Pakistan ki dramebaaji

I may be borrowing this line from a Bond flick but it is apt for the current situation "Government's change but lies don't". The constant denial and bickering from the other side of the border has baffled me. Either they are as dumb as an ass or they are afraid to death of an Indian attack. The continuous effort of the Pakistani establishment to create a war hysteria havent helped anyone.

No legal aid to Ajmal unless citizenship proved: Pakistan

We will defend Pakistan till last drop of our blood: Zardari

Pak to India: Don't blame us for your failures

Pak capable of thwarting aggression from the east: Zardari

Pak ready to respond "within minutes" if India strikes, says Army chief

Whom are they trying to fool. It is a well established fact that the Indian military might is superior to Pakistan. A nuclear war is the only factor that has prevented an Indian strike on POK. And regarding Pakistan's ability to fight all its misadventure in the past have ended in disgrace for them.

It is time Pakistan recognizes its failures and looks into its own backyard before daring to attack someone else. The time is not too far when the line between Pakistan and Taliban will vanish. The economy is on the verge of collapse its security forces are loosing ground in the tribal areas. The SWAT valley which was once home to Pakistan's only ski resort and boasted of the finest schools of all over Pakistan has been converted to a battle zone between Taliban and Pakistani security forces. Taliban has destoyed around 250 schools and banned girls from attending schools. The situation is so worse that security forces have agreed to withdraw troops and implement Islamic law in order to stop rebel attacks.

The condition is grave even from Indian point of view. Can we afford to have Taliban as neighbours??

What was that all about??

Had AR Antulay gone mad? What was he thinking when he made that statement about ATS chief Karkare being a victim of Hindu terror and not something else. Is cheap publicity most prestigious nowadays? He even went on saying that he has no regrets and the Congress Party and the Govt. should thank him. What the f*** for?? For getting some cheap votes and destroying the support that the useless govt was getting after 26/11.

After the numerous statements given by Mumbai Police, several media reports and Kasab's interrogation it was clear that ATS chief and other two Top cops were simply handed a cruel fate by God. They were just going to Cama Hospital to inquire about their colleague who had been injured in the shooting there. It was just unfortunate that the same terrorists were hiding nearby.

Such stunts on part of Congress that too by a Union Minister would fetch only bad publicity. If the Congress thinks that by saving Delhi and capturing Rajasthan, terrorism is not an issue it surely is mistaken. If the NDA does not repeat what it did in Delhi and fields some good candidates then no one can stop this govt. from being voted out of power.

I am not sure what Mr. Antulay achieved but the opposition sure got a chance to vent its anger against the govt.

My take on Assassin's Creed

This game was probably the best that i have ever played. The climbing on buildings, riding a horse, fighting with swords, jumping around balconies and most of all i loved the secret blade to perform the stealth kills. The most interesting feature was the leap of faith, climbing on a tall building or tower then letting yourself fall down freely into a hay stack... it was simply superb.

The storyline was equally good. A previous assassin captured and slaved for a scientific experiment. A revelation that the human brain holds not only your memory but also your ancestors. The machine to take you back into time. The several kills to perform and the exceedingly difficult last mission these all make it a great game.

The meticulous planning that every kill required was interesting to note. You had to search around the city for eavesdropping, pick pocketing, interrogation, climbing view points, saving citizens all just to get a little bit of information and for making vigilantes who would help when you are in trouble.

There are small tasks given by fellow assassin's who are unable to fulfill their missions and ask your help in return for valuable information. That included stealth kills, collecting flags, etc.

I also loved riding horses through the countryside when traveling between cities. The horse ride was the most realistic i have ever seen in many games.

But the best part was sword fighting. You are taught certain tricks which increase your skill gradually. You can practice a fight and even a particular technique. At last you are taught how to take on 10 to 15 men at a single time. It was really awesome.

The professor in the end said "Do not get relaxed Mr. Miles, we will be back soon". Well whenever they come back they will surely find me waiting.

It's Development my boy!!!

