the waters as that might harm fish, aquatic life and coral reef. So we only have to swim and I don’t know swimming. WTF @$% (this is what I exactly exclaimed) but I wanted to do it so badly after knowing the worldwide fame of Hanauma Bay Snorkelling.

First challenge was to put the face inside water and breathe through the snorkel gear which was tougher than jetskiing :D. After practising that for a while, I started swimming with fins and holding my wife’s hand tightly. I guess fins helped me a lot. The moment I saw schools of colorful fish in the ocean, I abruptly picked up swimming and left my wife wondering where I was. Ended up deep into the ocean where the seabed was far beneath me.

But that moment was not scary as some kind of over confidence crept in and I swam across safely to the shore. That was my hurrah moment. A huge accomplishment, eh !

Another day we went along for hiking through dense forest. It was a two hour trek through the woods before we ended up before a refreshing waterfall. Our shoes went out of shape and color after the trek :D

Every evening was the time to take a stroll on the most popular street of Honolulu city, the Waikiki beach walk, a colourful street with street side performances, hangouts, restaurants, tourist spots and a galaxy of the world’s most popular brands like Louis Vuitton, Versace, Rolex, Prada, BVLgari, CD, Chanel, BCBG and likes. Steering my wife (and also myself) across those stores without temptation was another hurrah moment as a step into any of those stores would’ve made a serious dent on my wallet.

We have tried atleast 10 different cuisines during our stay in Oahu, but our trials to hunt Indian restaurant went in vain as understandably there were no south Asians visible in our whole trip.

We celebrated Ammadu’s birthday here as we wanted that kind of celebration environment around us and trust me, the ambience was way way vibrant than Las vegas strip (where we spent last new year’s eve). People were ecstatic and filled with energy. The night didn’t find a respite from fireworks, music, dance, parties, noise and fun. I tried to manage a small ice cream cake with “ammadu happy budday” written on it. The baker was kind enough to oblige me.

Before the clock struck 12, we went for a stroll, got amused by the crowds, their tantrums and antics, settled in the beach, witnessed a times-square ball drop drama enacted and fireworks which put Independence Day Washington DC fireworks, Niagara or Disney fireworks to shame. Later back home, she’d cut the cake and we spent some time in the ocean facing balcony and danced to the loud music from the bar and grill below. We had so much time for ourselves that we fell in love with each other all over again J I could see happiness on her face and that was the vacation objective all about. Another hurrah moment J

On her birthday, we rented a coupe and drove along the pacific coast for 4 hours. The weather was on a hotter side, but no complaints, we went from freezing Toronto J. The next day we rented mopeds (scooty) and rode till our nostalgia of riding bikes back home waned away.

Big Island: This is the biggest island among the 8 islands and is the land of natural wonders. We flew to this island from Honolulu. This island is a home for volcanoes, lava tubes, black sand beaches, green sand beaches, deserts, rain forests, snow clad mountains, waterfalls, arid lands. We saw everything except green sand beach as it would have taken a lot more time to reach the place, but regret not going there now. We deliberately skipped snow capped peaks as we are already sick of such places: D

The most amazing place was the black sand beach. I never ever heard about this earlier. When initially heard, thought it would be some black soil which we often use for gardening. But that was black SANDDDDDD…holy smokeee…I could not believe my eyes. We were awestruck. The black color is given by the flowing lava which got hardened at the coast. Waking on the smooth hardened lava was something I never imagined I would do.

We walked into a lava tube, a cylindrical tube / tunnel created under the volcanic mountain when lava flowed earlier. Such an incredible experience it was. Then was the time to reach the active volcano. Though we didn’t witness live flowing red hot lava, we saw fuming volcano which was emitting clouds of sulphur dioxide and also steam vents which were oozing out steam, heat and smoke. I only read and saw this phenomenon on television but never thought I would stand beside that. This was as good as standing on a glacier in Jasper National Park.

