An interesting essat on flyovers [in Indian context]

Forwarded by a friend, couldnt help but sharing -

निम्नलिखित लेख उस छात्र की कॉपी से लिया गया है, जिसे निबंध लेखन
प्रतियोगिता में पहला पुरस्कार मिला है। निबध का विषय था - फ्लाईओवर।

फ्लाईओवर का जीवन में बहुत महत्व है, खास तौर पर इंजीनियरों और ठेकेदारों
के जीवन में तो घणा ही महत्व है। एक फ्लाईओवर से न जाने कितनी कोठियां
निकल आती हैं। पश्चिम जगत के इंजीनियर भले ही इसे न समझें कि भारत में यह
कमाल होता है कि पुल से कोठियां निकल आती हैं और फ्लाईओवर से फार्महाउस।

खैर, फ्लाईओवर से हमें जीवन के कई पाठ मिलते हैं, जैसे बंदा कई बार
घुमावदार फ्लाईओवर पर चले, तो पता चलता है कि जहां से शुरुआत की थी, वहीं
पर पहुंच गए हैं। उदाहरण के लिए ऑल इंडिया इंस्टिट्यूट ऑफ मेडिकल साइंसेज
के पास के फ्लाईओवर में बंदा कई बार जहां से शुरू करे, वहीं पहुंच जाता
है। वैसे, यह लाइफ का सत्य है, कई बार बरसों चलते -चलते यह पता चलता है
कि कहीं पहुंचे ही नहीं।

फ्लाईओवर जब नए-नए बनते हैं, तो एकाध महीने ट्रैफिक स्मूद रहता है, फिर
वही हाल हो लेता है। जैसे आश्रम में अब फ्लाईओवर पर जाम लगता है, यानी अब
फ्लाईओवर पर फ्लाईओवर की जरूरत है। फिर उस फ्लाईओवर के फ्लाईओवर के
फ्लाईओवर पर भी फ्लाईओवर चाहिए होगा। हो सकता है कि कुछ समय बाद फ्लाईओवर
अथॉरिटी ऑफ इंडिया ही बन जाए। इसमें कुछ और अफसरों की पोस्टिंग का जुगाड़
हो जाएगा। तब हम कह सकेंगे कि फ्लाईओवरों का अफसरों के जीवन में भी घणा
महत्व है।

दिल्ली में इन दिनों फ्लाईओवरों की धूम है। इधर से फ्लाईओवर, उधर से
फ्लाईओवर। फ्लाईओवर बनने के चक्कर में विकट जाम हो रहे हैं। दिल्ली
गाजियाबाद अप्सरा बॉर्डर के जाम में फंसकर धैर्य और संयम जैसे गुणों का
विकास हो जाता है, ऑटोमैटिक। व्यग्र और उग्र लोगों का एक ट्रीटमेंट यह है
कि उन्हें अप्सरा बॉर्डर के जाम में छोड़ दिया जाए।

फ्लाईओवर बनने से पहले जाम फ्लाईओवर के नीचे लगते हैं, फिर फ्लाईओवर बनने
के बाद जाम ऊपर लगने शुरू हो जाते हैं। इससे हमें भौतिकी के उस नियम का
पता चलता है कि कहीं कुछ नहीं बदलता, फ्लाईओवर का उद्देश्य इतना भर रहता
है कि वह जाम को नीचे से ऊपर की ओर ले आता है, ताकि नीचे वाले जाम के लिए
रास्ता प्रशस्त किया जा सके।

