Aug

28

Did Buddha smile or did he just smirk?

August 28, 2009 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

There’s a feud going on amongst those who coordinated and participated in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear explosions. The principal scientists and the politicians involved have been maintaining that India’s claims about the May 1998 nuclear tests are not to be doubted. K. Santhanam, the test site director and one of the main participants representing the Defense Research establishment (DRDO), has been claiming that India exaggerated its claims about the kiloton yields almost by triple.

The then national security advisor Brajesh Mishra is disputing Santhanam’s argument, contending that Santhanam himself had earlier verified the higher yield figures. “Was Santhanam speaking the truth then or is he lying now?”, asks Mishra. Santhanam’s then boss Dr. Kalam himself is disputing his test director’s assertions as well. Kalam is basing his own assertions on the post-explosion seismic and drilling measurements.

If India’s nuclear tests weren’t successful back in 1998, it would mean a boatload of trouble for India’s national security. Only 2 weeks after India’s tests, Pakistan had conducted similar tests, claiming an almost equivalent yield from its own results. Assuming for a moment that Santhanam’s claims are true, and assuming for a moment that Pakistan’s claims are true as well, puts India in a position it just doesn’t want to be in. First of all, it negates the assurances from India’s politicians and defense chiefs about India being ready to take on its enemies. Secondly, India’s signing of the comprehensive nuclear test ban will halt any further testing, arresting India’s nuclear program to a level much below Pakistan’s program. If that proves to be true, that would be a gigaton yield explosion for some political parties, forever eroding the credibility of some big name individuals who have so far been considered above the fray.

One one hand, Santhanam’s whistleblowing on this issue, can appear immature, untimely and unnecessary. So what if the nuclear tests weren’t as huge as we made them out to be? After all, as long as the idea is to use the tests as a deterrent, does it really matter what the real yield was? Because in such a deterrence scenario, a claim is as good as a yield and perception as good as reality. Right? And isn’t Santhanam doing a disservice to the nation by bolstering the spirits of the enemy across the border?

But then again, hiding an untruth if that is what it really is, may actually be a much bigger disservice to the nation. No matter what the yield of that 1998 test, it certainly didn’t prevent 10 terrorist murderers from trespassing into India in 2008, and it certainly didn’t deter the then ruling regime of Pakistan from illegally claiming Indian land back in 1999. False pride is just as big a sin as false humility, after all.

Personally, I wish there were a time-bound moratorium on declassifying truths of such nature. Many other countries follow that simple rule of thumb and allow to declassify their secret documents several decades later. Santhanam could have done that on his own accord, but then again, every participant of such major operations is burdened with some balance of personal ego and a duty to the covert cause. It’s hard to say which of the participants have allowed that balance to be skewed.

More often than not, truth has a tendency to lie somewhere in the middle of the two ends of such disputes. “…Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge…”, said Buddha once. But he too, is said to have smiled mysteriously when the sands of Pokhran exploded first in 1974 and then in 1998.

Aug

24

Mumbai-Delhi air corridor was recently said to be one of the top 6 busiest in the world. India’s airports, especially Delhi’s IGI, has also shown the highest year-to-year percentage growth (28%) in the number of travelers. And with tragedies such as the newly constructed roof falling down at the capital’s IGI, it is painfully obvious that India’s air travel infrastructure, is crumbling fast.

The good news is that so far, India has been extremely lucky. That may not always be the case, however. Just yesterday, a major mishap almost did happen at the Mumbai airport, when two planes were given clearance to take off simultaneously from the same runway. Just a few weeks ago, two other planes had a similar incident when they both were cleared for simultaneous take-offs from the same runway. Although the mistakes can be attributed an overworked air control tower, there is much more to these incidents than just that.

The scenario of two passenger jets colliding in mid-air can almost certainly kill every passenger in those planes, resulting in hundreds of casualties and fatalities. A repeat of such an incident in a matter of a few weeks is a sign that no countermeasures have been put in place after the first incident. It’s possible that it may take some deaths and a few air tragedies to wake up the lazy bums in the civil aviation ministries.

Were this to happen at some rural airport, it would still be a cause for concern. But this happening at the nation’s busiest airports tells us that things have gotten completely out of control with the air travel. To this mix, add just one more tiny complication - birds taking off simultaneously from the same runway.

