Naveen Eluru

Monk

2012-02-01T00:09:00.001-06:00

Just completed watching the TV show "Monk". I watched all 8 seasons. It was awesome! I loved Adrin Monk's character. I usually hate detectives, as most of them are brash and over smart folks. But, I found Adrian Monk endearing with all his quirks. It was lots of fun!

Now its time I find another TV series to watch!

One of those discussions

2012-01-30T16:39:00.001-06:00

I am a non-vegetarian. It is no secret. My wife is a vegetarian. So, we end up disucssing about the pros and cons of being either. She came across a nice piece on vegetarianism. I will disucss this here.

Most vegetaarians claim that they are vegetarian becasue they are not harming life. i always had an issue with this. These vegetarians are eating plants which is life and as far as I am concerned killing life. Non-vegetarians eat meat grown explicitly for consumption and so do vegetarians except the plants do not move. So, I always wondered whether there is a true vegetrian way of life. This brings me back to the discussion with my wife and the piece she read. Yes, you can be truly vegetarian, if you eat plant food that is discarded (for the lack of a better word) from the plants. So, you eat fruits that have fallen down from trees then that is not harming any life form. So then you are being a true vegetarian. When you grow paddy, at harvest time the plant dies and after that you use your paddy you are not killing the plant for food. So, this for me makes sense. Of course, it is pretty damn hard.

The article does mention that there is a natural gradation in life and animals have more choices than plants and hence killing them is "worse" than eating plants. So, if there is a scale, eating plants is better than animals. This seems dicey and a matter of opinion to me. But the concept of being a true vegetarian rings true to me. So, thought i would share this!

Feel free to disagree with me (I didn't have to say that, Did I?)

What more can you do?

2012-01-22T22:37:00.001-06:00

You work hard. Try to be patient. Ignore the criticism and pessimism. Look for the positives even in moments of despair. Motivate yourself from these low points. Then start all over again. You can only try. I tried for a really realy long time. What do I have to show for this efforts at building a frutiful bond. ZILCH. Yes, thats where it is now and probably forever. Sometimes you just accept that not everybody will appreciate what you do (even if it is suppossed be pretty obvious). Probably today is one of those days. I just hope I am strong enough to accept it and move on.

Some good news

2012-01-18T21:07:00.001-06:00

Got a paper accepted for publication. Why is it important? Well the importance of this event is based on people who are not part of it (I know its usually the other way, but well, who said I will be a usual guy). Pretty thrilled about this. The counting begins (I really hope so!)

So well put

2012-01-18T21:04:00.001-06:00

I am not an admirer of Ayn Rand, the high priestess of unrestrained individualism and laissez faire economics (Alan Greenspan was a chela). But I am tempted to quote her on our neta-babu raj. “When you know that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing, when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods but in favours, when you see that men get rich more easily by graft rather than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them but protect them against you, you know that your society is doomed.” What could be the tipping point for a crisis? BoP? Fisc? Inflation? Infrastructure?

Full piece here by Rajwade.

Well, its been that sort of a day, where i just want to crib. anyway, you cant blame me, its been so bad back home for the last 4-5 years!I hope it ends!

Only Salil can put it so nicely

2012-01-18T20:52:00.001-06:00

Given such a bleak picture, one would think that Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, the rector of the Darul Uloom Deoband, would know his chief priority: to ask the government to implement the Sachar report, identify the root causes and fix those, instead of tinkering at the margins. But Nomani seems to have a more pressing concern: keeping Salman Rushdie out of the Jaipur Literature Festival. With politicians offering questionable placebos which have expired use-by dates, and clerics misdiagnosing the disease, is it any wonder that the patient’s condition remains grave?
In Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Iff tells Haroun how certain things are P2C2E, (process-too-complicated-to-explain). But this process is simple: politicians and clerics gain by keeping the population uninformed. They fight chimeric battles and offer illusory benefits to Muslims, who want education and jobs. Instead they get quotas, and not skills, with the added bonus: to protest Rushdie.
In case there are disturbances after prayers at the mosque tomorrow in Jaipur or elsewhere, the responsibility will rest with the clerics, the politicians, and the rioters, not the writers.Ah, magic realism.

Full piece here

How Indian Muslim population has been maintained at a "certian" level through religious freedom - freedom that can be used - unless Congress deems its useful. Salman Rusdie is an Indian and for him to ravel to India it is hard now. All the psuedo intellectuals that do not recognize the role of the self-serving Congress governement at the helm for more than 60 years, please go check for some sense in your nearby grocery store. !

A great piece

2012-01-16T12:03:00.001-06:00

comparing what has changed in this Indian team here!

You have to read this part.. Exactly my feelings, of course so masterfully written!

I’ve missed the Ganguly-inspired ballsiness. I’ve missed the ‘fuck you mode’ that John Wright asked the team to adopt during the 2003 World Cup. I’ve missed the unshakable belief that helped us come back in Headingley, 2002 and Durban, 2010. I’ve missed the spirit that won us the Mohali Test in 2010.
I’ve missed Laxman’s steely side. I’ve missed Tendulkar avatar that shelves shots. I’ve missed Dravid’s over-my-dead-body efforts on a spiked pitch. I have missed the team’s ability to counterpunch. I have missed Sehwag. Which senior player is going to reassure Umesh Yadav with ‘We’ll win in Adelaide’? Does anyone in this team even believe we have a chance?
And herein lies my anguish. This team is making me lose hope in turnarounds, they’re whimpering from one game to another, they’re acting like hesitant, shy schoolboys and walking into well-laid traps. They are showing no inkling to think out of the box. And they are bizarrely surrendering meekly rather than going down swinging. It’s a team I’m not used to. It’s a team that has forgotten how to respond. It’s a team that’s lost its bearings.
I don’t care which eleven Indian players walk out at Adelaide. I don’t even want to suggest who to drop and who to retain. Losing 4-0 isn’t the end of the world (after all, we’ve been there a few months ago). I am not paying any attention to all the speculation about impending retirements.
All I ask for is a sign. All I ask for is more of what Umesh did on the second day at Perth, more of what Kohli did on the third. All I ask for is any sign that tells me that this team is willing to reverse the tide, a sign that shows me that that these players haven’t forgotten the art of fighting the odds, a sign that reassures me that the wheels haven’t completely come off at the end of an ardous journey that began – thanks to many of the same players – a little over a decade ago.

Guha at its usual best

2012-01-12T12:57:00.001-06:00

On our PM

These successive failures signal a character trait that one does not usually associate with upright and intelligent individuals -namely, a rather desperate desire to cling to office, at whatever cost to one's reputation, one's party, and one's nation.