फ्लाईओवरों का भविष्य उज्जवल है। कुछ समय बाद यह सीन होगा कि जैसे डबल
डेकर बस होती है, वैसे डबल डेकर फ्लाईओवर भी होंगे। डबल ही क्यों,
ट्रिपल, फाइव डेकर फ्लाईओवर भी हो सकते हैं। दिल्ली वाले तब अपना एड्रेस
यूं बताएंगे - आश्रम के पांचवें लेवल के फ्लाईओवर के ठीक सामने जो फ्लैट
पड़ता है, वो मेरा है। कभी जाम में फंस जाएं, तो कॉल कर देना, डोरी में
टांग कर चाय लटका दूंगा। संवाद कुछ इस तरह के होंगे - अबे कहां रहता है
आजकल रोज अपने फ्लैट से पांचवें लेवल का जाम देखता हूं, तेरी कार नहीं
दिखती। सामने वाला बताएगा - आजकल मैं चौथे लेवल के फ्लाईओवर में फंसता
हूं। अबे पांचवें लेवल के जाम में फंसा कर, वहां हवा अच्छी लगती है। अबे,
ले मैं तेरे ऊपर ही था, पांचवें वाले लेवल पर और तू चौथे लेवल पर, कॉल कर
देता, तो झांककर बात कर लेता। आने वाले टाइम में दिल्ली वाले अपने
मेहमानों को फाइव डेकर जाम दिखाने लाएंगे।

Computerization of Indian Railways...

Has it helped people.. You bet...

Lots of services are provided by Indian Railways to people over internet nowadays, including reservation and tracking a train.

Perhaps its not perfected yet, and there are issues sometimes here and there, but its there and working and working most of the times.

I am particularly fan of these two services, book a ticket and receive it in my mailbox, print it and travel. Simple, no hassles etc.. I think travel cant get simpler than this. All you need is an internet connection and a credit/debit card or a net banking account, and you are all set to plan your travels from the comfort of your xxxtop computer.

Try it here - http://www.irctc.co.in

And then there is this train tracking facility. I think this one rates even better than the previous one. You can actually, to a accuracy level of upto 90% track and see your train's movement. Quite a few times it has helped me plan my journey from my home to station to be just in time. Calling up Railway Station inquiry numbers is a hassle that we all want to avoid, and this site comes like a life saver.

Just find your train, and you are set to track the movement of your train, whether its running on time or late or whatever. The route is also available and is equally handy.

Try it here - http://www.trainenquiry.com

in reference to: Running Time Table of Trains (view on Google Sidewiki)

Indian Hocky and the comparison...

Hocky is our national game, something to be proud of, typically. And something at which we are supposed to be good, genuinely good that is.

However, the state of the game in our great country is not hidden from anybody. Hardly spoken of, the game seems to have become a toy in the hands of officials who hardly have any knowledge of the game. The players suffer and the game as well in perspective.

Recently, there was an episode about players' salaries. The poor guys had to go on "strike" to get their share of the money. Whereas the govt allocates crores and crores of rupees to the game, I wonder where does the money go if not on players' salaries or modernisation of the stadia. Or perhaps the officials are pocketing it away in the name of "empowering" the game and "spreading awareness". Well, this can very well happen in India and is no doubt one of the heads on which the money is being spent.

Then there is the general visibility of the game, though I know that its our national game, I am not sure how many others still remember Hocky as India's national sport. The thing is, with presistent poor performances, the game of hocky is almost forgotten, and with more and more media attention, Cricket has taken all the limelight.

Recently, just before the hocky world cup (hosted in india), there were a series of adverts on television wherein famous sportsmen (of other games) e.g. Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore, Virender Sahwag etc were advocating watching hocky matches and cheering for India. Doesnt it show the state of awareness the hocky federation wants to boost up. Pathetic, isnt it, that a sport that has the label of national sport, needs to be reminded to the public. And that too, without featuring any sportsman from that game itself. I wonder how many Indians would know of a few players' names from the team representing India in the world cup.

Then there is the real state of hocky, played by our team. I happen to miss the Pakistan game, which India won 4-1 and I happen to watch glimpses of the Spain match, which we had to win at all costs so that we are still in contention for the semi final spot.

The quality of Indian game was so bad, really bad, that you might confuse them for some school/college team. They couldnt handle passes, their marking of the opposition players was so bad that at times there was no one but the goal keeper to defend the goal (remember the goal by Spain's captain !!!).

At one point in the tv telecast, I caught the Indian coach helplessly shouting "pass...pass", and then bowing his head down in desparation, obviously no one listened to his words. Well, if the coach of the national team has to tell his players something as basic as this (to pass the ball), what can you expect...