Folks, if you do travel this corridor, please make sure your financial paperwork such as your will, last wishes, etc are in order. Once you’re on the plane, please make sure your seat belt is on. If you are in the window seat, please keep looking outside the whole time during the take off and watch out for another plane flying or taking off from your runway. And if you’re in the emergency seat, please be ready to bail everyone out. Just know that you’re completely on your own when you travel the Mumbai-Delhi corridor, and that you cannot rely on and hope that the government has systems in place to protect you from danger. Lastly, remember your God or your deity, whichever is dearer to you. If you’re an atheist, you’re out of luck, but you can still hurl some lasting and uncivil cusswords at the civil aviation ministry.

Aug

22

Unprepared, unaware, naive and stupid

August 22, 2009 posted by indiatime | 6 Comments

Heavy downpours brought everything to a standstill as darkness engulfed India’s capital city at 4 pm. Heavens opened up without a warning and uncommon chaos erupted on usually severely chaotic city streets. Even the airport lost its roof from some of its newer construction.

Nobody saw it coming. Not anyone in meteorology departments. Not a soul in any of India’s observatories. Nobody in the government. None of India’s many satellites. Nobody working on Bhuvan earth. Nobody. We have once again demonstrated that we have no clue, no expertise and no idea how to read and interpret weather maps, how to study and extrapolate weather patterns and how to warn our public about a doom about to befall upon us.

Whether it is a tsunami, a terror attack, a destructive and disruptive downpour or an endemic health emergency of the severest kind and highest priority, India has yet not ben able to successfully implement a wider alert system that can inform, educate, alert and save lives.

Let’s stop talking about sending a man on the moon. Let’s stop bullshitting about one-upping google. Let’s not speak about drones and nuclear submarines. Let’s quit the debate on our standing in the 21st century. All that is nonsense and idiotic chatter when you see that we can’t do shit right by ourselves. Once we get past initial stage of denial, we may be able to finally do something right.

And by we, I mean you, the bloody idiots in India’s legislative assemblies and the parliament. It is you all who have led this once great nation down a ridiculous path, cheating and deceiving the masses with you fake promises, keeping fake issues burning by dividing the public on every basis imaginable.

You can bet we’re in deep mess, when the biggest issues facing us are an over-the-hill actor’s whining about waiting at the airport or an over-the-hill sportsman’s whining about a house in restricted defense space or an over-the-hill politician’s whinings about matters past. Thank God yesterday’s downpour was not a deluge and thank God Kasab didn’t land in Mumbai with a hundred other colleague sand and thank God the Chinese are not that smart either.

Aug

20

Adventures in circumnavigation

August 20, 2009 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

In a couple of days, Lord Ganesh festival, an annual celebration of India’s elephant-headed God, begins in many Indian households. One of the stories about Lord Ganesh is about a circumnavigation contest where Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the parents of Lord Ganesh and his brother, had their sons compete to navigate the planet. While his brother literally traveled the circumference, Lord Ganesh is said to have navigated his parents, arguing that circumnavigating his parents wasn’t unlike circumnavigating the whole world, since his parents were his world.

Actually, Lord Ganesha’s argument theoretically holds true at two places on the planet - the north pole and the south pole. So, if Lord Shiva and his wife had in fact been sitting at either of the poles, circumnavigating them would have meant circumnavigating the planet.

But Commander Dilip Donde of Indian navy isn’t using any of the tricks that Ganesha used. Donde, an experienced diver for Indian navy, is on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that will take him around the globe in a 56-feet yacht, over a distance of about 22000 nautical miles. Donde’s 9-month ride includes 4 halts - in Australia, New Zealand, Falkland Islands and South Africa.

The yacht named Mhadei (named after Goa’s river Mandavi) was manufactured in India, but several parts including the board have been imported from abroad. Donde’s circumnavigation has been funded and sponsored by his bosses at India’s defence ministry.

Just a month ago, Donde completed a solo sail from Mauritius to Goa in preparation for this world tour. To qualify for the honor of circumnavigating the planet, a yachtsman has to complete at least 21,600 nautical miles, cross the equator, cross every meridian and end the journey at the starting port. Commander Donde’s Sagar Parikrama (Circumnavigation) begins today and will go on for the next 9 months. Good luck Commander. Lord Ganesh, the God of wisdom is with you. And so will be the Gods of wind and of the oceans.