India and its economics (or the lack thereof)

2012-01-10T03:56:00.001-06:00

A fabulous piece on what needs to be done in India by TN Ninan (link Anantha Nageswaran)

The essence of the reform programme of 1991 was to attack this approach to policy-making, to reduce if not remove the distortions. Twenty years later, however, the ancien regime is back with a vengeance — it was in the name of garibi hatao earlier, now it is in the name of the aam aadmi.
Why rake all this up now, at the start of 2012? Because the hyper-ventilating leaders of an anti-corruption movement who roiled the waters for most of 2011 have not thought it necessary to say one word about how it is government-induced market distortions that lie at the root of corruption in so many sectors, and how reforms of the 1991 variety might provide solutions — indeed, better and more lasting solutions than sending Lok Pal hounds after every babu who yields to temptation. Not just Anna Hazare and his cohorts, most ordinary people can now see that no political party really wants a Lok Pal. But shouldn’t it be equally obvious that no political party wants reform either — because at the Centre, in the states, in panchayats, politicians of every party hue are the direct or indirect beneficiaries of government-induced market distortions that bring about market failure, and opportunity for scamsters?

Well, if it will be done is a different proposition altogether!

Cricket

2012-01-06T10:19:00.001-06:00

Well, we lost 6 in a row. I mean it was pretty expected after the first innings disaster. At least, all the batsman seem to have clicked by now. This should be good if we can atleast win one match in the series! Tendulkar is playing very well. I haven't seen him play so well in the last 2-3 years. He is positive and bringing his A game. Sure he scored runs in the last 3-4 years but he started of in a conservative manner. This australia series he is palying positively except when he gets into his "century" mode. I mean the way he got out to Clarke yesterday clearly shows how much the 100 is playing on his mind. It is unfortunate that he has become a victim of meaningless stats. I hope for his sake and team Indias sake he gets it as soon as possible because, without that stat on his back, he might win games for India.

Also, its time Sehwag stood up in the series!

2011 - Year in Review

2012-01-03T10:54:00.001-06:00

Well, well, well another year comes to an end. This was a year of many firsts for me. My first class as a Professor, my first grant success, my first marriage (:P), and so on.

After many years I have spent majority of time in a city other than Austin this year. My move to Montreal was complete and I began teaching in January. It was only a small class whcih made it easier for me to handle the workload, but overall it went ok. The semester flew by with my course and some grant writing! I cant remember anything else that I did during the semester. I went for a trip to Burlington. It was al right to get away.

The year did include a lot of travel: multiple trips to Austin, 2-3 trips to Houston, two trips to India, trip to Yellowstone (from Portland), trip to Denver, and trip to Jefferson (TX).

The trips to India were hectic but very nice. I spent a lot of time with family (of course after august the size grew by 1). Slowly but surely, i am making progress in my relationships in the family. It feels good that way. The wedding was in Goa. The ceremony and the many proceddings went off smoothly. Considering the differences in our backgrounds I was quite pleased it went so smoothly. The marriage hall and surroundings were pleasant. Many of my friends did make it to Goa. It was great to spend sometime with my friends. Then the travel began, Goa-Hyd-Nandigama-Hyd-Bombay. It was hectic but it was fun to go around the country meeting family and friends.

Once we were back from Bombay we went to Denver. It was a fun trip with both of us sick :). The locales were wonderful and I did squeeze in a lot in terms of sightseeing! After that the grind began. My first semester with two courses. Boy was it busy or what! It was very hard managing two courses (one of them over 100 students). Not to mention the many grant applications and other academic work that I had to do! There were many times where I felt pretty low teaching the large class. It felt I was not doing a good job of making the material interesting. But, I continued on hoping that even if 20 students are motivated I need to do justice to their interest and the moment I forgot about the results and focussed on the process of teaching it felt so much nicer for me. There were students who complained and probably hated my style, but there were a few who liked it. This gave me the motivation to continue further. For sure, i do enjoy teaching. I hope it will remain special all my life! The semester was so hectic i hardly got time for anything else but work (which did not include writing papers :(). The weekends were usually spent at home eating pizza, sleeping and preparing classes!

Then as soon as the semester ended I flew to austin. I was ready for downtime and boy did I have a great holiday of doing nothing but chatting, cooking and driving here and there! It was so relaxing, i still can't believe it. Now very soon I will have start work again. I am not ready for it for sure :P

On the physical fitness side, this year was ok. I am still trying to lose my excess pounds from the India trips. It looks like the process will go on for 6 more months or so! I picked up swimming and it went well. i have reached a stage where I can proclaim "I SWIM" without feeling bad:P. Hopefully over the next year or two I will start picking up skiing.

On the sports front, it was a mixed year. India won the World Cup. Boy it was awesome. I was watching the final.. feeling desperate for sometime and then feeling great again. It was a wait for nearly 20 years for me and it was worth it. It was great that Tendulkar now has a world cup. Then the england tour was a disaster. On the other sport front, Federer had a pretty bad year, losing from matchpoint situations. But it does not bother me that much nowadays. Well I have learned to let go!

On the friends front, there were marriages of other good friends too this year. Then there will be many more in the next year. I am looking forward to those. Will attend one for sure. One of my close friends has a son now. Well its surreal to say the least. But pretty happy for him! I wish everybody will have a great 2012 too. It looks like more kids might be on the way! Man I am getting old or what!

On the family side, things have been al right, especially after the marriage I was worried, but things could not hace been better. I am so happy things turned out so good. It was nice to see the families genuinely enjoy spending time with us! It was fun and great! Now that the Eluru family has increased in size by one more (and many more relatives) it is fun keeping in touch with all of them.

On the "professional side", well this is something I dont try hard enough. I am not good at sweet talking or even talking for that matter. Had to endure some really rude meetings (some of them in French!). But it does allow me to realize what I like and help me direct my energies appropriately.

On the "spiritual side", well I have been able to learn a lot about myself, my weaknesses etc. due to the many conversations and fights. But they were very helpful and allow me to better myself.

There is one thing that bothers me a little off late, but there is not much I can do about it except hope thinbgs will become better. Well, you can't ask for everything to be perfect in life anyway I guess!

Still 2011 has been a great year and hope the future will continue to be as generous towards me, my family and friends!

2012

2012-01-03T10:18:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year to everybody out there.

It has been a wonderful little vacation over the last couple of weeks. It was fun with some travel, some socializing and mostly great times! I have never expected it to be such smooth sailing especially nwoing our history :P. Well, i guess marriage does mellow people :)

Anyway, my year end summary post is still due! (Not that anybody is waiting for it!)

I think

2011-12-21T16:24:00.001-06:00

talent should be the primary criterion for selecting a coach. If the coach can communicate then whether s/he is bilingual does not matter. To impose a langauage as prerequisite is flawed and will result in a team that will be inferior to a team developed without such restrictions. Same is the case with most of the research conducted in Quebec agencies. In their pursuit of imposing French langauge the provincial organizations settle for less. Is it good for the province, well ask that question yourself!