We would have missed a lot if we didn’t travel to this island.

Maui: This is another island which is a traditional scenic area, just as we understand, expect and perceive what natural beauty is. The island can be called a visual epic for its eye-popping beauty.

We drove in bus to the highest peak of the island called Halaeaka which is a dormant volcano with its peak staying as high as 10,000 ft plus. But more than this height is under the sea. So, technically the whole height could be around that of Mt.Everest. The greenery and vegetation gradually diminishes as we ascend the mountain and on the top, there is no vegetation at all, thanks to very low oxygen levels. If we run or pant, we are out of oxygen. And when we stand at the summit, we could see clouds way below us, just like when we see from a flight.

Then we traveled to Iao valley which is a definition of a conservative beauty of the Mother Nature. Springs, beautiful mountains around, valley in the cradle; After this we went to a beach and basked ourselves in the relieving tides.

During the whole vacation, apart from the places we’ve been to, something which attracted us the most is the love and care the natives and Hawaiian residents bestow upon the tourists. They know their lives are dependent on tourism and they do everything to make visitors happy and at the same time, they never compromise with their own roots and culture. They project their culture which they are proud of and want the visitors to taste their hospitality and heritage. This was endearing.

Politically, Hawaii belongs to USA but apart from roads and sign boards, I didn’t see anything American - be it the people, culture, attitude, spirit. It’s more of an Asian and Polynesian spirit that we could see there.

Words I would remember forever are

ALOHA – means hello, bye and love you. They regard this word a lot and attach everything good, soothing and nostalgic to ALOHA.

MAHALO: Thank You

HANG LOOSE: Their version of “Chill”

The beauty of Hawaii, the place; love of Hawaiians is something I can never forget in my life.

The whole trip has been captured in the form of video and image collage by Hema and can be accessed by those in her or my facebook friends list or their friends at http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=144367478949665&saved

I have uploaded few pics in my facebook travelogue album which can be accessed at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=496016489053&set=a.379957089053.158000.516769053

ALOHA

Travel Diaries 1 - Journey from Las Vegas to Hawaii

An account of various journeys and trips we traveled in 2010:

December 2009 - January 2010: California / Vegas Trip

Memorable trip with parents, sister, bro-in-law and a 2-month niece

• Los Angeles - Malibu Beach, Malibu Temple, Pacific Coast Highway, Kodak theater & Hollywood Boulevard, LA Live were fabulous. Universal studios was good and so was Disneyland.
• San Francisco - A very very unique city completely different from the rest of US. Cable cars, hilly roads are its USP. Golden Gate Bridge view from Bay beach was a view to die for. Crooked street was fun. Fisherman's wharf, Coit tower, Union Square were good. Spent Christmas here.
• Santa Cruz - En-route LA to SFO. Mystery house's location. Nice one
• San Diego - Sea World was good, again a different kind of city with heavy Spanish influence.
• Las Vegas - Rightly called the sin city, the city which never sleeps. So much vibrancy, lights and colors can lighten up anybody's spirits :). Casinos, live-shows, sleepless nights, huh :)) We spent our new year's eve (my wifey's birthday eve too) here.

That was our first visit to the west coast. Loved it and with family, it was a perfect gateway. We (bava and I) drove from LA to SFO (8 hours) and back, LA to San Diego (4 hours and back), LA to Vegas (3 hours and back) and the driving was fun, especially on pacific coast highway. Lot of memories, lot of enjoyment. Really nostalgic.

February 2010:

• Ashburn, Virginia: Tanya's annaprasana ceremony beckoned us to sister's place at Ashburn. Fun time with family again.

March 2010:

• Washington DC: Parents Canadian visa appointment, interview and approval. Celebration time in the capital city of US. Though a small city, its a unique blend of grandeur and simplicity. Capitol building was worth seeing once. Smithsonian museums, white house, monument, memorials were good too.