The recent elections touted by many as semi final to the general elections 09 have thrown out a unanimous result. Not in the sense of a party but in the sense of poll issues. Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh where the BJP chief ministers concentrated on development and issues related to public welfare instead of any terror or hindutva agenda were able to beat the anti incumbency factor and retain their power. Rajasthan was a complete mess by Vasundhara Raje and Delhi by BJP's high command. These states were going BJP's way all along but the party just ran out of leaders and sent some important ones fuming away. The rebels in BJP's fort caused too much of a damage for Raje too handle. And on the other hand Sheila Dixit's development was just good enough to defeat BJP's outdated leaders. Infact i think the Metro's success just overshadowed the mess created by the Bus corridor.

In all the public favored stability. Inspite of claims mayawati may make about improved vote share people voted for a stable goverment not allowing some small parties to bully the government by virtue of 1 or 2 seats. Rajasthan ofcourse being an exception but in my defence it was already messed up.

Darkest Hour???

It was one of the darkest hour in my recent life with a storm raging by, exams postponed, no water, no food, and incessant rains hammering at the doorstep. If it was not enough the terrorists also struck Mumbai taking over three landmarks after a killing spree that cost nearly 100 lives and three top cops of the Mumbai Police.

The fight is still going on with the toll rising to 160 including several foreigners. Hopefully Oberoi and Nariman House have been secured .

I can only hope that this government finally gets some sense and really create a federal ATS instead of just false promises. I hope our MEA people act tough with the ISI chief when he comes to India.

Pondy!!!

Puducherry(Pondicherry) is a small heaven just south of Chennai. Puducherry means "New Village" which it really stood out for us, a bunch of frustated lunatics looking for some fun. It was just a place out of the blue for us. Surrounded on all sides by Tamil Nadu but we didn't find any resemblance between the two at all. People were quite friendly and humble. Maybe because it is a tourist destination and we were tourists but still i didn't find any malice in anyone's heart(of course except the police).

We went there just for the sake of food and eye candy. It was also our first bike trip. Maybe it was why the whole trip actually happened. The drive was a challenge in itself. We had no clue about the route that we planned to undertake. No idea about the roads or the places we were going to pass through but there was an excitement about the whole thing, hidden charm and a desire which fueled our passion to actually undertake the whole journey. There were of course doubts raised whether such journey could be undertaken at all but they were all swept aside by our passion.

It was all the brainchild of a single man Viral who single handedly planned this journey organized people and motivated them to go on. It was him who actually solved everyone's doubts and apprehensions. I am really grateful that he undertook this journey and took me with him.

We started in the morning just as the sun rose. The weather was cool and just perfect for a long bike ride. We went to the Old Bus Stand and started the journey towards Kumbakonam. A bus conductor standing on the footrest of his bus guided us out of Thanjavur onto the highway. After that it was quite easy just following the curved highway going through all small towns and villages. We had initially planned to go through Kumbakonam town but we discovered a new By Pass Highway that had been built by the Jayalalitha government. The new by-pass was excellent we just kept plying on and eventually crossed Kumbakonam in no time. We then caught with the National Highway 45C. This was quite straight and well built and took us to Vadalur in no time.

On the way we crossed a dam on the Coleroon river (actually Lower Coleroon regulator) built by in 1941. I had never seen such large amounts of river water in Tamil Nadu before. Just before Vadalur a lot of construction work was going on the roads so it was quite dug up and slowed us down.

From Vadalur we had to take a diversion towards Cuddalore. The road was narrow but quite smooth to drive on. We joined the East Coast Road and entered Cuddalore. In Cuddalore we had to ask for directions to get out towards Pondy. After Cuddalore it was just a cakewalk, a straight road to Pondy.

In Pondy we stayed at a cottage in Auroville. Auro is actually in Tamil Nadu just north of Pondy. The name was Rooftop guest house and the caretakers name was Mr. Ram.
It was quite a decent place to stay and cheap too. The place is just perfect as the beach is just a stone throw away and near to all the great culinary delights of Auro. But, it is somewhat far from Pondy and you might want to take a bike on rent.

On the first day we went to Surguru Restaurant in Pondy near the . Its a vegetarian restaurant looks and is a bit expensive but serves quality food. There were a lot of foreigners eating there as well. It serves only Indian food by the way.