A nice

2011-12-15T16:43:00.001-06:00

generational tumult many cricket fans can appreciate

For me Azhar was it for a long time and then it happenned and cricket seemed irrelevant. Ok for a small time. But then slowly i mended my broken heart and got back to watching cricket. Sachin in the mean time went from strength to strength oftne alone. Then Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly along with Kumble emerged. We were getting there. Then enters Sehwag and rest as they say is history. I fall back in love with cricket, pure love mind you. But once these giants retire it will be hard to watch cricket with thge same gusto or probably someone else will come by!

Anyway.

People opposing Fdi in retail plz read this

2011-12-14T13:44:00.001-06:00

Views | Why opposition to opening up retail is elitist - Views

Correction

2011-12-11T01:14:00.001-06:00

Two days of corrections! Man was it long or what. 110 papers.

One thing I realized is I hate giving an easy paper. I just hope I can set papers that are fun to correct.

Lets see how that goes!

Monga says it so well

2011-12-08T14:24:00.001-06:00

here!

What separates Virender Sehwag from everyone else is that he plays each ball on its merit, and usually thinks each ball merits a boundary. That is why it will be no surprise if he crosses the 200-run mark in ODIs again

I watched the highlights; Some of the shots he played were unbelievable, especially the ones between thirdman and cover where he was slicing the ball at the last moment from in front of the stumps. These are incredibly hard shots to play! The risk involved is so high that statistically speaking he shouldn't be making such high scores! That is what makes him a genius! Its a privlige to watch such innings!

Tripathi puts it so well

2011-12-07T19:30:00.001-06:00

here!

India briefly flirted with such a system during the emergency (1975-1977). Mark Tully was the India correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corp. at that time. Dev Anand, who died on Sunday, was then in his early 50s, and Tully interviewed him because he was known to have strong political views. Tully asked Anand what he thought about the country’s political situation. Anand replied: “I deplore it in all its aspects.” Tully paused his recorder and asked Anand if he wished to continue—few people dared to speak out against Indira Gandhi in those days. Anand replied: “You asked me a question. I gave you an answer. What you do with it is up to you.”
In that dark period, people like Anand kept the flame of freedom alive, reminding us that India’s greatness lay in its democracy: there was never “too much” of it. China or Malaysia jails outspoken people like Anand. India treasures them, honours them, and like in Anand’s case, mourns them. The Facebook page critical of Sonia Gandhi may be stupid and revolting. But trying to get companies to remove it and to look out for other “offensive” or “insulting” materials is unacceptable.

Will sibal get it?

2011-12-07T07:15:00.001-06:00

Views | Kapil Sibal vs the internet - Views

Well, with the stupid decisions he has taken in the recent years i don't expect him to!

Please do read this

2011-12-06T21:56:00.001-06:00

if you want to learn about FDI in retail

What every political party in India is doing is ridiculous and downright bad for India!

Destructive al right

2011-12-05T11:12:00.001-06:00

Piece by nageswaran.
Self-destructive

Well put sir.

2011-12-05T11:05:00.001-06:00

Views | Retail FDI: Evenly distributed shame - Views

When will the darker times in terms of policy making end!

Some real honest opinions from Mukul on The hundredth Hundred

2011-12-03T08:20:00.001-06:00

I believe that Tendulkar has a substantial claim to being considered the greatest Test and one-day batsman of his generation. This is a very large achievement with which he (and we) must be content. We don't need gild this lily with trashy "statistics". To use "a hundred hundreds" to winch Tendulkar up onto a pedestal is to disrespect the great players he has played alongside. Consider Jacques Kallis, who after 16 years at the top has a Test batting average higher than Tendulkar's. He also has 271 Test wickets to Tendulkar's 45, and 169 catches to Tendulkar's 110. If I was a determined South African fan looking for numbers to prove that my man was the best, I could legitimately argue that you would need to merge Sachin Tendulkar with Zaheer Khan to come up with Jacques Kallis. Zaheer, India's best strike bowler for years, has 273 wickets, barely more than Kallis. Do these numbers bear out the claim that Kallis is the more significant player? No they don't, because greatness in cricket can't always be boiled down to numbers - which Tendulkar's cheerleaders would do well to remember.
The most worrying thing of all is that the Little Master seems to have drunk his own KoolAid. For the last several innings he has looked weighed down by the pressure of this non-event. Someone should whisper in his ear that he is a great man, that this absurd quest is beneath him. If he does get a hundred the next time he plays a Test innings, he ought to see it as an oblique salute to Bradman, not an ersatz tribute to himself. There is no 100th hundred to be had: the whole, in this case, is less than the sum of its parts.

Full piece here

Nageswaran puts it so succintly

2011-11-28T19:23:00.001-06:00

In the final scenes of the Tamil film Anniyan, the hero reminds his audience in a stadium that the problem is not bad politicians, bad bureaucrats and bad leaders, but us. If the weakness of the rupee holds a mirror to inflation, if inflation holds a mirror to our governments’ budget deficits, if budget deficits hold a mirror to our politicians’ hunger for power, their behaviour holds a mirror to our ignorance, to our willingness to fall for gimmicks and free goods, and to the poor quality of our public discourse on these matters.
In the process, all of us are mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren. That is, we are borrowing their future for our present. So, who is responsible for the Indian rupee’s collapse against other world currencies? Is it the US? I do not think so. It is “us”.

(Emphasis mine). Full article here

Nice piece. .. But will things change

2011-11-28T07:46:00.001-06:00

Views | Shut up and look pretty - Views

Manmohan Singh please read this

2011-11-25T07:16:00.001-06:00

The anatomy of a stationary state - Views

Anybody who welcomes social interventions should see how the most well meaning plans distort the economy.

Anyway... I dream but somebody will listen..

Winter is here

2011-11-23T10:01:00.001-06:00

View from my office

The 1000m barrier

2011-11-22T12:54:00.001-06:00

Well today i broke this one. Pretty thrilled.

More on Apartheid

2011-11-20T12:15:00.001-06:00

From Wikipedia

The first of the "White Bans" occurred in 1971 when the Chairman of the Australian Cricketing Association, Don Bradman flew to South Africa to meet with the South African Prime Minister John Vorster. The Prime Minister had expected Bradman to allow the tour of the Australian cricket team to go ahead, but things became heated after Bradman asked why black sportsmen were not allowed to play cricket. Vorster stated that blacks were intellectually inferior and had no finesse for the game. Bradman, thinking this ignorant and repugnant, asked Vorster if he had heard of a man namedGarry Sobers. On his return to Australia, Bradman released a one sentence statement:
"We will not play them until they choose a team on a non-racist basis."
In South Africa, Vorster vented his anger publicly against Bradman, while the African National Congress rejoiced. This was the first time a predominantly white nation had taken the side of multiracial sport, producing an unsettling resonance that more "White" boycotts were coming. ^[88] Almost twenty years later, on his release from prison, Nelson Mandela asked a visiting Australian statesman if Donald Bradman, his childhood hero, was still alive.