April 2010

• Pittsburgh: visited the famous SV Temple or chinna Tirupati en-route to Toronto while bringing parents from sister's house. one of the biggest and nicest temples of the continent. Similar one is in Malibu, LA.
• Niagara Falls (US view): Though we have lost our count of visits to Niagara, this was the first time from American side. Not as bad as I expected, but Canadian view is far better. 
• Toronto: A one day trip of important areas in Toronto City with parents - The downtown, CN Tower, City Hall, YD square, Swaminarayan Temple so-on and so forth.

May 2010:

• African Lion Safari, Hamilton: Supposedly the best safari of North America. Visited once before with cousin Preetham and Saroja. This time with parents. It was a sunny day and could experience the majesty of lion and cheetah from a foot distance. Ostrich, bison, deer - none of the hosts thought twice to stop our vehicle. Visiting casino later the day was an icing on the cake.
• Niagara Falls (Canadian view): Now from the Canadian side. Journey behind the falls captivated parents. My mom says this is and will be the best siteseeing spot anybody can ever see :)
• Ottawa: My in-laws joined to make the family gathering bigger and merrier. All of us visited Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. Parliament hill was as usual majestic and so were other parks we visited.
• Wasaga beach: Sunny day at the beach two hours north of Toronto

June 2010:

• African Lion Safari, Hamilton this time with in-laws.

July 2010:

• New Market: To a raspberry picking farms. Had fun picking raspberries, blueberries in rain.
• Toronto city trip, this time with in-laws

August 2010:

• Saugeen Country / Grey county: An yearly trip with our group of friends in Mississauga (Canada kutumbam) to Saugeen. 3 days - 30 members in a cottage, beaches, water sports, waterfalls, campfires, kayaking, canoeing, fun and frolic. Memorable !!! Already waiting for 2011 summer camping with CK.
• Virginia Beach: 2 day trip to Virginia beach along with sister, bro-in-law and niece. BEST TRIP TILL THEN, period ! 37 km Chesapeake Bay Bridge - Tunnel is a made man wonder and a drive on that was mind blowing. Later, an ocean front hotel suite with Jacuzzi and all ultra star amenities was a spoiling luxury. Strolling on the beach after midnight, drenching in Atlantic waters during the day was the routine of the day (or two).

September 2010:

• Toronto: Casaloma palace, Center Island and AR Rahman live-show.

October 2010: Alberta Trip

Another memorable trip with in-laws

• Calgary: Small but beautiful city, vibrant downtown, Calgary tower, museum and urban island park were nice.
• Drumheller: A surprise addition to the itinerary, thanks to my friend's suggestion. Completely worthy. Mushroom hoodie style hillocks, grand canyon modeled canyons, authentic dinosaur museum, river. Would have missed something if missed visiting this place.
• Edmonton: Much bigger than I expected. Vibrant downtown, WC square, largest shopping mall in North America. Good enough.
• Banff: I forget words, just thinking about the beauty the nature has bestowed upon this area. I don't think I can see a more beautiful place in my lifetime or rather I'm not sure if there is one in this whole world. Snow-clad mountains, green water lakes, lush pine blankets, a perfect treat to eyes, senses and heart. Lake Louise is by far the best location that world can ever witness. Moraine Lake is not far behind. Rope-way to the top of sulphur mountain gives a panoramic view.
• Jasper: If we missed this, I would not have forgiven myself for the entire life. This is a gateway to Athabasca glacier, the sheet of ice which is as thick as the height of Eiffel tower and which is a source of rivers draining into pacific, atlantic, arctic oceans. We traveled on this sheet of ice on a rugged snow-coach. The very feeling of standing on a glacier was overwhelming and incredible.

November 2010:

• Visited sister's place at Ashburn again for thanksgiving day weekend, but preferred to stay back at home.