The news report on the game by one of the newspapers next day was quite amusing. Apparantly the coach was caught on record saying that the mistakes were "childish". I have a feeling that the "authorities" would not be pleased with this remark from him and he would have to pay the price for this.

Good luck Indian Hocky...

Day night cricket matches in India...

India has a billion plus people. We all know about the disparity in the income distribution, in other words, while some have ample surplus, lots others cant afford a decent meal/roof/education for themselves/their families.

I am sure, not many of us would have forgotten the movie "Swades", where an NRI character faces the lack electricity in the villages and does something about it. Well, I am not trying to induce interest in electricity generation using the means shown in the movie, rather trying to showcase the situation in our villages, especially with respect to electricity availability.

There is a huge chunk of indian population that goes without access to electricity every day/night. Though government is doing its bit, there clearly is a gap between the effort and the reality. The reasons to that are manifold, ranging from power distribution network to power generation capacity.

Here I want to point out the fact that if we save enough, be careful in how we spend energy/electricity, we'd be helping the govt efforts to provide electricity to everyone. Remember, every bit saved is bit generated.

On one hand we face situation like this, and on the other hand, we have extravagance like day/night cricket matches where towers of flood lights consume energy enough to light up villages for days and days in a single day. This in my very personal view is a huge waste of energy, given that we have a scarcity of electricity. Thats my view, even though I claim myself to be an ardent fan of cricket myself.

Had we had some surplus energy, or may be if we were at least break even on our energy needs and generation, I would probably be advocating other way round. Look at the more developed countries like UK or for that matter any other country which do not have the energy problem, I dont mind such countries expanding energy on things like this. But something like this, happening in India, I dont feel quite nice about that.

There could probably be a simpler solution, just hold the day matches. I dont really want to be in a advisor role to BCCI or any other body, but there might be other solutions to the problem. A simpler one, thats prevalent in UK County league, hold matches on weekends. Perhaps hold smaller matches and more than one in a single day.

Further, and probably I would find more supporters on this argument, just hold lesser matches. Now a days, there is something or other cricket tournament going on every other week. This, that or the other. Cricket is going on too much these days. Sometimes its hard to follow as well.

If you'd play lower number of matches, you save all the resources, not the least my argument of the day, electricity.

I know that there are going to be voices about my argument....you are welcome. Just leave a comment on the post.

Please take the poll on the top of the page and share your views...

Interest Calculation method changed by RBI

Very interesting article, outlining the benefits of the new interest calculation engine proposed by RBI.

As per the writer, the interest on your savings account would be calculated on a per day basis now, instead of the current method. In the current method, the interest is calculated on the minimum of balance between 10th and the end of month.

A salaried person always loses out in this method, since by the end of the month, the balance is very low and therefore the interest is calculated on that.

I wonder, if and when the banks would start following this methodology ? Also, is it a direction from RBI or an instruction (the other words, is it a suggestion or an order)

Lets see what comes out... April is not far anyway...

Good luck to those who leave idle money in savings bank account...

in reference to: Moneycontrol || Wealth >> Bank deposits >> Get double interest on your savings account! (view on Google Sidewiki)

Wind energy

There is some renewed interest on my part in wind and related non conventional energy. Thanks to a brother of a friend whom I met last month only, I know a bit more about wind mills and the economy around it.

One thing that has come around is that its a entrepreneurial venture best suited for someone who has relatively deeper pockets. Relating to the sheer volatility and the size of investment required for this business, it becomes a hard to get for a normal first generation entrepreneur.

For example, in India, a typical windmill costs around 1.5 crores to set up. Though government provides decent subsidy on taxes and depreciation benefits to make it relatively viable, you still need about 25-30% of the initial investment to be put in. Further, the amount financed by banks needs a separate kind of guarantee, just because the asset is relatively immovable. You know, they cant just get the windmill out of its root and sell it to claim their money, in case the business defaults on the loan.