Aug

19

The origin of the deceptive species

August 19, 2009 posted by indiatime | 7 Comments

A non-resident friend visiting India recently wrote to me about how during his 3-week short trip to his homeland, he felt mugged, stolen from or deceived every step of the way. From the 3-wheeler autos to local vegetable markets to tourist attractions, he said he constantly felt that more money was taken from him, with locals using this or that ruse.

So yesterday I sent my friend this new research on robots where the researchers found their robots learning the art of deception by hiding food from other robots.

Swiss researchers recently programmed robots with some basic thought process and biological communications (artificial neural networks) abilities. They then had these robots compete for food in an enclosed space. The robots had to shine a specific colored light if they were close to a food. The robots went thru several generations (as other species would) where the scientists copied the patterns in the most successful robots to the next generation.

By the 50th generation of these robots, the researchers found that some of the robots were not shining the light when they were close to food (these robots didn’t want the other robots to know where the food was). And after a few hundred generations, most of the robots had completely stopped signalling when they were close to food. Meaning, that they had learnt the art of deception as a survival mechanism when they had to compete with others in a crowded environment.

Since we in India are definitely in some multiple of some thousandth generation, it suddenly seems obvious why many of us, end up learning to cheat or deceive. Actually, I am amazed that there are many who still haven’t taken to corruption and still do try to do the right thing day in and day out. And I’m sure, in some distant universe or some faraway galaxy, a team of God’s researchers must be wondering why.

Aug

18

Is America adopting Hinduism’s ways?

August 18, 2009 posted by indiatime | 9 Comments

This week’s Newsweek has an interesting take on America’s changing religious identity. Although more than three-fourths of the USA still identifies itself as Christian, the article argues that America is slowly adopting Hinduism’s values. Recent trends show that more than 65% Americans (including 37% white evangelicals) now acknowledge the validity of other paths towards God. More than a third Americans now choose cremation instead of burials after death. And one in every four Americans, now believes in reincarnation.

There are more than a million Hindus who currently call the United States their home. But Hinduism came to this country way back, more than a century ago. In his book Hinduism Invades America, Wendell Thomas describes the various ways Hinduism slowly made way into the American psyche. Brought to America by liberal Christians who wanted a world view of various religions, Hinduism came via religious congresses and conventions. Vivekananda in early 1890s, Yogananda in 1920, Shiva Yogaswami in 1940s, Yogi Mahesh in the late 1950s, Abhay Charan De aka Swami Prabhupad in the 1960s (and even the notorious Acharya Rajneesh in the 1980s), established movements, which over several decades, became the backdrop for America’s interest in Hinduism and its various forms like yoga.

Some have attributed the quiet rise of Hinduism to the quiet ways of its practitioners. D. M. Murdock (aka Acharya S.) credits Hinduism’s success in America to “its practitioners (in the US) do not rabblerouse, set up terrorist camps, call for destruction of the US constitution, bilk the American public for millions, establish bogus charities, engage in unethical & seedy televangelism, lobby congress for special favors and considerations, challenge constantly the principle of separation of church and state, abuse the First Amendment and all of the fun stuff (sarcasm) we are used to seeing from fervent religionists in our country and elsewhere“.

Still, nothing works like first impressions, they say, and sure enough, I’m sure America’s romance with Hinduism started with its first glimpse of Vivekananda who had this to say to his American audience in his first meeting with them in Chicago:

“…I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration but accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth…

The present convention, which is one of the most August assemblies ever held, is itself a vindication, a declaration to the world, of the wonderful doctrine preached in The Gita: Whosoever comes to me, through whatsoever form, I reach him. All men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me… ”

Incidentally, two Indian names that the Americans have become most familiar with during the last year, Bobby Jindal and A. R. Rehman, were both born Hindus but adopted other religions - Jindal choosing Christianity and Rehman choosing Islam.

And interestingly, a hundred-plus years after that speech in Chicago, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, recently placed India on a watch list of nations that have failed to prevent increasing communal violence. India has called that report regrettable.

Aug

17

India’s moral compass

August 17, 2009 posted by indiatime | 12 Comments

Epidemics, communal discontent, dirty politics, reality television, bollywood and cricket. That would have been my stock answer to anyone asking me about the current state of the Indian union. But a state of the nation poll by CNN-Hindustan Times, has results that may surprise many. India’s moral compass, the survey concludes, is somewhere in between taboo and modernity, and that there are a lot of ifs and buts in the Indian concept of freedom and personal liberty.

The following results pertain to those who were surveyed, but do show a slice and sample of Indian minds without any supposed survey bias.