December 2010:

• Blue Mountains ski resort: Karthik, my cousin visited us from NYC in peak winter and what else could be the right winter tourist spot. First visited Wasaga beach, which was then clad with snow. We danced and had fun on the snow beach and then reached the ski resort. The snow shoes we were given were heavier than us and we were novices to skiing. We slipped, tripped,struck,fell like there is nothing else to do but later picked up the techniques and had fun skiing. My second time after my brush with ski blades in Manali 3 years ago.
• Niagara-on-the-lake: For the first time, visited the place where Niagara river joins Lake Ontario. Later visited Niagara Falls.
• Toronto city: this time with Karthik

Holidays 2010 - New Years Eve, 2011

• Hawaii: This time for my wife's birthday (Jan 01), we planned to be in a dreamland called Hawaii, somewhere near nowhere. Pacific waters, beautiful islands, active volcanoes and lava fields, outdoor events and water sports like bungee jumping, snorkeling, scuba diving, jet skiing, parasailing, local new year's party (which I can never pronounce or spell, just like local area names) are awaiting us.
• Ammadu's birthday: This has always been special for us as the whole world celebrates along with us.I try to make it as special as possible, but I can never give surprise gifts like she does to me.  She holds a record of celebrating her birthday in different cities in the last 6 years. So I try to take her to the most exotic places as possible.

• 2006 - Seoul, Korea

• 2007 - Bangalore, India

• 2008 - Toronto, Canada

• 2009 - Hyderabad, India

• 2010 - Las Vegas, USA

• 2011 - Hawaii, USA

Lets hope our Hawaii trip will be as eventful and memorable as other trips were. Will post our pics in Travelogue album of my Facebook account. All the trips I mentioned in this post are captured in form of pics in this album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=516769053&aid=158000

I'm not Straightbackward !

One of the most commonly used phrases "Let me be straightforward, ....." means there is something really unpleasant coming your way :) "Being Straightforward" is one of the most abused concepts in modern days !

Being straightforward is actually a behavior which makes others understand what we are without much difficulty. Its being honest, upright, good natured with no scheming or hypocrisy. Its all about portraying our own image but not commenting or judging others as popularly perceived.

But today it has become synonymous to being blunt, impolite and coarse to degrade others to feel superior or most of the times to conceal their own inferiority complex or to feel good (sadistic pleasure). Thats actually being "straightbackward" because if you are pointing out others' inabilities, negative situations or inherent inefficiencies by passing blunt remarks, where not necessary, its far from being frank as this kind of "frankness" might most probably break somebody's heart or possibly strain relations too while you bask in your own false glory.

Honest negative comments would only help a case where some kind of constructive criticism is needed to improve the situation or performance of the person at the receiving end. Though you are not completely impressed with something / somebody, a word of positivity will always bring out a smile and a ray of hope in others. Its hypocrisy or backbiting only when you laugh at the situation before someone else.

So, if you ever are brutally honest in passing a negative comment at somebody which would not improve him/her, understand that you are being straightbackward and it shows your urge to humiliate others and take pride or solace in it. AND THIS IS A SERIOUS MENTAL DISORDER.

Set Kasab Free !

Its been 2 years Ajmal Kasab is behind bars and has been awarded death penalty, is not a news now. I have noticed in one of the publications that the daily cost to keep him alive is Rs 8.5 lakh per day. Yes, its PER DAY. So calculating the cost that our treasury incurred for the last two years is upto your math abilities :)

Our Government and legal experts declare that every accused has to be provided legal assistance however heinous the convict be. And similar "provisions" has been given to other "guests" like Afzal Guru (the mastermind behind Parliament attack) who is being taken care of for the last 10 years despite being convicted and awarded death sentence and Azhar Masood (chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad, set free after Kandahar Hijack).

So it goes without saying that Kasab WILL NEVER BE HANGED and we have to either see him enjoy Govt provided facilities or get free after some arm-twisting from terror organizations via a hijack or a kidnap. So we have to face either budget crisis or embarrassment, but never justice. Because judiciary is being continually raped by Government's appeasement and dormancy. So I feel it makes sense to set Kasab free.