Further than that, there are open questions on the stability of the returns from the windmill. Though there are devices measuring the wind speed and therein judge the potential of a place to produce wind energy. These devices are put in place by a govt body and data is recorded to be sold to the companies in the business for generating wind energy.

However, there is no certainty that this data will come around. Remember, its a huge investment going to be based on the data produced by these measuring devices.

Some basic economics around windmills in india are found here -

@Agriculture Information

@Bangalore...

Well, in the intervening absent period, quite a few things have taken place. A new city has been added to my list of "worked at" locations, Bangalore. Yeah, the so called silicon valley of india.

I have taken up a job in the city here and moved with family. Its an interesting place, lot more cosmopolitan than the image it carries, much better climate for adults (why ?) and worse than expected organization.

As I said, its interesting, as in mixed feelings. The culture is truly cosmo, probably second only to Bombay (Mumbai ??). The kind of mix of people you see here is hard to find anywhere else. All sorts of indians are available and in quantity. :) And then there are those handful of foreigners, presumably offshored by their parent companies for different roles. Just try to venture out on a weekend evening around central Bangalore, the kind of mix visible is very interesting.

The climate is great for us adults. Its always a balanced temperature range, you'd be hard pressed to find an occasion to take your sweaters out. And even worse, my air-conditioner is yet to see the light of the opened box. no need of one. Why I keep itererating about weather being nice for adults, is that because its really bad for kids. the kind of temperature variations that the city goes through even a single day (between 20 and 28) is perhaps too much for the body of the children. They fall sick every now and then, and only after a few months does their bodies get used to it. Its not really nice seeing your kid getting fever or some other thing every now and then.

And, the city is developing beyond its managers expectations. There is no planning whatsoever to be seen for a sustained, planned development of the city. Whereever you see, there is a mix of different kind of buildings. Every other plot has turned into an apartment complex, however small, or spared of any amenities. Roads are so narrow, they cant even think of handling the total load of the vehicles of the city. There is a perennial traffic jam on the main arteries of the city. You have to figure out an alternate route which would avoid the main roads and lead you to your office or some other destination. Using the main roads, its impossible to commute, since you'd always be late.

So, the city has its plus and minus and of course I have only seen so much of it, probably 10-15% and I already complaining, you see, typical human psychology.. complain at every chance you get... :)

Having said all the above, life is not that bad as it might sound after the problems I enumerated.

How India 'Colonized' Britain - TIME

A very interesting article... :)

How India 'Colonized' Britain - TIME

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Termites feast on Bank Deposit Vault...

From a conventional belief in India (may be elsewhere too), the bank lockers (or vaults if you wish to call them) are the safest possible locations to keep your valuables.

Given the crime rate here and there, the bank lockers have long since been the preferred choice of people to put up savings, especially the jewellary and precious metal collections.

I can very well imagine the plight of Mr Dwarika Prasad, as to how would be feel after losing all of his savings thanks to the negligence of bank employees. And the better part is, they have enough courage to say that they are not responsible ?

Well, if not them, who is responsible for the loss that Mr Prasad has suffered ? I wonder if the corporations are going to improve and own up to their responsibilities, especially when the consequences are as devastating as in this case.

Though, I feel one awkward thing in the story, the fact that he chose to put currency notes inside the bank locker. He must had a very good reason to put currency notes in the locker, given that he's going to lose on value after each passing day.

Hard luck Mr Dwarika Prasad. :(

Termites feast on trader's money:
"'I'm shattered. I do not know what to do as I had kept the money for my old age,' Mr Prasad said."