1. 73% Indians feel homosexuality should be considered illegal

2. 79% Indians feel that rape and sexual harassment are linked to the way women dress

3. 41% Indians feel there should be a dress code in public

4. 59% Indians believe people should be free to wear what they want

5. 56% Indians believe it is untrue that women cannot undertake tough tasks

6. 67% Indians think women make better bosses at the workplace

7. 60% Indians regard homosexuality as a disease

8. 63% Indian men believe bride’s virginity is not an issue for them

9. 69% Indians support schools banning students from wearing Western clothes

10. 69% Indian men would feel uncomfortable if their wife or sister works till late in office.

The specter of modernity vs morality was best represented by a dramatic exchange between Sambhavana Seth, one of Bollywood’s many vamps and Baba Ramdev, Indian TV’s yoga guru and herbal doctor-general to the nation. Here’s the interesting exchange:

Sambhavna Seth: I don’t find anything wrong with gays. My friend is gay. I will send him to your ashram. It remains to be seen if you can cure him. Let’s hope you don’t become one.

Baba Ramdev: Gays are mentally sick and I do not support them. I can never change. And I have cured all major illnesses, including cancer.

Sambhavna Seth: Why are you always talking about sex and sambhog? Where did you learn all this?

Baba Ramdev: (Stays mum)

Sambhavna Seth: Is your beard and hair natural? Do you colour them?

Baba Ramdev: They are absolutely natural.

Sambhavna Seth: I have immense respect for you but I don’t agree with everything that you say.

Baba Ramdev: Thank you.

Actually, I am not a fan of either of these two. I am not much for Sambhavan’s gyroscope and I don’t believe Baba is the only one who knows where India’s north star is. But I think these two magnetic personalities perfectly embody the two extremes of India’s moral compass. As much as it may appear to be all skewed and screwed, to those on this side of the planet, the current moral state of the union seems to be a topic that is desirably more chewable than manikchand jarda. Cheers to all the corrupt bastards and happy immoralizing until the next moral survey.

Aug

15

Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood’s biggest superstar, today got the taste of American hospitality, when he was detained at the Newark airport’s international immigration for a couple of hours. Shah Rukh was let go once his identity and the details of visit were confirmed, but the star has now gone on record saying he will never shoot another film in the US, and has also expressed his shock and awe at the humiliation he felt during the 2-hour non-drama.

Although there is still some confusion over why Bollywood’s big icon was stopped at the airport, many in Bollywood’s fraternity have claimed it is Khan’s last name that got him in trouble. That may or may not be true. After 9/11, there is a list of names that the homeland security department has compiled, which is what is referred to at every American airport or at the Immigration checkpoints. That Shah Rukh’s name came up at the name-check just means that someone else with the same name has been on the watch. Nothing more.

Shah Rukh’s indignation at being stopped and detained can be understood in the context of his being India’s biggest celebrity. But that matters little in the context of the United States where, apart from the south Asian diaspora, not many know his name. Why him, not many know outside the south Asian diaspora know about Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar or Sachin Tendulkar or Dhoni. No doubt, these are huge celebrities for the non-resident Asian Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Srilankan and Nepali community. But for those that do not watch Bollywood movies (or don’t know about Cricket), these names aren’t really celebrities.

Is that ignorance? Not necessarily, but possibly. Most Americans have never traveled to this part of the planet and would not know where to point India if shown a world map. Hard to believe, but that is the truth. American media, too, is largely ignorant of Bollywood and overall of India (Last year, Larry King, CNN’s famous interviewer had a hard time speaking a single word on Mumbai or India when live pictures of the Mumbai carnage were being shown on TV).

Having said that, there is another aspect to this. In the past, many celebrities from India would enter the US on visitor visas. Once inside, they would perform in dance and song shows, making a lot of money at that. The US government viewed that as work performed and balked because it hadn’t allowed the celebrities to come and work in the US, but only to visit. So now, most celebirties who do these song and dance shows have to get a P-2 performer visa, meant for entertainers. I myself know of many Indian celebrities (though not of Shah Rukh’s fame) and entertainers, who had a hard time at the immigration checkpoints because their sponsors hadn’t taken care of the proper documentation fo them. So these folks would come to the US all the way from India with visitor visas stamped on their passports, and then when asked by an immigration officer about the purpose of their visit, would tell them about some singing performance etc. But then that was contrary to the original permission given only to visit and not work.