The country witnessed Kasab and co's outrageous war on the country live. The public outcry went mega-decibels. Many martyrs including Hemant Karkare were shot dead. But congress politicians like Abdul Rahman Antulay declared in a couple of days that the ATS chief was killed by "Hindu Terrorists" and not militants. That is being fostered by Digvijay Singh of his party. The whole political party is hell bent on shielding anti-national elements despite the martyr's own wife's rebuttal.

Rahul Gandhi, who is put on the pedestal by some herd of sycophants just because he is a son of some ex-prime minister has an audacity of telling a foreign diplomat that "Hindu Terrorisim" is more dangerous than Lashkar-e-Taiba. Home Minister, P.Chidambaram raised concerns about "saffron terrorism" and interestingly never sounded so interested in any other color.

Inability to counter terrorism, intelligence failure can be forgiven. But can shielding, protecting and saving terrorists guilty of waging war against the country for last 3 decades be forgiven ? and that too through maligning a majority community and their sacred color ?

Muslims form 13% of Indian population and its a fact that all Muslims should not be identified as terrorists. Only 2% of Indians who happen to be Muslims turn fundamentalists and have been troubling the nation since late 1980's. And reasonably nobody used the term "Green Terrorism" as its an objectionable term as it affects the whole community.

Rahul Gandhi, Antulay, Digvijay Singh, Chidambaram and others of congress, Mulayam Singh, Laloo yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan of other parties always try to defend terrorists assuming they are appeasing the Muslim votebank. But they are ignorant of the fact that not all 13% of Indians identify themselves with these militants or their fundamentalism.

"Muslims" as a votebank appeals to most of the politicians and especially Congress, RJD, LJP, SP which appease one community are usually called "Secular parties" by our Indian media, especially by our beloved Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Prannoy Roy.

These secular parties abhor "Hindu nationalist" parties like BJP, Shiv Sena and affiliated organizations like RSS, VHP, ABVP. But interestingly ally with MIM of Hyderabad and Muslim League of kerala :). Going a step forward, Congress though an ally of Majlis (MIM) in Hyderabad, also contests elections along with MIM. Can you guess why ?

Hmm, the reason is that its a general knowledge that Muslims in Hyderabad vote amass to MIM thus consolidating Muslim votebank, but its Congress' responsibility to break Hindu votes as they know all Hindus don't vote based on religion. In this way they could always block religious BJP, help MIM and prove itself to be SECULAR !!!

By the way, secularism in India also means providing a certain community special rights, special treatment based on their religion and treating rest of the "second class" citizens as per the state law (common civil code) and secularism also means over-riding supreme court judgement of upholding a woman's rights to appease a religious tenet (Shah Bano case).

Muslims as a community might not want this discrimination but politicians in a urge to appease them can go to any extent and even to malign Hinduism.Talking about Hindu Terrorism:

Hindus for 80% of the population today (and obviously were 100% some centuries ago). India and Indus valley civilization are the products of a way of life, which is called Hinduism. Etymology of Hindu says its people of India. Once the richest and most prosperous place of the world attracted many foreign merchants, artists, invaders and exploiters. Hindus received everybody, shared their wealth, their country and at times suffered. But never were xenophobes.

India with a population of over 95% of Hindus was ruled by Muslims (for centuries) who were mere 5% which shows the defensive or generous attitude of Hindus. They took minorities into their fold, made them feel at home and later abnegated a part of their land too.

From time immemorial, Hindus had no unity, were always welcoming, appeasing other communities in various ways and were perfect hosts. Hinduism being one of the world's oldest religions didn't refer to practices of other religions as false or bad.  If Hindus were "terrorists" or if Hindus were extremists or aggressive ever, India would have not been what it is today. Period !