Radika gori se.. lyrics

राधिका गोरी से, बृज की छोरी से,
मैया करा दै मेरो ब्याह,

उमर तेरी छोटी रे, नज़र तेरी खोटी रे
कैसे करायदऊँ तेरो ब्याह ।

राधिका गोरी से, बृज की छोरी से,
मैया करा दै मेरो ब्याह,

जो न ब्याह कराये,
तेरी गैया नाहि चराऊँ,
आज के बाद मेरी मैया,
तेरी दहली पर नाय आऊँ,

राधिका गोरी से, बृज की छोरी से,
मैया करा दै मेरो ब्याह,

चंदन की चौकी पै
मैया तोहे बैठाऊं

अपनी राधा से में
चरण तेरे दबवाऊँ

और, भोजन में बनवाऊगो
छप्पन प्रकार के । ।

राधिका गोरी से, बृज की छोरी से,
मैया करा दै मेरो ब्याह,

उमर तेरी छोटी रे, नज़र तेरी खोटी रे
कैसे करायदऊँ तेरो ब्याह ।

छोटी सी दुल्हनिया
जब अंगना में डोलेगी

तेरे सामने मैया
वो घूंघट ना खोलेगी


दाऊ से जा कहो, जा कहो
बैठेंगे द्वार

राधिका गोरी से....

राधिका गोरी से, बृज की छोरी से,
मैया करा दै मेरो ब्याह,

उमर तेरी छोटी रे, नज़र तेरी खोटी रे
कैसे करायदऊँ तेरो ब्याह ।

सुन बातें कान्हा की,
मैया बैठी मुसकाये

लेके बलाइयां मैया,
हिवडे से अपने मैया

नज़र कहीं लग जाए ना, लग जाए ना

राधिका गोरी से, बृज की छोरी से,
मैया करा दै मेरो ब्याह,

उमर तेरी छोटी रे, नज़र तेरी खोटी रे
कैसे करायदऊँ तेरो ब्याह ।

राधिका गोरी से,
बृज की छोरी से
कान्हा करायदऊँ तेरो ब्याह ।

Holi...2008

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Holi festival


Well, Being away from home on Holi is the one of the most painful days I have experienced. This is one full day of fun, being with friends, all colourful and removing all social barriers... I love Holi.

Described mostly as "Festival of colors", Holi is pretty significant socially as well. Many foes turn friends today (and hopefully stay on as friends), the social boundaries are broken rather easily today than any other days, spring "officially" start from the Indian calendar's perspective and on and on and on... I cant name them all, not so good with history.  Though, one might always go to wikipedia

I have liked holi as long as I can remember it, and have almot always tried to be home for Holi, because its at home that you can actually enjoy the most. Old friends, elders, youngers.. everyone comes home for holi. 

I remember how we used to gather at one friend's place to start our *rounds*. We'd pick up a "gujhia" or two, stuff them into our pockets. Move on to our next destination, which could be a friends' place, or someone's place only one of us might know. But that doesnt matter, on Holi's day, everyone is welcome everywhere.  So, we greet people, bow to elders, hug others, and pat youngers, exchange gujhia's that we picked up at last stop, and pick more here for next stops.  And this continues till afternoon...

And, now, its the third consecutive year that I have missed Holi at home and I miss it terribly.  I hope the next years bring better luck. :)

Happy Holi... :)

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Alternate Power sources : India

Lately, there has been discussions on global warming, and effects of consuming petrochemicals on our environment.  Among other things, this has generated a new buzz in the area of alternate sources of engery.

There is talk about wind power, solar power etc. more than ever.  There are practical reasons to look for that and potential upsides as well.

When I look at India, I feel these two sources (others are not discounted) can and should play a major role in fulfilling India's energy needs.  India has ample resources to generate power from both wind and solar sources.

There are already examples around the world, where the heat in desert has been tapped to generate solar energy. Check this on wikipedia, Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert,
a perfect example of how the Indian desert (one of the larger ones around the world) can be tapped to generate some huge amounts of solar power.  Well, I am no solar power scientist, and therefore cant comment on the technicalities and details around that, but I would very much like to know  the reason that comes about and suggests that it cant be done.

On wikipedia, there is a very interesting and encouraging page about situation of solar power in india. Also, checking the website of the Ministry of New and Renewable Resources shows that they have plans to expand in both wind and solar areas. Though this clearly show govt is thinking in this direction, I am sure people like me would love to see this happen in real life and not see these plans replaced by just another set of plans a few years later, without realizing much on the ground.

India also has a long coastline, and I believe this could be utilized for generating some wind power. Geographically speaking, both eastern and western coastline of Indian peninsula has hilly regions,  and I think these could prove to be interesting areas for installation of windmills.