Don Bradman, I doff my hat to you! I always only knew you were good at cricket but this puts you in an entirely different light!

Basil D'Oliveira

2011-11-20T12:01:00.001-06:00

Fighting very very high stakes Basil D'Oliveira played cricket. A quote from the man who passed away this week.

"This is a fairy tale come true. Six years ago I was playing on mudheaps. Now I have played for England and met the Queen; what more could I possibly ask?"

Oh, if you were wondering, Basil played 44 tests for England, and was the reason why South Africa was banned from cricket during the Apartheid.

I am so happy cricket is in my blood. It is such a rewarding exercise to follow a game which opens a window into such a huge spectrum of humanity.

Some sensible argues against smaller states

2011-11-16T19:26:00.001-06:00

Ourview | The more the merrier? - Views

Rahul Dravid

2011-11-16T09:02:00.001-06:00

Views | Dravid: The man and his credo - Views

750

2011-11-14T18:32:00.001-06:00

Yes.. That's how many meters i swam today. Not bad ha!
The progress from 200 to 750 in a matter of less than 2months. Makes me pretty happy. Its whole together another matter that that's the only progress i made.
Anyway..

Upa does take care of farmers

2011-11-13T19:31:00.001-06:00

Oh sorry i meant the rich people who categorize themselves as farmers.
The mystery of the boom in farm credit - Home

All the educated class please do continue to support the secular party.

How can you not love this guy

2011-11-07T11:05:00.001-06:00

Sewhag's statements

When Sehwag was told West Indies wanted to set 400, he said with scarcely disguised disdain, "We thought we would make a 1000 runs in the first innings. But to say and to do are two different things. Anyone can say what they want."

Full piece here

A sad day indeed

2011-11-03T16:59:00.001-05:00

based on the fate of the three Pakistani cricketers. Andrew Miller on the whole sordid affair and the aftermath

Some excerpts

As it is, there's only one way that these players will now be able to rebuild their lives, and that is to serve their time, and then sing like they've never sung before. Other players have already been implicated, and as the sport's rumour mill has been saying for years, the miscreants are not limited to Pakistan. If these men are one day to earn forgiveness in the eyes of their sport, they must be obliged to dismantle the lie they have been living - piece, by piece, by piece.

Chetan Bhagat

2011-10-31T21:51:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-31T21:31:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-25T19:15:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-24T21:20:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-20T16:18:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-13T15:31:00.001-05:00

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

Not as fashoinable

2011-10-12T19:42:00.001-05:00

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?

2011-10-12T19:31:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-12T18:43:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-10T23:20:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-02T15:22:00.002-05:00

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!

2011-10-02T15:22:00.001-05:00

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!

Pataudi

2011-09-24T20:26:00.001-05:00

I have never seen Pataudi play (I am not yet that old!). But I have heard lots of stories on how great a captain he was. Given India were a poor team during his time, his 7 victories are great. He is credited with making India play as a team. His death prompted many older cricket journalists to remember him fondly.

Here is Mukul Kesavan on the great man!

Oh btw. did I tell he was the first cricket rockstar. Must be hard for all of us people who grew up seeing Sachin (and Dhoni for the younger generation).

More quotes from his contemporaries!

Life and its mysterious ways

2011-09-15T14:48:00.003-05:00

I have gotten back to Montreal and have been fighting hard to make sure I do everything thats necessary! Its a big challenge. I enjoy the process, yet i feel its very stressful too. somedays it gets to you. Other days you feel you can survive. But at least I am doing my best. I guess thats what is important.

The stress needs outlets and I should realize it can be very harmful for me and people around me if I bottle it up. I hope to find a better outlet.

Dravid will play his last ODI

2011-09-15T14:48:00.002-05:00

This interview of Dravid is a testament to what he stands for and how he has played his cricket!

It was a pleasure watching him play cricket. I guess, it is characters like him that make following cricket a worthwhile passion!

After another

2011-09-07T16:12:00.001-05:00

attack the usual charade continues.

A piece that shows up Hazare

2011-08-31T13:32:00.001-05:00

for what he is! A sanctimonious man who thinks he know what everybody else needs. And, please he is no Gandhi! Sali Tripathi in his piece clearly demonstrates how the people who have followed him made a mistake.

Some excerpts.

The litany of complaints against voting is familiar. The presence of criminals on ballot paper, the powerlessness of a single vote, the persistence of vote banks, the power of money. But if all parties seem alike, nothing stops the citizen from canvassing for individuals, joining or forming parties, and even standing for elections, as an independent, if necessary. Gandhi was clear: be the change you wish to be.
That is hard work; requiring more effort than participating in candle vigils or wearing Gandhi caps. Politicians thumping desks and civil society thumping chests don’t make a revolution. Waiting for a hero is not the way. When Andrea lamented to Galileo in Bertolt Brecht’s eponymous play that there were no heroes, Galileo said: pity the nation in need of a hero.
And pity, too, the nation that can’t tell apart a real hero from a false one.

Lok Pal bill and my opinion of it

2011-08-29T11:47:00.001-05:00

My opinion on Lok Pal bill summarized succintly (full link here).

To preclude against this, the social capital that has been realized over the last fortnight should be channelized into nudging the government to push for greater disintermediation through economic reforms. Less intermediaries means that much less scope for corruption and similarly for discretionary powers at various levels of the food chain. More importantly, it will tackle corruption ex ante. This in contrast to the present approach, which mistakenly believes in tackling it after it has occurred. The trick is to prevent corruption, not police it.

another bullshit making decision on the part of the Congress

2011-08-04T02:33:00.001-05:00

I mean these morns continue to ruin everything!

Read this

Underlying this approach to public policy is a combination of good intentions and an arrogant belief that citizens cannot be trusted to make the right choices -- on how to educate their children or what food to buy for their families.

What gives Sonia gandhi the right to tell individuals what to do! When will these idiots realize people are more knowledgeable in doing what is right for them than the self-righteous morons who think they know what is right for everybody else! I would love to see these people live based on what other people think is right!