But these pack of wolves (appeasement parties) started this maligning campaign through historians, educationalists, media and politics and put Hindu nationalists against the wall and waited for some retaliation from indigenous groups so that they can brand them as terrorists and balance the outrageous crimes of anti-nationals.

And there were some Hindu fools and fundamentalists who paved the way to this black mark. I personally denounce BJP leadership including LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and VHP bigwigs like Ashok Singhal, Vinay Katiyar and likes who incited masses to demolish a Muslim religious structure. Irrespective of historical and archeological facts, demolishing a place of faith under current democracy is an unacceptable crime and the perpetrators should have been strictly punished. So is the case with Narendra Modi who executed a state sponsored backlash against innocent Muslims, Sadhvi Pragya, Swami Aseemanand who are accused of terrorism (if at all they are convicted).

These pack of fools have done something which gave an opportunity to pseudo secularists, Muslim fundamentalists, hostile neighbors to raise their voice. Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai and likes have never missed an opportunity to make stories about Hindu terrorism. But I wished they also covered news stories about hundreds of temples demolished after Babri demolition and also about the mastermind behind Godhra incident as Gujarat also saw massacre of hundreds of Hindus apart from Muslims, massacre of Hindu pandits and families in Kashmir and so on.

But that would not happen in India.

Communication Skills Vs Language Skills

Its a general perception that those who speak fluently and write eloquently are good communicators, thats true in most of the cases, but there can be exceptions. Communication, per se, is making other person understand exactly what you have in your mind and understanding exactly what the other person is trying to say. Language is a channel for communication.

Language skills, oratory skills,  fluency, command over grammar and vocabulary give an extra edge in communication or presenting ourselves but unfortunately, not all are blessed with these skills.

I always get jealous and envious of people who can talk eloquently and present their mind lucidly in speech or writing. I always tried to be like that, but could never be :D

I know am not remarkably good at written English, so is the case with spoken English, I suck at Hindi and I even search for words while speaking Hindi. Now don't even ask about written Hindi. My parents' objectives of admitting me in English convents, Hindi pandit courses went futile :D. I can manage written or spoken Telugu as its my mother tongue. I don't know/understand any other language in this world :(

Now that I realized that improving language skills is not my cup of tea anymore, I'm seriously contemplating to work on my non verbal communication skills and other soft skills. The bottom line is that I have to drill my audience's minds by connecting with their interests, intellect and personalities without wasting my effort on vocab, pace or grammar. Wish me luck :)

Dadagiri ROCKS !!!

1987 Reliance World Cup introduced me to the world of cricket. There was a kind of sudden sprout of patriotism everywhere in India thanks to the winning of previous world cup held in 1983. Till 1987 world cup, I was not much exposed to cricket or for that matter any other sport.

I vividly remember scenes when my cousins and I were glued to the idiot box right from the titles before every match when the cricketing eleven were introduced with their names as sub-titles. Srikkanth and Sidhu were hot favorites initially and my dad was vehemently discussing match results with his friends everyday :) Nostalgic, huh !!!

Like every other Indian, the cricket fever started gripping me and my everyday routine included playing cricket from 4 pm to sunset; galli cricket that was :) and that went on for next 10 years. Never used to miss watching a match especially when India was playing. Patriotism was all about cheering Indian cricket team then.

But Indian team was always an under-dog and had a defensive attitude. Never went aboard with the intention of playing despite having all-time greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri and co. Kapil Dev was the only player and captain who had shown some kind of fighting and winning spirit.

Then came the sensation who later was called as the master blaster or the God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar himself. Sachin was a phenomenon when he kicked off and I remember him as a darling of girls as was projected in news stories too. He revolutionized cricket and started intimidating other players double his age and experience. Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajay Jadeja and Vinod Kambli brought in fresh breath into the team which was otherwise infested with politics, carelessness, negligence despite fine talent.