Shah Rukh’s case is surely not about the performer visa, but about his name popping up in the name check database. That name-check issue still keeps haunting American celebrities and many other American citizens, including US senators and business elite. Several Americans themselves are still on the no-fly list for no fault of their own. That’s just the way it is after 9/11.

The rude shock for Shah Rukh may have been that nobody inside the immigration detention center knew of him. That just shows how limited Bollywood’s reach is. What can you say? One problem with celebrities is that they keep telling us they miss privacy. And when they get a touch of reality, the next minute they start missing their celebrity. What is the big deal about waiting for a couple of hours anyways? No big social cause was coming to an end except for some delay at some stupid dance show, right?

The only person who definitely could have made it past any of the US airports anytime anyday ever is still Gandhi. And he too left little to chance, wearing what he did, hiding nothing. To this day, the 62nd birthday of India’s independence, he remains India’s biggest celebrity to the rest of the planet. And that’s a fact.

Aug

14

Bhuvan what?

August 14, 2009 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

After hearing and reading about the great hoopla about Indian government’s answer to google earth, I managed to go to the Bhuvan website, register, download the software, and get a glimpse of what looks like some google earth-like app. Overall, the process took a few hours at the end of which my feeling of exasperation turned to frustration and great disappointment.

First off the bat, let me say how proud I feel that someone at the Indian Space Research Organization has figured out how to write software that shows satellite images layered on top of various information systems. And to be held in comparison to Google Earth, obviously one of the the best apps on the web, is rather distracting, intimidating and sucks a lot. That’s why, when someone in the Indian government, last year announced that India was busy making a google-earth killer app, many of us proud Indians hoped and wished for Indian agencies to wait and come out with the app only when it was ready, good enough to be presented, and with all the bandwidth resources at hand. It would be such a big disappointment, many of us thought, if after all the bragging and boasting, we turned up with something that was hardly worthy of a 21st century web user experience.

Well, folks, Bhuvan - the google earth killer is out and on display. And it is not only disappointing, but is a painful user experience from the get go all the way through. It has browser limitations - it asks you to use only IE6 and above (That’s rather strange, because the rest of the world is out to kill and stop using IE6 any minute), utilizes platform-dependent technology, gives you no instructions on what to do and how to go about using the service, and is just a very, very primitive user experience, at least for those who aren’t as web savvy.

I hate to come down harsh on ISRO’s brightest scientists, who we all know, do this only for their love of the country and not for any financial gains. They do this with most meager resources, with little guidance from the government and the universities, and given a proper environment and backing, could probably move planet earth, not just google earth. But I cannot understand how little regard ISRO’s leadership and its backers in the government seem to have for the Bhuvan team and its scientists. It is the government’s attitude and lack of support that clearly makes the Bhuvan app look like poor man’s google earth. That’s a shame, because to take Google on with such audacity and boldness, would by itself qualify these mad scientists for some well-deserved medals. But the immature and ill-timed release release of an ill-prepared app, is pure unnecessary braggadocio that is more politics than science.

Aug

8

North Korean ship caught in Indian waters

August 8, 2009 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

An article in today’s Global Politician discusses an emerging potential threat on India’s border on the east - Myanmar. Several factors are said to have raised alarms about Myanmar’s new and possibly close relationship with North Korea:

1. recent aborted voyage of Kang Nam I, a North Korean ship carrying a cargo of Scud-type missiles and heading towards Myanmar

2. arrests last month ,of North Koreans trying to export a magnetic measuring device to Myanmar

3. recent evidences of secret tunnels being built in Myanmar

And today comes the news about a North Korean ship, dropping anchor in the Indian waters off of Andaman and Nicobar islands. The ship told the Indian navy that it was carrying sugar to Iraq.

Aha! Why is a North Korean ship carrying sugar to Iraq, lurking so tantalizingly close the Burmese border? For now, the Indian navy and the coast guard have the ship surrounded, but the high sea drama is definitely not over yet and promises to get more colorful over next week. And this is one sugar-carrying ship that India needs to take seriously and not let go. And once that investigation is complete, India needs to seal off the Indian ocean on its eastern coast, and sink any suspected nuclear-material carrying ship to the depths of the Indian ocean.

Jul

31

Hashmi can’t own a house ssala

July 31, 2009 posted by indiatime | 6 Comments

It was only a year ago that I commented about Shabana Azmi’s ridiculous sounding claims that muslim actors in Bollywood were finding it difficult to own an apartment of their choice in Mumbai. Fast forward one year. And today there is this news about this ridiculous housing society in Mumbai’s swank suburb of Bandra, a cooperative society that is not cooperating with Emraan Hashmi, Bollywood’s famous kissing king.