Full piece here

Lokpal bill

2011-08-04T02:28:00.001-05:00

All those people who want astrong lokpal bill would do well to read Hegde's remarks. the well respected Lokayukta of Karnataka clearly mentions how "checking corruption requires greater deregulation and better enforcement of existing laws and provisions" Not another strong governemnet run body like Lokpal with huge powers. The argument on corrpution cannot be morality based. It will never.. i mean never work. Only thing that will as the mint piece puts it elegantly is "It’s more a matter of reordering incentives and much less about morality"

Cricket

2011-08-02T05:25:00.001-05:00

Well, I see a lot of articles on how stupid the Indian Cricket has been. I agree. Now I start seeing articles that claim that Dhoni is a poor captain. Now, I do not know if Dhoni is as great a captain as Mark Taylor (the greatest captain I have seen.. People claim Mike Brearely is right up there, but I did not see him). But he does do somethings right. Well, to blame Dhoni for the lack of performance in a couple of series (yes Iwill give the WI series too) is ridiculous. Common guys give the poor guy some time. I agree the team was unfit (zaheer, yuvraj and tendulka (not match fit) when they landed in England and that's the responsibility of coach and training staff. We have bucket loads of those people and what are they doing? Dhoni was so successful all this time he was bound to fail. Stop complaining. Ok worst case we will lose this English series so what? Blame BCCI for not giving time for preparation. If at all you should blame anybody its only them. Please wait and reserve your opinions for at least one or two more series and give the guy a chance to redeem himself. Of course I will give it to you that his batting and keeping were very shoddy. That exposes the tail even more! anyway thats for another day.

I just hope Viru turns up fit and smashes the shit out of the English bowlers (well I can dream can't I :P)

Again and again

2011-07-14T00:00:00.001-05:00

the same thing repeats. Tomorrow, the PM and rest of his stupid followers will start celebrating the spirit of Mumbai and India and we will return to business as usua. Not one guy will ask why does this happen so often. Will anybody be held accountable. I should be draming to even think like that!

I am sad for the people who lost their lives in these blasts/ Some more lives lost because of grss incompetence from our intelligence and more importantly the higher ups who do not care about safety of the common people. I wish to fill Sonia Gandhi's and Congress leaders mouth with some shit, when they start taking about how they are the saviours of the common man! It is just disgraceful. For the first time in my life, I feel so close to being ashamed of being an Indian. People come and blast away and leave and no one ever gets caught. Never, I mean never is anybody caught!

What more can you say except feel despair!

A nice piece

2011-07-11T12:07:00.001-05:00

by Nageswaran on how Sainath gets it wrong! Personally, I respect Sainath a lot, but he does make outlandish claims and moreover he is focussing entirely on the wrong side of the problem. reforms are not causing the problems that he claims. Only reforms when well admistered will solve this issues. The oppossition to reforms (if followed) will keep the poor forever! That is not helpful. What is helpful is to undertake reforms so that everybody gets the fruits of the benefits.

Another piece of tgs regaridng how "UN-free market" Indians are here!

Oh btw.. I am back from Yellowstone and it was pretty awesome!

The PM might as well

2011-06-30T12:25:00.001-05:00

say this! Everybody who immensely respects the PM do read this! With time I feel more and more that the reforms introduce by Manmonhan Singh are more due to IMF sanctions than his own will! He does not have the political courage to do anything let alone implement such schemes. I feel India was fortunate to not have a Gandhi member active in politics and hence these schemes went through. Man the irony of India!

An article

2011-06-29T11:36:00.001-05:00

highlighting some really important aspects of Indian government that need to change by Amit Varma. Do read the entire piece!

The need for reforms

2011-06-23T11:53:00.001-05:00

and how the UPA is scuttling everything discussed here

Sri Lanka and its peaceful revolution

2011-06-23T11:39:00.001-05:00

Sri Lanka took aggressive military action and have ended the LTTE. The picture presented by the Sri Lankan Government was that it was mostly peaceful. Well, read this piece by Salil Tripathi and make up your minds

All I can say

2011-06-23T11:36:00.001-05:00

reading this piece is "You got to be kidding"

Unfortunately the truth is different. There are people around the world who take this seriously and will act as if they are words from God. Thats the world I guess!

There begins another

2011-06-16T12:28:00.001-05:00

chapter of election winning, economy sapping rural schemes from the UPA

Important excerpts below

Creating employment needs patience and our political system has very little of it. In the absence of patient work other “solutions” are tried—politically funded entitlements, affirmative action and plain throwing of money at the poor.
There is no reason for despair, if the intent truly is to improve rural lives. What is required is a heavy dose of investment in education and infrastructure. The problem is that results of such investment cannot be reaped in a single electoral cycle. Hence the short cuts. NRLM is a good example of that thinking.

Congress party and its machinery is adept at creating plans that reap benefits in a single election cycle. See Andhra Pradesh for example or even India for that matter. Again they prove to be awesome!

Another piece of advise

2011-06-13T13:50:00.001-05:00

for the morons who lead the National Advisory Council (NAC).

Some Excerpts!

Farmer agitations across the country have shown us that pushing people off their land is no way to acquire land for industry. The most sensible solution is to offer farmers market prices for their land and offer them a share in future cash flows from that land through annuities (or some similar option). A land market also has the added advantage of offering farmers a way out of farm work, in case it makes economic sense to them. The NAC checklist will ensure that a government authority rather than the farmers will decide whether to sell or not.

Will any of this really matter?

2011-06-10T11:29:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, the crisis in the Congress is structural. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi seem to be wilfully oblivious to the responsibilities that come with power; the prime minister thinks silence is a substitute for duty. Some of its smart ministers are too arrogantly clever by half to project any credibility. A large section of the party is too submissive to ask the nasty questions that should be asked of the leadership. And those who take up the cudgels of public argument have no sense of proportion or judgement about what to say, when. What is it about the Congress party that repeatedly produces an intellectual culture that turns intelligent people into self-destructive political animals? It has performed the miracle of turning a moment of great hope for India into a moment of political despair.

Full link here

Over the course of a wedding in Delhi, I got myself into a strongly worded conversation with some friends (I met for the first time, I know, I am crazy!) regarding the state of politics in India. Especially with regards to the state of politics in Delhi and the rule of the so called secular party. Over the last two months, the congress part and its government has descended into a level I thought were not possible (even for the Congress). The handling of Baba Ramdev (a joker no doubt) itself is a testimony to the idiocy that prevails in Congress and its ministers. To offer a red carpet to a Godman and then arrest him at midnight, not to mention label him as RSS in a matter of two days is funny, incredibly stupid and worrisome! Its just unfortunate. Of course, any country in a democracy gets the government it deserves. Indians do not have the spine to stand up against what is wrong. I am not asking people to fight here. I am just asking people to vote. I am sick and tired of hearing that there is no credble alternative. Anything can be better than this congress rule. I mean if you generate a random number and make decisons on government policy, it will be better than this! I only wish it were a computer generated code that runs the country as oppossed to the distinguished PhD that we have as a PM.