Until 1996, Sachin was the only saving grace and the whole team was dependent only on his performance and consistency. Advent or Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid changed the scene. Indian team batting line-up during 1996 world cup was the strongest on paper with Md Azhar at the helm with Jadeja, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid forming the formidable line up. Though the team reached semis, the winning attitude was a distant fantasy and match fixing scandals aggravated the situation. Azhar, Jadeja had to quit leaving the command to Sachin.

Sachin Tendulkar proved that his individual technical skills are not enough to make a formidable team. It takes much more. As Harsha Bhogle pointed out in one of his recent speeches at IIMA that attitude is more important than talent and that is something displayed by Sourav Ganguly, the next captain who is the architect of modern Indian cricket which knows what is winning.

Sourav was the kind of captain who taught to fight back, who instilled the winning attitude, who never feared to support his team members, who taught how not to get bogged down by sledging, who made evident the importance of confidence factor and how to psychologically win over opponents. These kind of non-technical intricacies were very important to pull the team from the conservative defensive mode, the team was known for.

The winning team or so called match winners like Sehwag, Bhajji, Pathan,Yuvraj, Dhoni, Gambhir, Zaheer were either handpicked or supported by him and were given ample chances to prove their mettle. Before Sourav's captaincy, Indian team never worked as a "team". The only other captains who built the team so meticulously and commanded the team affairs and showed true blue leadership skills were Arjuna Ranatunga, Allan Border and Vivian Richards.

All those silly brouhaha about his performance and silly jokes about his form were uncalled for as the age old saying goes, form is temporary and class is permanent. He was called God on off side, his square cuts, square drives were infallible, his timing, his lofts over midwicket were one of a kind. For all those who criticize him for not being a good player, the records shout louder than their cribs

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0
SR Tendulkar (India)	1989-2010	442	431	41	17598	200*	45.12	20401	86.26	46	93	20
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	1989-2009	444	432	18	13428	189	32.43	14719	91.22	28	68	34
RT Ponting (Aus)	1995-2010	352	343	37	13082	164	42.75	16226	80.62	29	79	19
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	1991-2007	378	350	53	11739	137*	39.52	15812	74.24	10	83	20
SC Ganguly (India)	1992-2007	311	300	23	11363	183	41.02	15416	73.70	22	72	16

So clearly, he is the best batsman India has seen after Sachin. Yes, not even Rahul Dravid, Sehwag or others come close inspite of playing in more ODIs than Sourav (who started his career in 1992 but was kept aside till 1996). With 22 centuries in ODIs, he again is second to Sachin. Rahul and co are far behind here too. Dada was the guy who scored most runs for India in the previous world cup (after being written off and sacked from the team earlier).

In test matches too, Sourav's average was more than 40 and despite being criticized as a bad fielder, he took more than 100 catches in both forms of cricket which put him in top 7 in fielding in Indian cricket history. And yeah he was a medium pacer too and has records of 5 scalps which again was done by very few.

Now who can blame him for being a bad player ? His limitations in playing short pitch balls, leg-side, running between the wickets didn't stop him to create records, win matches.

And during his captaincy, Sourav never encouraged regionalism by continually selecting and harboring players of his region unlike his predecessors or successors. No Bengali ever got undue advantage when Sourav was at helm. But he himself became a victim of regional discrimination coupled by propaganda and politics played by selectors like Kiran More, Dilip Vengsarkar and co. During the ugly spat with Chappell (who did no good for India during his stint as the coach), none of his contemporaries or team members benefited by him supported him.

He is a legend, good batsman, resourceful bowler, exceptional captain, born leader, DABANGG and a maharaja in its true sense. Dadagiri ROCKS and his legacy is unmatched and unforgettable.

PS: I stopped watching cricket after his exit.

"Don't Care" or "Don't Know" ????