One of the residents of the society, one Ms Suvarna, had apparently agreed to sell her apartment to Mr. Hashmi, who put down a good faith retainer of Rs 1 lakhs. At about the time the deal between the seller and the buyer was to close, the cooperative society turned uncooperative and refused to hand over a no-objection certificate needed to transfer the ownership.

Admittedly, the housing cooperative societies have their by-laws and constitutions and are perfectly within their rights to allow or deny any transfer of ownership that is deemed improper or unwelcome for various reasons. The problem in this particular case may be that Mr. Hashmi’s lone disqualification could be his faith. Although the society has so far not given any explanations for its disinterest and dislike in allowing a transfer of ownership, it seems quite likely that Emraan Hashmi’s initial instincts about his inability to find a place of his choice, appear right so far.

If that indeed is the case, then it is a shame, a big shame. I am not a personal fan of Emraan Hashmi. I think he is an averagely talented person with average acting abilities, not unlike most other Bollywood actors, who can barely twitch a facial muscle at will. Still, he has made a name for himself, has become popular, for all we know, is a good and upstanding citizen with no crimes against humanity or anything. Good for him, I say. But to be denied access or ownership rights on the basis of one’s faith is a gross violation and just hugely unfair. So I completely empathize with Hashmi on this one, and do believe he has a right to live wherever he wants.

It shouldn’t matter whether Hashmi is a Muslim a Hindu or a Christian or a Sikh. Shouldn’t matter whether someone is an upper caste or a lower caste. Shouldn’t matter when you buy a house or enter a school or a university or are hired for a job. Anybody who even mentions religion or caste or color should be exiled to some faraway island and kept there until the next stone age returns.

Jul

30

Sanjeev Sharma, a teacher from the state of Madhya Pradesh, is now under investigation for having asked his female students to disrobe so he could take measurements for their uniforms. The incident occurred in the town of Ganj Basoda (in the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border district of Tyonda near Vidisha) on July 24th, at the Nurpur Education Guarantee Scheme School.

8 girl students from the same class complained to their parents that teacher Sharma called them in his office one by one and ordered them to disrobe so he could measure them up for their new uniforms. And since he didn’t have any measuring tape, the teacher is said to have measured the young girls with his fingers. The girls further alleged that the teacher misbehaved with them after measuring them with his fingers.

Later in the day, the parents of the victims marched to the school, but found that the teacher had already left. They then went to the local administrative officer for the district. Kiran Badbade (yes, but he turned out to be a good guy), the officer, immediately found the teacher guilty in his preliminary investigation, and teacher Sharma was immediately dismissed. No word yet on if and when Sharmaji himself will be donning the prison uniform.

Incidentally, Ganj Basoda, the town where the shameful incident occurred, is the birthplace of Yoga. Patanjali, who wrote Yogasutra, the book on Yoga, was born in Ganj Basoda around 150 BC. Patanjali’s Yoga comprised of eight major systems of yoga, the first and foremost of which is called yama or restraint.

So, two thousand years after Patanjali, Ganj Basoda is in the news again for that same yama (restraint). The lack of it, rather.

Further readings:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

Jul

24

Countering counterfeit menace

July 24, 2009 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

Pop singer Michael Jackson’s death a few weeks ago, prompted questions about his overdosing on drugs and the extent to which he went doctor-shopping to get those drugs, often spending close to 50 thousand dollars per month. Actually, it would have been so much easier had the pop star moved to India, where he could easily have had access to whatever drugs he needed. And he would most probably still be around, because many of the drugs available on the Indian market, are spurious and fake.

Sources from India’s drug enforcement agency is saying that almost 25% percent of the pharmaceutical trade in India is counterfeit and fake. Meaning one out of four times you are out to get a medicine, you will be buying a fake one. Officially however, the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association as well India’s Asst Drug controller reject the high numbers, claiming that the actual counterfeiting may be close to only 2-3%.

On top of the counterfeit list is viagra, the fake variety of which has now overtaken caterpillar fungus as the most sought after aphrodisiac. And it may even have made it way into the antimalarial drugs. Besides Viagra, many cough and cold medicines and cancer drugs as well, have a demand in the counterfeit market. The cough medicine, for its high volume high demand business. And the caner medicines for their high profitability.

