Sunday, November 30, 2008

Deadly Decisions

Post 26/11,with the entire population breathing down the neck of the politicians and many on rampage,the politicians are struggling to weave strategies to hold power while calming the people.

The political game has begun with the resignation of Home Minister Shivraj Patil.He is just being made a scapegoat,someone to point to by either sides ,instead of looking at the clear facts and taking difficult decisions.NDTV just reported that there are moves to break the five year ceasefire at the LOC and increase troop concentration,which means an escalation of military activity against Pakistan.After watching such strategies being used over and over by the ruling governments,we the people shouldn't go by their game.

We,as the taxpayers and the ones who elected these bureaucratic demons onto power,should see through their plans.An announcement for military action against Pakistan would satisfy many a commoner whose is now chanting "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and profanities about Pakistan.The government is surely going to cash in on this kind of emotions held by majority of the population.And sadly,that is exactly what the evil brains behind the attacks want India to do.Breaking a 5-yr ceasefire has long lasting effects on the political situation of the subcontinent.Also,considering the huge costs involved with such a military action,it is always unwise to resort to full scale military action without proper consideration.The government is clearly planning to divert public rage for some time by going ahead with this dastardly decision.

A war at this point will hurt the diplomatic relations with Pakistan(it is of atmost importance that we do not consider Pakistan as some country simply surviving at our mercy),as well as hurt our already reeling economy.This also serves as a good diversion for governments,politicians and even other similar evil parties to avoid media and public attention for their activities.I vehemently oppose this attitude of resorting to military action every time attacks occur due to reasons other than direct infiltration via LOC.How else can they justify this decision??

This and all the other attacks in urban areas that have taken place in India is clearly due to failure of intelligence,negligence of officers at duty or bottlenecks created by bureaucratic issues.I would have been happier if the Government had issued an order to check and fix the reasons for such intelligence lapses,deal with bureaucratic bottlenecks regarding security of all important locations in India.The voice and inputs of local intelligence and officials should be considered in this matter.

A report shown in a news channel,just showed how deplorable our coastal security system is.Let's demand our politically elected loudspeakers to show some guts,show some spirit and to show some life.Instead of pushing the country into yet another war,I wish and I want them to realize the vulnerable situation of the nation and take strong measures to fix it up.I also want all responsible citizens reading these paragraphs to take caution against the vile speeches and propaganda of any political side.We should keep vigil and maintain clear vision of the situation and demand our governments to do the right thing.I also request you to please educate nearest fellow citizen who thinks that the military action is the solution,about the possible outcomes of a war(which is never,never good).


We have seen lots of deaths over the past many years,this time we even saw it Live on TV,how they dug in and fought us,killing our countrymen and our guests indiscriminately.There were no politicians involved in the rescue of the hostages or elimination of hostile forces.The only people affected were the security personnel,the guests,innocent civilians and their kin.So,lets keep the faith and respect we had in our men who simply did their jobs well,unlike the politicians and corrupt/negligent officials who couldn't prevent it from happening.We don't want another bout of bloodshed at the borders.We can stop it.We should demand proper action,not just action.Let us raise our voice and make it clear that the people of this country cannot be duped again.I wish our brothers and sisters who are taking huge processions and protests at various places understand that it should not be something that recedes when the government gives such diversions or die down in a matter of time.

As I always say: "The Power is Ours!!"

Friday, November 28, 2008

A nation burning...




The news is everywhere...all know...the facts...not going into it..

Eyes burn and heart bleeds,watching the live coverage on TV on the Mumbai attacks(I would rather term it 'war' or 'siege').I announce here in my blog,where I get to post my views that matter to me:I really feel now that my nation is burning in all sense.

Terrorist attacks,fidayeen,blasts have always occurred in northern parts of India,for quite a long time now.J&K related stuff is almost like daily news,and with the growing media coverage the ones in cities and metros are also given lot of limelight(though only when it is hot news,not later on ..like investigation etc...clearly indicating the TRP as goal).This year itself,there has been numerous blasts ,killing many people and also this time the south coming under the scanner with the emergence of the group called Indian Mujahideen,which is believed to have networks in Kerala(thats chilling,but compared to an average Kashmiri,Naga,Assamese,Mumbaikar or Delhiite,it is nothing).

But what makes the current situation different and scary,is not a single reason,but many of them.First of it being the very idea of fully armed men freely attacking important public places of the top metro of the country(also the financial capital+a city used to attacks).I cannot express the shock I felt when I came to know of the proper situation by late evening of 27th.These men clearly looked like highly trained(and I mean highly and thoroughly,unlike the shabby terrorists usually shown in TV) personnel,using the perfect amount of arms,provisions and environmental facilities to conduct such an operation.Their modus operandi is quite unknown to the media used to covering incidents and the local police force as well.The moment I saw the images of those guys caught in CCTVs, what raced through my mind was images on commando operations and hostage standouts that are seen in foreign countries and which I have seen in some video games(believe me,they make it as real as possible that some are used for training combat soldiers).I could imagine the risk and threat these guys posed,and I really felt horrified on realizing that the nation has come to such a situation.