The idea is not really new for India, since India already is developing wind power generation faster than any other country around the planet. As this article on wikipedia mentions, Wind power in India, India is already the fourth largest host of wind power generation installations.

When I tried to check how would it look like for an individual to install a solar panel or a windmill to fulfil his own energy needs, without relying upon the govt to provide for, google did come back with a few pieces of interesting information. 

Here's one page about how a family fought with administration to set up their own windmill, but eventually gained from it in long run.

This page talks briefly about how to set up such a system for alternate source of energy and provides a few links here and there.

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Indian Automobile Industry... what happened there...

Suddenly, there is a boom in the auto innovation sector, and I have to say very proudly, its coming from Indian companies.

Few weeks back, Tata announced "Tata Nano", then the cheapest car in the world, and today I hear another Indian auto company is launching a car cheaper than the famous "Tata Nano". Apparently its a small outfit called Tara automobiles, from/around Kolkata in West Bengal, and the car is called "Tara Tiny". Here's a link to the article, I found in my lunch break...

rediff.com: Tara Tiny @ Rs 99K is the world's cheapest car!

I wonder, where was all this innovation till a few months back.  For long long time, only news in auto innovation was coming from the bigger western players like Mercedes, GM, Ford, BMW etc.. or from Japan, where the likes of Toyota, Honda were leading.

Suddenly, there is news after news from the Indian manufacturers, and I cant hide my happy surprise. Way to go, guys.

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Shivaratri in Winterthur

Its been sometime since I have been home on one of these festivals. For example, I love Holi and I haven't been home for Holi in last 3-4 years. :( And, Holi is not the only one. All the biggies in the annual Hindu festival list are the same.

This time though, we had a chance to be at the local temple in Winterthur for शिवरात्रि (Shivartri). The temple is an ashram established by Swami Onkarananda. They have a similar ashram in Haridwar as well.

The place is now entirely run/managed by local swiss devotees. All of them have spent at least some time in the ashram in Haridwar. They seem to have excellent knowledge of Sanskrit, not so much of Hindi.

When they were performing the Shivaratri abhisheka, I was stunned to listen to them chanting original sanskrit shlokas and mantras, quite perfectly. I really really liked it.

There I met one more person, Bhaskar (भास्कर). Born a Swiss, he has been educated in haridwar and here in Switzerland as well. He had an excellent pronunciation of the sanskrit Shlokas.

It turned out that he had studied sanskrit in Haridwar for a long time (few years I guess). He claims knowledge of Vedas (वेद), and I dont think he's lying. With the kind of knowledge he was showcasing there, I could easily imagine him knowing some of it.

Later I learned that he's teaching people Sanskrit from the temple premises. A very nice thing in my opinion. Also, that he's starting (or already started) classes for kids on Veda in general.

In my view, a very very nice thing to do, especially that the knowledge about Vedas etc is not so much present in normal Indian's life.

All in all, the Shivaratri trip to the temple, turned out to be very interesting.

हर हर महादेव :)

Short films on India : Images

A friend mentioned that he watched two short films about India in some local theater here in Winterthur. He was telling me about the impression he carried from the two films and was telling me about it.

First film was sort of documentary, showing some things. Out of what was shown, a roadside dentist was fixing a lady's tooth. They were showing his tools which were not hygenic. Well, there were other gory details, which I dont really like to recreate here, but the overall idea was that the example situation portrayed a very very bad, poor image of India.

I would have to agree that, yes, thats also a piece of India. But it would be incorrect to see only one part of situation. India is a developing country, and lets not forget that we are on the path of progress for only 60 odd years. In a developing country, one always finds such inconsistent situations. There would be images where you will find affluent people, with money, high tech, in sync with Western styles, And on the other hand, you would find poor people, no money, no food.

When I miss India

Yesterday evening when I was returning home from office, a lady boarded the bus. She looked very much similar to a south Indian native.