Mark my words, the moment Rahul Gandhi will step in as the PM cadidate everybody will forget all thats bad with the current congress and vote him to power. Its not a matter of if it will happen, its only a matter of when. Long live the Queen and her sons!

One more French Open Final

2011-06-03T15:02:00.001-05:00

There is something with me, Tennis and Austin :)

Well, one more time Federer will play Nadal in the Final. Lets see how things go!

Excited and looking forward to it!

It had to happen

2011-05-26T12:50:00.001-05:00

After a long time, I was reminded of the past. I was asked the questions I was uncomfortable with. I had no answers for sure. I felt guilty like I always did in the past. . It was something that will remain with me forever. I just hope things work out for the people I dissappointed.

To every pro-secular person

2011-05-14T03:28:00.001-05:00

in India please, I urge you, please read this piece before you start saying BJP is not secular.

IPL

2011-04-13T18:15:00.001-05:00

Call it a cash making cricket destroying match machine. But all is forgiven when you see the efforts of unknown cricketers getting notice for what they do at IPL. Today it was Paul Valthaty. He played a great innings and man was he happy! He might never play anything like this. But well it does not matter. Nobody can take away what he had done today!

The debate

2011-04-13T10:50:00.001-05:00

Well everybody is writing, talking, fighting, tweeting, blogging, facebooking and whatever it might be thats the latest fad about Anna Hazare's fast.

There are people who belive that holding the goivernment ransom by fasting is wrong. Probably it is, but there isn't a better way. So let it go on

There are people who argue that the bill is draconian and will lead to a group of vested interestes getting hold of it just as today the political process is subverted. Probably, but well yuou can't not try!

Overall, its a tough call to take sides and I am sceptical of what will happen. I don't feel all that rgeat about the bill and its implications.

I find this piece by Niranjan Rajadakhsya a much more elgenat solution. Please go on with the Lok Pal bill but ensure that economic reforms go on so that every little guy does not have to go to a big guy to get things done (thats when corruption begins). Yes it is a slow painful process, not as "fame providing" or liberating as the outburst on corruption but probably more effective. Until we realize this is an option like (anantha Nageswaran mentions here) we will not make great progress.

Well thats just me !

Dileep

2011-04-11T08:02:00.001-05:00

hits the nail on its head here!

Some excerpts

Two decades from now, you can expect a similar treatise from a middle-aged Indian. Only, this one will be called How Dhoni Ruined Everything. One fluid swing of the bat, the ball soaring into Mumbai's night and a foothold on cricket's highest peak. You can only go downhill from there.

What else can I say!

Sometimes all you

2011-04-10T21:04:00.001-05:00

can say is there isn't enough justice in this world. Read this piece and you might agree with me

The winning moments and later

2011-04-03T09:24:00.001-05:00

As I watch the celebrations again and again, it makes you realize this is something special, really special!

Poetic Justice

2011-04-02T14:34:00.001-05:00

1992 was the year I was initiated into cricket seriously. I watched cricket before that, but 1992 world cupm was when I became a serious follower of cricket. I was 10 at that point. The world cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. I remember getting up at 3AM with my dad and watching the India matches. I was still learning about cricket. i still remember the India pakistan match. We were winning comfortably, and then there was the Javed frog jump mocking More. Well, More had the last laugh. I also remember a great fighting inning by Azhar against Australia and we ended up losing by a couple of runs. Then came 1996 world cup in India. India were one of the favorites. I was expecting India to win or rather cheering passionately for an Indian win. We reached the QF. We defeated Pakistan in a match where Jadeja flayed Waqar in Bangalore. And then the SF was with Sri Lanka. We were humiliated. A series of miscalculations by our team that resulted in tears for me. That was when I realized what cricket means to me. Slowly, but surely I was becoming really passionate about the game. I did not have too much ability to play the game, but analysis, statistics and history of the game were things I loved. So, I continued learning about the game and soon 1999 came around. We had a disasterous world cup in England. It was after 1999 world cup that Ganguly started leading Team India. In his own style mind you. We went into the 2003 World Cup in bad form losing to New Zealand. But then Zaheer, Srinath and Nehra had a great tournament in South Africa and we made it to the finals (of course we only had to beat kenya in the S/F, not our mistake is it!). Then a giant screen viewing experience was arranged in IITM and after a drubbing by Ponting and Co. the dream of world cup win remained elusive. Then, we seemed very well prepared for the 2007 version in West Indies. Alas, it was one of the worst tournaments. We were eliminated in the prelimniary rounds. So, one day legends like Dravid and Ganguly never won a world cup. Of all the one day legends Sachin remained continuing his quest for the elusive cup. Then came 2011 world cup in India. And in this one after a wait covering six world cups I witnessed India winning a World Cup. Yes, you read it correct. India now are the World Champions of Cricket. After playing every world cup I watched as a kid (1992 through 2011 - 6 in total), Sachin finally has the World Cup medal. Its poetic justice that he won it after playing for 20 years! Amazing! Just Amazing. Also, Sachin was the leading scorer for India in this World Cup too. Yet in the final it was the generation next players (Gambhir, Kohli, Dhoni, Yuvraj) that batted to ensure we won the world cup. Most of them would have took up the game because of Sachin. I find this a perfect tribute to the Little Master. I feel if there was anyone who deserved the cup medal it was him and the script was perfect! Not to mention the bonus of my dude sehwag winning the medal too! Its great.

Coming to me, after having watched cricket for 19 years I can finally say I have watched India win a World Cup. I was not sure how long I will have to wait for saying that words. 19 years and it was worth the wait. i just hope the wait for the next time will be shorter :)

Thanks Team India and enjoy the awards and glory that comes your way!

One more thing, I am extremely impressed at the unbelievable ability of Dhoni to absorb the pressure. Dude you are amazing!

A splendid piece that reverberates

2011-04-01T06:43:00.001-05:00

some of my own personal feelings on THE match by Aakash Chopra.

Some Excerpts

It's about time that we, as a nation, answer these questions. Are we going to behave like this every time we play Pakistan? If we detest them so much, it may not be a bad idea to severe all cricketing ties with them, for a cricket match can't be used as a benchmark to prove our superiority as a nation. Every time we behave like the way we did this time, it pulls us down as a responsible nation. The choice is ours.

Have to agree with him! How can you not?

It really feels bad

2011-03-26T14:33:00.001-05:00

to see this interview of Graeme Smith

Poor guys is all I can say!