We spent all afternoon and the evening on the Gandhi Beach enjoying the waves and the ummm.... view. There is a nice sea side bar which i am told is not expensive. It has sea facing balconies where you can enjoy your drink. And I am not talking about the Promenade. In the evening the road facing the beach is blocked off for traffic allowing locals to walk, jog, etc and people like us to enjoy the ... nevermind.

For the dinner we went to a place called the New Pizza Roof just behind the Beach Cafe on the ECR road near the Repos Beach. It serves quite decent food at reasonable rates. The toppings on the pizzas were delicious but the base could have been better. It even serves nice north indian dishes.

Next day my morning started with hunger and we went to Pondy in search of food as all restaurants were closed in Auro as it was still morning 0800hrs and because it was a Sunday. Our search concluded in Indian Coffee House. It was a workers den and they all had come for their morning breakfast and hot steaming coffee. We ordered omlettes which were quite heavy and Puneet after discovering he had eaten eggs became ill, till we decided to go to the beach.

Meanwhile the others who woke up late went to Swadistha, a snacks bar run by a Gujarati family. So, the samosas and the dhoklas were nice and had a distinct gujarati taste. They also served nice coffee. There was also some special menu for upcoming Diwali with a full thali of Gujarati dishes.

Now going to the beach was tricky as the nearby beach was all messed up due to the fishermen occupying it. So we set out towards Chennai on the ECR in search of a nice beach. We found our haven just behind the residence of the Vice Chancellor of the Pondicherry Engineering College. ECR wines a local bar was also nearby, so we had some company a group of locals were enjoying cool beer in the sunshine. The beach was excellent for us. There was low tide and the structure of the rock bed favored us. The sand was deep near the shore so we were hesitating to go inside. But Birju who knows how to swim waded further and found the sea had a surprise for us. After just a few yards into the water the floor of the ocean made of solid black rock rose above to just two feet below the sea level. This was all we needed. We spent nearly two hours in the water trying to swim and dragging each other out into the ocean.

After this all of us went to the Auroville centre. Now its some sort of society or community consisting of people from over a hundred countries so you will see a lot of foreigners. They all come in search of some peace and shanti. The place as required is quite serene and calm. There is ofcourse the huge matrimandir or the golden globe in the heart of the Auroville centre. It stands out as a huge globe with golden coins stuck on it. I was told you need special passes to go inside and pray.The cafeteria there makes nice pancakes but the coffee and tea is just OK.

On returning we went to a place called Paradise Pizzeria. It is near the Aurelec. We had two pizzas Pizza Formaggi, and the Pizza India Special Non Veg. Formaggi had around five types of different cheese put to make a delicious mouth watering pizza. India Special on the other hand had Chicken 65 as the toppings together with cheese and other regular ones. One thing to note was that the Chicken 65 served as toppings was more delicious than any other Chicken 65 I had ever tasted. The place prepares it own base and cheese so these all things combined to produce the best pizzas I ever ate.

Next day it was time to drive back. This time it was easy as we had a general idea about the route and the roads. The shop owners by the road helped us whenever we were confused about which way to go.

Overall it was a very nice trip combining the pleasures of a road trip with a food holiday.

P.S. The alcohol is quite cheap in Pondy. So you can have a good beer can for just under 30 Rs. Likewise for other stuff also.

Defeated at their own game

CPI(M) the party for the masses who looked after the peasants and the plight of workers was defeated at its own game by its main rival Trinamool Congress (TC). Singur the new battleground between the two parties threw out a result that is going have very serious consequences in the future. Mamata Banerjee may have secured the votes of the peasants but industrialists have been scared away. CPI(M)'s plan for development and modernisation has taken a huge beating. For a state where 72% of the population is in rural areas the developments could shake the CPI(M)'s dynasty like never before.

The TATA's pulling out of Singur signifies a grave situation which no other company would like to repeat. The might of the TATA's enabled them to move out peacefully but are other companies in a position to take that risk. No wonder we are seeing so many pull-outs.

In an election point of view Mamata Banerjee may have secured some rural votes but the working class will surely be miffed. Not only is their future at stake but also the future of their kids who are on their way to become a part of the booming industry. Agriculture alone can not feed such huge population that too in a state with the highest population density.