The intensity with which the security forces were resisted and the strategies employed by these guys,just strengthened my hunch that this was not going to end soon,unless something dramatic happened.But nothing like that happened,possibly owing to the sensitive and soft civilian targets that were chosen.Another fact that was brought to light by the media nearly made me fall from my seat.The route of the terrorists being through the sea was something I didn't expect to happen,at least not directly into a huge city like Mumbai,with strong coastal patrolling plus the naval base being located there.

Among several important things to note here are these:
--Scale of infiltration
--Precise co-ordination between attackers
--Almost perfect choice of targets
--Armed to the teeth with modern weaponry
--Tactics to confuse media and/or security forces to strike fear and confusion

This is being termed as 'India's 9/11'.Truly,this is what it seems like.It deserves that label owing to the scale and intensity with which the attacks have been carried out.It has shaken the very sense of security of each Indian citizen.I congratulate the NSG commandos for taking up the tough task head on and slowly but surely cleaning up the conflict zones(who would have imagined calling the five star hotels of Mumbai conflict zones).After the dust clears,all lot of heads will roll.Politicians will soon be back into doing their duty of pointing fingers and giving token speeches.But there needs a proper understanding among the people and the administration as well,all over the country on what steps should be taken to avoid such a situation in the future,and in case it happens,how to smoothly handle the situation.

Hope the situation in Mumbai clears as soon as possible without further heavy damages(I fear that the last standing guy could do something desperately).The lives of thousands of people will be transformed due to this event.Many have lost their kin,friends and suffered losses which may never be recovered.Let's pray for the departed souls and try our best to stand by those in grieving.Let's not waste our time and energy in pointing fingers or speculating.The world watches,as the emerging power of the world struggles to handle the situation.The mark of a strong nation are strong-willed people who share each other's happiness and sorrow.

May my nation stand tall in all kinds of crisis, and its people find the heart to live on ,learning from the experiences....

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Tea times



Of course this is not tea time..but I am a tea lover who drinks various kinds of tea at odd times :)

Just tested the 'Adrak'(ginger) tea which turned out little weak due to the hesitation from my side to put an overdose.But it tasted nice...with milk.
My other usual experiments are with black tea,as milk doesn't help the flavour always.

I cherish the good Darjeeling tea I had at Mussorie 5 years back and recently had the packed version at Cafe` Coffee Day of IIT-M.The one I had tasted at Mussorie was like heaven...and it was rightly taken at 5 in the morning daily after jogging(as part of mountaineering course) up and down the hill.The so called 'Assam Tea' at CCD didn't taste too bad..it was pretty strong as well( considering the time of consumption being nearly 12 am).

Another flavour is the Lemon Tea,which smells so refreshing and tastes good as well.But I left it for sometime for the sake of not getting bored.Same goes with the bitter(believe me) 'Green Tea'..all black...

My other experiments include 'Ginger Lemon','Pudina','Tulsi','Masala' and various kinds of tea leaves themselves..brought from various places like Darjeeling,Munnar estates etc directly ...thanks to my father who tries out a variety of agricultural products and my mother who shares my passion for innovative cooking...My daily tea itself is flavoured with cardamom powder and I am specific about the flavour of tea leaves used. :)

My view about cooking varies from a mere necessity to an art that needs quite a lot of interest and a keen sense of taste and lets say...aptitude.In case of tea,I believe that any kind of flavoured leaf or condiment that tastes good on being boiled in water can make a good tea!!Of course,tastes vary from person to person,and you might not be aware of the fact that some people in Tibet(recall so) drink tea with Yak's milk flavoured with...salt!!(Courtesy:Balarama Digest of unknown era)

Anyway I will stop this small dialogue with these lines "Anyone can Cook!" from...Ratatouille..and a message for wannabe tea fans..keep innovating(don't resort to searching recipes on the internet) and always stick to organic products as they taste much better and are healthier than their counterparts.Have a good tea...adios

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Deep anguish


My heart is in deep anguish and pain...over the loss of my precious collection of documents.
It covered almost every subject I was interested in..and that too the best in the lot...I cannot convey my pain..my heart is crying inconsolably...it would take me another few years to collect it back...I can't bear to do that...

I had burnt it as a dvd to keep it forever,but it doesn't seem to around here anywhere after I replaced the hard disk and wanted to copy it back to disk.My four years of engineering were marked in those documents,they had always held something of interest for me,whatever be my mood.. :(. I am crying in deep sorrow.....

Everything else in life seems so simple and gray at this point of time,and this feeling will last until I push it over after a few minutes(but believe me,the pain is excruciating...I don't like it when such treasures of a lifetime are lost due to negligence or ignorance.. waiting for that angel to whom I gave the dvd to return it asap without further delay...
If someone reading this has that DVD(Labeled 'Misc Docu'),please for god's sake,return it to me and save a poor life ....