Across the road from my house, stood a two storied old house, built in 1930’s. Sometime back, the owners decided to sell off the property. Later, the new owners wanting to construct a commercial building at the spot, decided to demolish the old house. The day, the labourers started to work their sledge hammers on … Continue reading →
(Continuedfrom part XII) I have a quick breakfast and our car leaves on highway 37 to west, to stop almost immediately near a cluster of shops selling Kaziranga souvenirs; tee shirts, little wooden rhinos and key chains. I buy a couple of tee shirts for the kids at home and a small wooden rhino that … Continue reading →
After I completed my graduation year in Engineering, I did a short training stint in an organization that was called as “Electronics and Radar Developement Establishment (LRDE). This organization was under the umbrella of “Defence Research and Development Organization,” a behemoth that has today under it, 52 laboratories, five defence PSUs, four shipyards and 39 … Continue reading →
There is more good news about a bird specie that was considered lost by ornithologists in India. Just a month ago I had reported that in the month of October 2014, Sunil Laad, a naturalist and former employee of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) had seen a forest Owlet in the Tansa sanctuary near Mumbai. … Continue reading →
The Taj Mahal; a monument that is considered as the world’s greatest symbol of love, was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan in 1653 as a mausoleum for his third and favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. This beautiful Mughal era building, consisting of domes and minarets has been … Continue reading →
The World Allergy Organization (WAO) is an international umbrella organization whose members consist of 95 National Allergy Societies from around the world. They say that almost 40% of the globe’s population is genetically prone to severe allergic reactions. Coming nearer home, a comprehensive study in 2014 by a clinical laboratory brings out a grim picture … Continue reading →
India is a semi tropical country that gets plenty of sunlight. India’s landmass gets about 300 clear, sunny days every year. According to an estimate, India’s theoretical solar power reception, on only its land area, is about 5000 Petawatt-hours ( 10^15 watts x hours) per year. The daily average solar energy incident over India varies … Continue reading →
(Continuedfrom part XI) We leave the resort very early, even before dawn, so as to reach Kaziranga park entrance in time for our Elephant safari. Kaziranga park has been divided in four different ranges; Western or Baguri range, central or Kohora range, eastern or Agoratoli range and finally the distant Burapahar range. The park has … Continue reading →
I first visited USA in 1980’s. During my visit, I did buy a few clothes for myself and my family, because they were very cheap and of exceptional quality. I had then noticed that each and every garment had a tag or a label. That was something new, because at that time, most of the … Continue reading →
We all know that all matter consists of atoms, which have a central nucleus and number of electrons. The nucleus is a cluster of two types of particles. A proton with a positive charge and a neutron, which is electrically neutral. Atoms of various elements differ from each other because they have different numbers of … Continue reading →
What is science? The word has originated from the Latin word scientia, meaning knowledge. Wikipedia defines it as a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about nature and the universe. In an older and closely related meaning, “science” also refers to a body of knowledge itself, … Continue reading →
Every evening, it has become a routine for me to visit a local sports club, where number of senior citizens like me get together. After a brisk walk on the jogging track, we all settle down in deck chairs in a circle and chat for an hour or so. One of the commonest topic is … Continue reading →
During the days of British Raj, its officers loved to hunt wild animals in India’s jungles. Not every officer wanted to undergo hardships and face danger in such an endeavour. The maharajas ruling over smaller and larger states spread all over India, also liked to take up this activity in style. Such hunts were usually … Continue reading →
Moodabidri is a small town 37 km northeast of the city of Mangalore, in Karnataka state, India. Because of widely grown bamboo crop here in ancient days, this place got named as Moodabidri. During 14th–16th centuries period, this town emerged as a center of Jain (Jainism is one of the popular religions of India) religion, … Continue reading →
Mr. Franek Herzog, a 82 year old Polish immigrant to United states and living in Hebron, Connecticut, is planning a visit to Orchard Lake in Michigan in the first week of August. He would be travelling there for a two-day reunion with a group of 18 other Polish war survivors from the second world war. … Continue reading →
Indian politicians have recently taken to new social media like Facebook and twitter in a big way as a medium through which they can contact their followers. The prime minister and other central ministers regularly tweet to the people and so also state level politicians. There is nothing wrong in this and on the contrary, … Continue reading →
I am aware that for most of the feminine readers of my blog, subject matter of this post is not likely to be very palatable, yet I have found it so interesting that I would request them to suppress their natural aversion and continue reading it because the facts are absolutely amusing. I am writing … Continue reading →
Tuesday My flight to Bhuj from Mumbai is delayed by at least half an hour. This means that I am waiting at this terminal 1B of Mumbai’s domestic airport, for almost 4 hours. Earlier I had left my home town Pune around 8.30 in the morning. For commuting to Mumbai, I had taken a state … Continue reading →
I live in one of those high rise condominiums on this emerald island. I believe, that most of the inhabitants of this city state, also live like me. Very few people like those, who are super rich or who are top government officials, perhaps manage to have their own house or a bungalow. The condominiums, … Continue reading →
India and Pakistan share an international boundary stretching over 3000 Km length. Most of this border is well defined, except for Kashmir and a small part of the border, where it joins the Arabian sea. This small part of the border, which is only 96 Km long has been a long dispute between India and … Continue reading →
Frankly, I was quite fascinated by this theory of string of pearls, when I first read about it. It is not a very new hypothesis and was originally proposed by Mr.Christopher J. Pehrson, author of the book “String of Pearls: Meeting the challenge of china’s rising power across the Asian littoral”. In this book, Mr. … Continue reading →