The most incapable govt. ever

Is this is what the government was waiting for.. bomb blasts in it's own backyard. Even after bombings in every major town in the country the government couldn't get its act together. To make it worse in the name of human rights and protecting interests of minority community it stymied every terror law in the country. The headlines said it all "18 dead in Delhi serial blasts" followed by "UPA soft on terror, conversion:Modi".

This is the most incapable home minister ever to have taken oath. Kashmir is still burning, bomb blasts are continuing as if there is no one to take care of the people. The prime minister i think is only interested in leaving a legacy behind and assumes to have accomplished that task by getting a waiver from the NSG. Other ministers are not far behind every one is busy with a single scheme or law just so that people remember their names when they are gone. Ramadoss with bollywood, Arjun Singh with quota, etc.

There are no reasons why the government should hold on to GUJCOCA. It says it could be used against a particular community. The government should understand that terrorism in India is that community specific. Laws are needed to control the menace. Appeasement will lead to greater chaos only. Till in the name of quota and benefits communities and religions are treated separately for vote bank politics they will continue to feel separate and will never be able to join the mainstream.

The ManMohan Punch

What a fight it was. The government fighting for its survival led by a PM who was fighting for his ideals. A Prime Minister fed up at last of the Left's fear tactics to just push the government back every time it wanted to take a bold step. I think Mr. Prakash Karat got it all wrong and so did Mr. L.K. Advani.

While Advani should have been more careful in his attacks due to his huge experience at the national level. Mr. Karat in my view forgot the real standing of his party amongst others. A few roll backs by the Congress leadership in the beginning stages of the UPA government made Mr. Karat feel invincible. He forgot that while he may take inspiration from the Chinese for every move this is India and that they wont turn up to topple the government if he did not have the required numbers.

But, really the real blow was for Mr. Advani. A scathing attack by a prime minister facing a confidence motion which he eventually won. Dr. Singh returned all the favours at a time when the whole of India was watching. With general elections just one and a half years away such a public disgrace is not desirable for a person desirous of becoming the next PM.

A part of Mr. Manmohan's reply to the debate on confidence motion:

As for Shri Advani’s various charges, I do not wish to waste the time of the House in rebutting them. All I can say is that before leveling charges of incompetence on others, Shri Advani should do some introspection. Can our nation forgive a Home Minister who slept when the terrorists were knocking at the doors of our Parliament? Can our nation forgive a person who single handedly provided the inspiration for the destruction of the Babri Masjid with all the terrible consequences that followed? To atone for his sins, he suddenly decided to visit Pakistan and there he discovered new virtues in Mr. Jinnah. Alas, his own party and his mentors in the RSS disowned him on this issue. Can our nation approve the conduct of a Home Minister who was sleeping while Gujarat was burning leading to the loss of thousands of innocent lives?

And i am sure the smirk that Ms. Mayawati was carrying must have been wiped of completely off her face. I recall someone saying 'Mayawati for PM'. Seriously, where do they get these wierd thoughts.

Really even for the country this was the only sane choice that it had. Imagine being ruled by Mr. Advani who has no hesitations in changing his position on a subject just for power. Or by the Left who are more concerned about what the Chinese think about Indian policies rather than our national interests. Or on a very weird note being ruled by Ms. Mayawati and then being forced to learn about Ambedkar and Kanshiram instead of Gandhi and Nehru.

BJP should really decide on some really good agendas for the upcoming general elections otherwise Congress, under this confident and brave government will wipe out its existence.

If Mr. Manmohan now pushes ahead with these reforms no one can stop India from achieving the 10% growth not even the oil and food prices. Because now there's nothing to stop him. I am sure his dream of a developed India, when he was a litle boy from a distant village will surely be fulfilled.

The Price Spike

Again again a fuel price hike. where are the prices going? will they stop their ascent or not? i hope they do. the prime minister behaving as a person chained in every possible way then asked to dance like hritik roshan in krazzy4. the man is the chief executive officer controlling the fate of over a billion people. he should show some courage while taking a harsh decision. sitting over the decision cost the exchequer quite more than what a gradual increase would have cost. A gradual increase would have invited a lot less criticism. now while the dogs are barking loud, the bjp has got its poll plank.

The rising prices has even the oil producers worried. the reducing demand could spell doom for them if the prices return to their normal level. but if these prices remain our growth could take a big beating.