The beginning of the race

2011-03-25T20:59:00.001-05:00

This has been a very interesting week. Some good news. But along with the good news I also received a sense of all that can be wrong with my career choice. To put it differently, all that can and will go wrong if I do not curb it right now and here. So, more than celebrate the good news I celebrate the fact that I realized this. Of course that will not solve the problem. But well, if I hadn't identified it will never be solved. So, I will try to be happy with what i found out. Hoping it will work with time and loads of patience and luck!

Japan and the crisis

2011-03-16T12:09:00.001-05:00

Sali Tripathi on Japan and its resilience in the face of adversity

In 1945, the Little Boy and the Fat Man, as the two atomic bombs were called, were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, levelling the cities. But flowers bloomed again. Until then, we must help, offer compassion, and express admiration for a remarkable people who know how to rise from the ashes.

I sincerely hope they emerge stronger out of this tragedy too!

Pretty strong words

2011-03-02T13:01:00.001-06:00

By Tripathi

There will always be the “what-about” question, and you can fill in that blank with the rogues you don’t like. But if Libya is not the place, and this is not the time for an intervention, where and when will it be?

See full article here

See the hypocrisy here!

2011-02-22T14:02:00.000-06:00

Congress spokesman speaking after the verdict of the Godhra incident!

Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said she was not aware of the judgement, but the communal violence that followed the train carnage was “a blot on democracy”. “In a political sense, whatever the judgement with regard to Godhra incident, the communal violence that erupted in Gujarat (after the train carnage) remained a blot on democracy... It is a blot on the record of Narendra Modi, for which he will always have to answer the people of the nation,” she said.

Well.. well what a surprise...

Do you remmeber 1984 sikh riots, do you remember the Union Carbide disaster. Those are not blots on democracy? Oh yes, when things happen uder the congress then its not a blot on democracy, its just something that happens in a democracy isn't it!

Will the UPa listen to this

2011-02-22T13:15:00.001-06:00

advice from Niranjan Rajadakshya

Economic reforms have fallen off the map. They need to be brought back into the spotlight for the sake of the average Indian, whose opportunities for a better life will move up in sync with higher economic growth.

I really hope so!

Guess who is this about

2011-02-10T12:08:00.001-06:00

"He's a bastard" was the reply. After a small pause, he added: "But what a magnificent bastard."

See here for the answer

You will feel the

2011-02-10T11:52:00.001-06:00

punch of the following sentence if you follow sport as a religion!

The judgments concludes with a reference to the great Chicago Black Sox baseball fixing scandal, echoing the famous words of a distraught young fan to "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, one of the players involved: 'Say it ain't so, Joe.'

Will the government heed

2011-02-02T12:10:00.000-06:00

to these concerns:

There is no need to hit the panic button. This is not 1991. But the new Union budget is being framed against the backdrop of a stuttering world economy, and signs of domestic pressures. There are ample indicators of the key risks in the year ahead. The fiscal deficit is being funded by domestic savings and there are signs that it is crowding out private investment; the current account deficit is funded with foreign capital, but the worrisome drop in foreign direct investment in recent quarters means that India is increasingly dependent on volatile portfolio and short-term debt flows; and high inflation is a clear sign that the lack of meaningful reforms since 2004 has made the economy structurally constrained to increase aggregate supply, with the output gap shrinking too early in the business cycle.

Lets wait and see!

Is somebody listening

2011-01-19T08:59:00.000-06:00

to such sensible stuff anymore:

As the American population ages, the unpleasant question will have to be answered: what to do with the Baby Boomers as they age and can no longer care for themselves? The typical Baby Boomer can not afford a private nurse or comfortable retirement homes. Without immigration the market does not provide many affordable and dignified long-term care options. Restricting immigration will probably result in more illegal immigrants providing care. This leaves the migrant and the elderly person they care for vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. More legal immigration also increases the tax base which takes some of the edge off of the burden of entitlement spending on current earners. Increased immigration of workers of all skills levels will help allow retirees to age and die with dignity.

A fantastic piece

2011-01-18T11:16:00.000-06:00

on how UPA has screwed up here by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha!

Do go read it.
some excerpts here

On the one hand, the ruling alliance has not aggressively pushed economic reforms but seems to have decided to ride the growth wave unleashed by a higher savings rate, demographic power and the benefits of the reforms done by the Narasimha Rao, United Front and Atal Bihari Vajpayee governments since 1991. The underlying assumption is that economic growth is on auto pilot, so there is no pressing need to go in for contentious policies such as cutting subsidies or changing labour laws. No reforms have been rolled back and economic policy is nowhere as interventionist as it was during the Indira Gandhi years, but it is quite clear that the UPA political leadership does not have a deep commitment to economic reforms despite having some outstanding economic liberals in government.

Yet, there has also been a firm belief within the Congress party that the benefits of growth have not been distributed equally, a fear that was articulated recently by Rahul Gandhi when he used the irresponsible rhetoric about the existence of two Indias. The second prong of the UPA strategy has been to provide voters with entitlements to employment, food and education in the name of inclusive growth—and win votes in the bargain.

New Year

2010-12-31T21:51:00.000-06:00

Before you know it, one more year has passed. 2010 has ended and in a hour or so 2011 begins!

2010 has been a very happening year. So many things happened this it is hard to believe that all of them actually did.

Me and my family
I completed my PhD
My sister got married!
I got a job. My first real job (I am not joking!)
I got a chance to see if I can stand up for my choice the second time
I moved out of Austin
I left the United States to move to Canada
I am beginning a new phase of my life in Montreal
My standing up for myself did work this time
During this year period I learned a lot about a friend.

Friends
one guy found a gult bandi
one couple moved into their new hosue
one guy found a marathi bandi
one couple are having a kid
one guy is standing up to his parents
one guy is still pondering whether he should put fight or not

Cricket and Tennis
Sehwag had a decent time
Indian cricket team is at the top in Tests. Thats all I ask for!
Federer had an ok year. Nadal had a great year.
Oh yes, Tendulkar hit a 200 in onedays and 50 hundreds in tests (people who are surprised at me saying good things about Tendulkar, i have really changed :))

TV shows
I have completed watching Frasier the third time and am upto third season the fourth time
Watched Seinfeld twice
Watching Becker again

Books
India after Gandhi was good, really good.
Other notable books Atlas Shrugged (finally), Crime and Punishment, My Experiments with Truth (Even I can't believe i read this one), Unaccustomed Earth, Winesburg, Ohio. Overall a little less than my normal!

I wish all my readers (a small number I know) a happy and prosperous new year!

Funny

2010-12-31T18:37:00.000-06:00

to say the least A rhyme that makes sense (Link via News you can't use)

Taking sycophancy to higher levels

2010-12-29T15:56:00.000-06:00

Look at this

“People looked upon Sonia Gandhi's renunciation of power as reminiscent of the Mahatma,'' the book suggests in a chapter “Congress in Coalition'' that trace the Congress' return to power in 2004.