India’s health ministry seems to be aware of the huge fake drugs issue, though. It has now announced big payoffs for those who venture to whistleblow and expose the big fish in the counterfeit drug industry.

On top of India’s own spurious drug industry, Chinese-made fake drugs with ‘Made-in-India’ labels have become an additional headache for Indian officials. Looks like China is really worried about losing its status as the world’s most populous nation.

Yes, Michael Jackson could indeed have saved himself by moving to India. He could have taken all the drugs he needed to take and he would still be little affected if at all. And he would have found out about the various ways sleepless Indians do help themselves to sleep. Watching parliamentary debates on TV, overloading on spicy food, or taking alertness medicines…the list is endless.

Jul

23

News from India’s animal world

July 23, 2009 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

A day in the life of India’s animals:

1. Overhead crows foil man’s escape from prison
Sanajid Middha’s plans to escape from the Alipore jail apparently went perfect until the crows over and around the jail decided against it. Middha escaped from his own cell and survived the overnight search by the prison police. But he ended giving his hiding spot up, when a murder of crows up in the sky noticed him hiding in the bushes and started pecking at him. It was almost early morning by the time the escapee climbed atop the prison roof and a guard preparing to hoist the national flag noticed movement on the roof, ending Middha’s night of freedom.

2. Stray snake adjourns Orissa state parliament
Yesterday, a king cobra scared the parliament members of Orissa state into emptying the assembly house, when a janitor alerted the parliament guards about the snake in the parliament. The poisonous snake was spotted right near chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s chair, prompting adjournment of the ongoing activities, and forcing all the parliament members to sit atop their chairs as the officials from the forest department tried to tackle the terror. It is believed the the snake went away on its own and wa never captured.

3. British company introduces foreign mosquitoes ot tackle Indian mosquitoes
A British company is about to introduce an experimental mosquito program in India. To tackle the mosquito menace in India, the company plans to introduce mosquitoes from Africa that have been genetically altered in the laboratory. The genetic alteration is supposed to have made the African mosquitoes sterile, but the scientists from ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) have expressed fear that random mutations might make the African mosquitoes fertile again, worsening the mosquito menace in the country.

Jul

21

Frisking of a president

July 21, 2009 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

There was an uproar in India’s upper house today about a recent frisking incident involving India’s former president Dr Kalam. The incident occurred a few months ago at Delhi’s international airport, when former president was about to embark on a Continental Airlines flight from New Delhi to Newark, New Jersey.

At the security checkpoint, the security personnel asked Dr. Kalam to remove his footwear and are said to have frisked him as well. It is not known if Dr Kalam was asked to remove his belt.

True to his nature, the former president did not raise any issue with the Indian government at the time of the flight, but the matter has now come to public notice and caused a stir in the parliament where the members expressed outrage over the humiliation meted out to the former president. And the civil aviation ministry is now asking Continental Airlines why action should not be taken on it, for treating the former president as an ordinary passenger.

Here’s what I think.

1. Every former president or prime minister will and should typically have his or her service detail traveling alongwith. One would think it is the duty of those personnel to protect the topmost dignitaries from being touched by others.

2. Every former president’s itinerary is and should be known to the government at all times, so a reasonable aount of protection can be accorded at all times. Once again, the former president’s staff seems to have failed him here.

3. In this day and age, top dignitaries, including diplomatic or white passport holders, should not mind going through a security check just as every other passenger goes through. What if the dignitary’s footwear is bugged and he is not even aware of it? What if the dignitary’s writing pen has a bomb inside? Wouldn’t we want to know why such devices were not interrupted at the security point itself?

4. It is not a question of humiliation, but a routine, a rule. In fact, everyone, no matter how high, should go through a rigorous security check, including domestic and foreign dignitaries. Dr. Kalam’s frisking has actually opened a door to this possibility and is a great opportunity. Imagine some member of parliament or some top bureaucrat is frisked tomorrow and complains about it, one can always tell him or her that even the presidents and the former presidents have to go through it. Meaning, nobody is above the law.

5. That Dr Kalam did not raise a stink over the issue speaks about his class. This is one former dignitary and president who sets examples everywhere he goes or travels. And for all the stink that is now being raised by others, the same politicians disrespected and humiliated him several times more when they refused to extend him another term, because they knew this guy to be a political independent and they also knew that he wouldn’t be their stooge.

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