Chetan Bhagat

writes the Time 100 for Dhoni here

I take exception to this statement

Dhoni is now universally acknowledged as India's best captain ever. 

Really? Isn't that too much of a stretch! Anyway

Did you know

that a large percentage of tax money is spent this way.

Congress is awesome or what and still every educated indian will vote for Congress. The irony!

I think voting for Congress is a way to make you feel superior, I care for the secular freedom and not for economic freedom which isn't as cool. Unfortunately, the lack of economic freedom makes the lives of the poor so worse that its not worth. but what the hell the educated middle calss have their misguided hyposcrisy of secular governent. They are happy. Congress gets to ruin India the way they have always done. isn't that sweet for everybody. Oh sorry we forgot to poor guy on the street. Well, who care s/he is always screwed!

Salil does it again

In his piece on the moralists of India against corruption in his piece Standards for moralists - Columns. The piece orchestrates some of own opinions on Team Anna.

How idiotic are these guys

So a car accidnt happens, the parents are not informed of their child's death because they are heart patients. Now we ahve a news article that is plublished clealry writing that. I mean what if the parents browse the net and see this news? I am amazed!

Isn't the author naive to expect

Congress will learn from the past. 

A nice piece highlighting the misplaced priorities of congress with regards to Indian growth

Some excerpts

The chaos and incoherence in government and society alike is the product of a profoundly misguided vision, one that visits and revisits India every now and then. The first phase of Indira Gandhi’s ascendancy, from 1969 to 1974, was marked with similar developments— socialist rhetoric, nationalization and, yes, anti-corruption movements. Later, in 1980, she effected a course correction. Little, it seems, has been learnt from that experience. From a Marxian vantage, a farce has been re-enacted.  

Jay walking

Got a ticket for Jay walking. Pretty painful. Anyway!

Not as fashoinable

to state your opinions on the farm produce rotting compared to elegant crap you can write on the "La Tomatino" festival. People will have huge discussions on produce (tomatoes) being wasted for other people`s fun, but I don`t see simialr discussion when lack of basic transportation and storage facilities result in much larger losses. Well, thats the Indian elite for you. 

Can you see the irony here?

USA just recently botched an attempt allegedly by Iran's army to attack Saudi Ambassador. so, now it wants to punish Iran. On the other hand, USA works with (and funds!) Pakistan a country known to have funded and trained people that have attacked Indian civilians. But, USA never even considers putting sanctions. This is just unfortunate that we have a super power that is so obviously and blatantly self-serving!

My swimming

My swimming practice is going pretty well. Today i swam 400m. A long distance by my standard. I hope my swimming  progresses further.

Short hop

My very short trip to meet my wife (sounds weird i know) went well. It is not very easy being in a long distance relationship. But somehow we are hanging on! Hoping for some mote patience and strength before we finally start living together.

As life moves on

With every struggle in life you learn a little bit about yourself and people around you. it makes me happy and sad at the sametime. Happy, that there is progress being amde with every passing moment. Sad, because life will always be a work in progress and there will many many struggles.

What can we do.. except being strong to face the struggles.

I have had it with this bullshit surrounding Telangana!

Yes, you read it right. 

If you have grievances with the current system i.e. the state of Andhra Pradesh. Fine, it is natural that you request the separation. Now, on what basis is this request being made? There might be a mis-allocation of water resources to Telanga probably, I am not an expert. But what were the 110 or so MLAs elected from this region doing until today. The water decisions did not happen today. In fact very little of the water allocation decisions were made in the recent decade! For 50 years the people and their representatives were silent about this and now suddenly you remember that Telangana does not get water. Please folks give me a break. The entire Telangana movement is clearly motivated with tthe objective of ensuring that the money from the cash cow that is Hyderabad stays within the Telangana and not distributes across AP. So, any discussion of Telanga without discussing what will happen to Hyderbad is meaningless. Also, to say it is in Telangana so we will get it is bullshit!

Lets discuss an example. Two friends pool in their resources (land and money). So, they build the factory in one person's land because it is barren and suits factory while the other person`s land is suitable for agriculture. The factory is run with money from the agricultural land in its initial days. so, the entire capital from the agriculture went into the development of the factory until it got stabilised. Now, after the factory starts making money (which is many order of times generated by agriculture on the fertile land), if the friend (on whose land the factory is built) claims the factory is in my land, so its all mine tell me how should the other guy respond. This is exactly how Telangana agitators are behaving. After all the investments made in Hyderabad (using AP state money) have succeeded (airport, IT industires, pharmacy industries, roads to name a few) the people of Telangana  want a separate state. Sure, you can have it .. if you pay up for all the loss to rest of the state for taking away the city that was bult using money from the whole of AP. It is not enough to allow us (so merciful!) to use Hyderbad until we develop a state capital. There needs to be a payment of the opportunity cost for remainder of the state (AP-Telangana). Because, if we were aware that you will take away Telangana (at your whim and fancy!), we would have invested money on other cities in AP instead of putting all our money in Hyderabad (which we did thinking we were all one). So, until a equivalent payment to cover the loss for the rest of the state is not suggested there is no reason why the rest of AP should let go of Hyderabad. It is as simple as that. The amount should also include inflation and increase in investments made at the same rate as the growth of Hyderbad. 

In fact, if Hyderabad was the capital of Telangana as oppossed to AP its current situation would have been different.

This is talking in purely monetary terms, neglecting the so many hudreds of thousands of people from rest of AP who have made Telangana their home. These people invested their mind and captial in devveloping Hyderabad into what it is now. How can this be ignored!

Anyway.. as KCR and Kodandaram run this stupid circus I am forced to watch it in pain!