Lot of people when asked about their take on current affairs or latest political developments say "I don't care". And in most cases, the underlying statement remains that they don't have enough knowledge to decide if they should care or not :)

When we care enough to be a part of the society, to benefit or suffer from the rules of society, its establishment, its Government, we ought to care for the happenings around us.

Agreed that most of these happenings are directed by the corrupt forces of the society and we can't do much about it; but we should atleast be conscious and aware of the abuse thats going on with our basic rights, duties and our hard earned money going towards the state's exchequer. Awareness doesn't mean we are supporting everything going on.

When we don't shy off from "caring" the news about entertainment industry and sporting circles and also gossips about friends, colleagues and neighbors, it doesn't harm trying to get exposed to some more serious business.

The gen next or the youth assume that its older generation's business to cling to newspapers as they don't have anything else to do. But on the contrary, it is this gen next which needs more exposure as they can't afford to face the embarrassment of under-exposure and half baked knowledge in public fora, group discussions and professional or academic gatherings.

Today's generation is far more aware, knowledgeable and thinking than those in yesteryears and kids in early 20's are seriously contemplating about the prospects of jumping into the entrepreneurial world and are more focussed and aware of economic trends and the effects caused by socio-politico-techno trends.

Those who are career oriented started showing their interest in general knowledge and social awareness too as thats a vital tool  to cruise across aptitude tests, corporate ladders and professional lobbying too. And all those kids who still think serious news and current affairs are not their cup of tea are definitely missing a lot in the longer run.

For all working or business classes, its equally important to know, understand and assimilate the day to day news particularly when a part of our earnings are contributed towards running the society, when every decision taken by the Government, every policy approved by the parliament, every rule ammended in the constitution affects our well-being, our style and standard of living.

And with the kind of technical advancements, its not difficult either. Twitter has emerged the king and king-maker in this business of generating awareness. Scamsters and corrupted thugs who earlier didn't face the public wrath are now seeing the angry face of public through the twitter revolution. Mumbai attacks, 2G scam, CWG scam, media blackout, adarsh scam - no topic is exempt from public denouncement. Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Mattoo cases have been put under hammer, only due to the increase in public outcry.

Facebook, Google form other sources which made traditional newspapers and TV channels a passe. If you want to get aware, you can do that with your fingertips through click of your mouse. You have the choice to be dumb like a dead-wood and move around with a mask of not caring or know whats happening with the money and vote you contributed to make the system. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

Rs.1700000000000 Scam - Politicians, Media, Corporate etc

Can you read this number  1700000000000 ? Its 1.7 lakh crore rupees, roughly equivalent to $ 40 billion


This is the loss to the nation caused by the latest 2G spectrum scam. Coincidentally this is the amount India owes to World Bank. So a pack of politicians, corporate honchos and journalist lobbyists have embezzled the amount that India could have freed itself from World Bank debt and hence so many consequential issues.


This is one scam which puts the other scams of 2010, namely commonwealth scam, Adarsh scam, Yedyurappa's land scam, other powerbroking and horsetrading scams, to shame.


Corporate world (Ratan Tata - who claimed that he lost the airline business chance as he didn't bribe a minister some 15 yrs back) got an unfair deal from the then minister A Raja. Raja got the telecom ministry thanks to the powerful lobbying that went on which involved Niira Radia, a PR specialist and her accomplices in crimes like these being Barkha Dutta (NDTV), Rajdeep Sardesai (CNN IBN), Vir Sanghvi (Hindustan Times), Prabhu Chawla (Aaj Tak, India Today) etc


These journalists talk about "talking" to congress to manipulate ministries to their favorite politicians, "scripting" the interviews with corporate heads, so on and so forth. And not to mention, most of these are PadmaShris. This is a tip of the iceberg as it has been mentioned only by few media outlets and most of the electronic and print media has blacked this news out.


And these eminent journalists go hammer and tongs about the issues the country is facing through their debates (err..biased debates), scripted stories through the unfair and unnecessary freedom to media. 


DISGUSTING