When the ideas about globalization started circulating around the world for the first time, many people in the West, took a very simplistic view. According to them, what globalization really meant was that the Westerners, with their well proven innovative minds, would come out with new products and services, which would be produced or provided … Continue reading →
Surprise me
In the 1970-1980 decade, all audio-video media in India, were exclusively owned by the Government of India. Leaving aside 'Vividh Bharati' radio station, which broadcast mostly Bollywood films music, All India Radio and DoorDarshan TV channel used to broadcast every day and night, the programmes produced by Delhi mandarins all the time. These programmes were tedious and ill-famous for their irksome and boring content. Since there was no other alternative, people were forced to watch only those wretched programmes. The Bangladesh war was then just over and some cultural exchanges were taking place between India and that new born country. As a part of that cultural exchange, a famous Bangladeshi singer, Runa Laila, had then visited India. (more…)
On the east coast of India it was a clear morning on Friday, 10th of February. Just after 10.10 AM, the Long Range Tracking Radars near Puri city on Orissa coast, picked up a warning of a hostile missile, coming in to attack. (more…)
Some of the programmes, broadcast on the Discovery TV channel, are my all time favourites. One such programmes is called 'American Hot Rod'. This programme shows the restoration work on the old cars by a California car shop located in a place called La Habre and owned by one Boyd Coddington. The programmes usually revolves around Boyd, his team and a car being restored at that time. This programme, first shown in 2004-2005 is still shown and I make it a point to see it again and again. (more…)
The greatest Maratha General, Baji Rao Peshava, had once commented that if you want to bring down a tree, cutting the branches is not of much use. What he advocated was striking the roots. “Strike, strike at the root and the branches will fall off themselves.” The verdict given by the Supreme Court of India, on 2nd February 2012, reminds me very much of this saying. (more…)
Old is Gold
New Delhi’s Nehru Place Electronics Market blacklisted by US
‘Chandani Chouk Electronics market’ of 1960's and 70's has now shifted to Nehru Place in New Delhi. Out of some 10000 shops around this place, 3000 shops are dealing in electronics and specially computers, phones and their parts. This Nehru Place market has now the dubious distinction of receiving a new certificate of commemoration.(?) A US Government department known as U.S Trade Representative (USTR) has recently published on 20th December 2012, a world wide list of markets that have been blacklisted for trading in highest number of pirated goods. This list is being called as ‘ Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets,December 20, 2011′. This list includes, along with 14 other ill famous markets, Nehru Place electronics market also. The other markets in this list are Bahia Market (Guayaquil, Ecuador), China Small Commodities Market (Yiwu, China), Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Harco Glodok (Jakarta, Indonesia), La Salada (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Lo Wu Commercial Center (Shenzhen, China), PC Malls (China), Petrivka Market (Kyiv, Ukraine), Quiapo Shopping District (Manila, Philippines), Red Zones (Thailand), San Andresitos (Colombia), Silk Market (Beijing, China), Tepito (Mexico City), Urdu Bazaars (Pakistan). USTR report about Nehru Place electronic market says that “ Like many other markets in all other major cities of India, Nehru Place market is ill famous for trading in pirated computer software, movies and music media, and smuggled or illegally procured electronics items”. Read More
India’s ancient gateway to central Asia
Karakoram Pass lies exactly on the China-India border, just north of Aksaichin area, illegally grabbed by China in an military invasion carried out by her in 1962. The saddle shaped pass is at a height of 18172 feet and is 148 feet wide. This is the reason for which, this pass is called as the highest pass on any trade route in the world. What is surprising is the fact that in spite of being at such a height, it never snows heavily in this pass, even though extremely biting and piercing cold winds and snow blizzards are always experienced . The entire region in the vicinity of Karakoram pass is totally barren, bleak, desolate and devoid of any vegetation or grass any time of the year. Younghusband further describes the Karakoram scenario as
“ It is a wonder that mountains at so great an altitude above sea-level and forming, as they do, a watershed between India and Turkistan, shall have no signs of snow upon them. The only reason I can think of to account for it, is that behind this range and between it and the ocean, from which the rain comes, are other far more lofty mountains which intercept the moisture and as there are no deep trough like valleys in which the little snow that does fall would collect and be present in form of the glaciers, but only little shallow valleys where the snow would lie, where it fell in thin coating over the surface of mountain and soon melt under the rays of Sun.” Read more
Zubeida’s crashed airplane
I always consider, noted film maker Shyam Benegal’s 2001 masterpiece, ‘Zubeidaa’ as one of his best creations ever. The film has a powerful story, excellent production values and above all, sterling, once in a life time, performance of actress Karishma Kapoor, who has acted the principal role of ‘Zubaidaa.’ Many may think that this film story is an imaginary story or a work of fiction. But this may not be true. There was a real life Zubeida, and who did marry a Maharaja.
Real life Zubeida was very beautiful and was born into a Muslim family connected with the films. She always aspired to become an actress. However, her domineering father got her married into an unhappy marriage, where she had a son. After partition of India, the marriage fell through and Zubeida was divorced. She met Maharaja Hanuvant Singh of Jodhpur, who was a dashing man in his twenties and a keen horseman, hunter, pilot, and amateur magician. It is needless to say that being a Maharaja of the largest state in British India, he was stinking rich also. Read more
Visiting Bali
The flight to Bali is crowded with people from all corners of the world. I try to communicate with a German couple, sitting next to me. The attempt is largely unsuccessful as their knowledge of English and my knowledge of Deutsch are more or less at the same level. After finding out that I am from India, they immediately draw the conclusion that I must be a computer expert.
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