I knew by instinct that she was a Sri Lankan, thats because there are a lot more Sri Lankan people living in Switzerland than South Indians. However, I couldnt deny myself the possibility that she could very well be an Indian. Somewhere I wanted her to be an Indian, and then there was this urge to go upto her and speak to her. About where she is from, what does she do here, how long is she living here and all that.. kind of small talk..

There are times when living overseas you feel like getting back in touch with homeland. The people, the culture, the food, the mindset, local issues, scenarios.. things like that. And when you come across someone strange, where there is a possibility that he/she is from your homeland, the urge goes higher.

Another exponent for me are few hindi songs. Whenever I happen to listen certain hindi film songs, I feel very homesick... Take for example, "ऐसा देस है मेरा" from Veer Zara. Few more in the same genre would be...

1. ये जो देस है तेरा, स्वदेस है तेरा... फ़िल्म स्वदेस
   
2. घर कब आओगे - फ़िल्म बॉर्डर
   
3. चिट्ठी आयी है - फ़िल्म नाम
   

These are some examples of songs that make me feel nostalgic about home. There is a strong urge of leaving all the overseas business and just move back home. Close to parents, family members, old friends everything...

I hope I am depicting the emotions correctly.

Jodhaa Akbar in Zurich

On the 16th of Feb, we enjoyed Ashutosh Gowarikar's new epic "Jodhaa Akbar" in Zurich. A particular cinema, that seems to have some ties with Indian movie distributers was screening it for a few days. The same cinema had already screened "Welcome" in past.

Before the movie was released, we have seen quite a few reports about the movie's correct depiction of historical facts about the emperor Akbar and his Rajput wife Jodhabai. It was so clear that people were trying to gain publicity out of nothing. People and groups that nobody has ever heard of were now on TV news talking about history and correctness or incorrectness of the movie's depiction of historical facts.

This is typical of populists in India. Give them anything that can be cashed upon, and they will. Arranging demonstrations, publishing press releases, breaking stuff at cinema halls screening the movie and what not.

I am no historian, but ever since I remember, we were taught in history classes in schools that Akbar married a Rajput princess "Jodhabai" in order to start diplomatic relations with Rajputs and avoid un-necessary bloodshed. It was depicted as a rather intelligent trait of the ruler.

I dont quite know where did they get to know something different about Akbar or Jodhabai and are furious upon.

Now, given all that background of weeks before release of the movie, the antipication was high. At times I feel that the movie produces try to enrage such sentiments in people, just to get their movie the same sort of anticipation that I felt. It gives a feeling to people, "Lets see this movie, what the hell is all this agitation about".

As it turned out, the movie is a result of brilliant effort. Being a costume drama set in a different time slice, it was always going to be difficult for the director to produce the same feelings and effects of that time. However, in my personal opinion, he came out pretty good. The movie has great visuals, fantastic costume design and the two lead actors, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Roy, have not given their director anything to complain about.

At 3 hours 30 minutes, its a bit on the longer side of movie spectrum, but we didnt fell bore in there. Perhapy it was relatively easier for us since we knew certain parts of historical facts, but otherwise also, the movie is pretty engaging.

Congrats to Ashutosh Gowarikar on such a nice movie. :)

महाराष्ट्र के हालत

यह महाराष्ट्र में क्या हो रहा है ? क्या किसी को दिख नहीं रहा कि कुछ नेतागण अपने किन्ही स्वार्थों के कारण सीधे-साधे नागरिकों में मनमुटाव पैदा कर रहे हैं।

इन श्रीमान नेताजी की बातों से पहले तो लोगों में कोई मन मुटाव नहीं था। इन श्रीमान ने कुछ अच्छा बुरा कहा और लोगों में मनमुटाव पैदा हो गया। बहुत बार ऐसा लगता है के हमारे नागरिकों में इतनी समझ तो होनी चाहिए कि इन नेताओं कि बातों का तत्त्व निकाल कर सोचें। बहुत बार ऐसे ख़याल भी आते हैं कि हमारे नेताओं को भी बुद्धिमानी दिखानी चाहिए और सोच समझ कर बयान बाजी करनी चाहिए।

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