I am no fan of Mahatma, but I am sure even he is turning in his grave at this comparison.

Full piece
here

Oh yes, in the same book that Congress authorized to be written by historians they could devote only a paragraph to some of the greatest disasters in Post Independence era. If you know Congress government you would have guessed these tragedies correctly (Sikh riots and Bhopal plant). Of course, the fact that the congress government had a major role in these events has nothing to do with it!

Will India Listen to

2010-12-28T10:31:00.000-06:00

this advice. I really hope so. But, with our political system, who am I kidding!

What more can you say except

2010-12-24T04:49:00.001-06:00

what realitycheck has put so eloquently here

A sensible piece on

2010-12-22T11:42:00.000-06:00

Congress's ludicrous assault on RSS

Some excerpts

The exercise initiated by Mrs.Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress (I), and her cohorts at the just concluded 83rd plenary of the Congress (I) to have the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) projected and demonised as a Hindu terrorist organisation comparable to the Nazi groups of World War II vintage and the more recent Islamic terrorist organisations speaks of the mental confusion that prevails at the senior levels of her party. It also highlights the total bankruptcy of thinking and the total indifference to sensitive issues that have become the defining characteristics of the party under her leadership in recent months.
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The anti-RSS campaign of the Congress (I) will not only add to the already existing anger in sections of the Hindu community,but will also play into the hands of the jihadi terrorists by facilitating their objective of aggravating the divide between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Before this campaign starts further damaging the relations between the two communities, the Congress (I) should stop its demonisation of the RSS, which would prove counter-productive.

Tendulkar's batting with tail

2010-12-21T01:17:00.000-06:00

Tendulkar scored 50 hundreds. Its a great achievement and a testament to the man's longevity in the game!

This post isn't about that.

When he came to bat on the 5th day I want to ask him what was his objective. Did he even believe that he can save the match? Did he just want to make sure he remained not out?

What I don't understand is when you are trying to save a match (yes it is very hard, but if you are not trying whats the point of playing) how can you take a single of the first ball and expose the tail to Dteyn and Morkel. Isn't it stupid? Why can't batsman see this? If its a first innings, yes no sense in shielding the tail because you want to score runs, so be positive take all the runs you can get. What was Tendulkar trying to do by taking singles and exposing the tail. Graeme Smith mentioned this in the interview. I am peeved at how every Tom Dick and Haryy of the cricket world had time to comment on Tendulkar reaching his 50th hundred (a great achievement no doubt) but did not offer any meaningful insight on decisions that are utterly stupid!

This is not to demean his innings. His batting was wonderful and responsible for India to be batting on the 5th. But I feel what he did on the fifth reveals a lack of tactical acumen on his part. I mean we needed 30 runs to make SA bat again. Wont it have been better for him to get out trying to score those runs than taking the not so useful singles and hoping Sree and Jadhav will survive Steyn and Morkel.

Also, all those supporters who are ecstatic at his 50th ton, please do remember India lost the match.

Anyway!

Rant on Congress

2010-12-21T00:58:00.001-06:00

The sycophancy in the Congress has no bounds! Don't believe me? Try this. P. Chidambaram sucking up to The prince here. The Congress party disgusts me! These are moments when I feel an extreme right candidate like Modi is much better candidate to be PM than anybody from the Gandhi family! At least Modi rose to power on his own feet! To all those people who don't think so, I have some really kind words for you!

Congress

2010-12-11T07:30:00.000-06:00

For those who believe the secular credentials of Congress, I urge you to do read this

“The Congress Party, after first distancing itself from the comments (of Antulay, the then minority affairs minister), two days later issued a contradictory statement which implicitly endorsed the conspiracy. During this time, Antulay’s completely unsubstantiated claims gained support in ... Indian-Muslim community,” Mulford wrote in his secret cable to the state department on 23 December, 2008.

“Hoping to foster that support for upcoming national elections, the Congress Party cynically pulled back from its original dismissal and lent credence to the conspiracy,” Mulford wrote.

Regardless of home minister P Chidambaram’s dismissal of Antulay’s comments, the Indian-Muslim community “will continue to believe they are unfairly targeted by law enforcement and that those who investigate the truth are silenced,” he said in the cable.

“The entire episode demonstrates that the Congress Party will readily stoop to the old caste/religious-based politics if it feels it is in its interest,” Mulford alleged, according to the cable posted by WikiLeaks on its website yesterday.

The United States has neither confirmed or denied the authenticity of these cables, but said that some 250,000 papers have been stolen from its system and demanded that WikiLeaks, the whistle blower website, return them back to the State Department.

According to WikiLeaks, there are some 1,300 cables from the US embassy in New Delhi. However, only half a dozen of them have been posted by it on its website.

Mulford said while the killing of three high-level law enforcement officers during the Mumbai attacks, including ATS chief Hemant Karkare, “is a remarkable coincidence, the Congress Party’s initial reaction to Antulay’s outrageous comments was correct.”

“But as support seemed to swell among Muslims for Antulay’s unsubstantiated claims, crass political opportunism swayed the thinking of some Congress Party leaders,” he wrote.

Random stuff

2010-12-09T20:23:00.000-06:00

The party yesterday rocked. I had so much fun it was really unbelievable.
The cold has not been bothering me much. It was at -10C yesterday night and today it was -12C (feels like -18C). It seems like I am able to take up to -15C ok types. Lets see when it goes further lower!

Tomorrow early morning it will be as low as -18C (feels like -23C) here. Good luck to those guys getting up and leaving at 6!

My first snow storm

2010-12-07T20:50:00.000-06:00

Man does it snow or what in Quebec!
It has been incessantly snowing here for the last 2 days. I hear the amount of snow is 25cms. For people used to living in the colder parts of the world it might not be much. For a guy who was born in India and moved to Texas this is a big deal. Because
1) We are not used to seeing white layers of snow on the roads or cars or rooftops.
2) We are not used to walking on thick layers of white material (we are used to walking in puddles of water, but thats different)
3) We are not used to negative temperatures (may be in Celsius)
4) We are not used to seeing the roads and even cars disappearing under snow
5) We are not used to feeling cold on the face and sweat on our backs

All this after my first snow storm. I know I have a rough winter ahead!

Montreal

2010-12-05T19:11:00.000-06:00

Over the last two to three weeks life has been pretty different from the past. I am getting to meet a lot of people and am settling down in life at Montreal. The cold weather has begun. Today I walked about 2 miles in cold weather (feels like 9F... cold for me!). It wasn't bad at all. I have to get used to such walks I guess! Have some work to complete over the December break. Also, I have to start preparation for my course!

Also one of the most important decisions in my life has received support from all quarters. Now its only a matter of time before the big occasion!

Lets see how things unfold.