Will anything change on Indian roads?

​The union government recently passed a Motor Vehicle amendment bill which is aimed at bringing some much needed changes in the system. In a previous post I had reproduced the text of the press release on the Bill as-is; that provides a comprehensive summary.

When talking about anything related to road transport, the organisation that is in most need of reform is the Motor Vehicles Department's  Regional Transport Offices (RTO). These RTO offices are a heaven for corruption, a nexus of agents conniving with corrupt officials, making it almost impossible to get any task done by ordinary individuals. Be it a licence renewal, licence issuance, registration of vehicle or anything else, there is an absolute need to go via middle men and pay additional commissions to get the work done.

If you happen to land up at the RTO office on any day, you will find yourself chased by agents / middlemen from the gates of the building. And even if you manage to dodge you will find that it is almost impossible to get any job done because most of the officials inside are expecting the 'cut money's that lands up in their pockets through agents; your request / file will just not move.

Thus any attempt of reform in this sector should start from the Motor Vehicle Department itself. Today when I am needed to reissue my licence as the writings have almost faded, why should I be paying 2000 rupees for a job which is actually charged 200-300 rupees by the department; where does rest of the money land up.

There is a massive need of digitization of the RTO services to weed out any corruption. There is some promise in the form of Vahan and Sarathi portals but those just look to be the first step at digitization of the records. The need is digitization of the services something inline with Passport e-Seva which can weed out the presence of middle men and life a bit easier.

Lincoln - A true achiever

The story of an achiever in a single picture. Lincoln got defeated multiple times in life and by life, at the end won the only one battle that mattered most. Hallmark of legend showing showing exemplary resilience and winning at the end. Even today when a poll is conducted on the greatest US president till date, Lincoln emerges a winner on most occasions.

Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2016

Following is a summary of Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2016 introduced by the Modi government. The text is also available at http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=148308 and is reproduced over here as is. Will share my opinion on this bill in a separate post.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Cabinet
03-August-2016 20:10 IST

Cabinet approves Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016 Historical Step towards making roads safe and save lakhs of innocent lives

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016.  The Amendment aims to improve

Every year 5 lakh road accidents are reported in the country in which 1.5 lakh people lose their lives.  Government is committed to reduce the accidents and fatalities by 50% in five years.

To address the issue of road safety, a draft Road Transport & Safety Bill was prepared soon after NDA Government came to power.  However, most of the States have expressed reservations.

What happened in Sunny Park?

The media in West Bengal, soon to be Bengal, has finally moved beyond Abesh Dasgupta. Since 23rd July, when a 17 year old bled to his death in an upscale residential apartment situated in one of the most premium residential area of Kolkata, every news channel and newspaper originating out of Kolkata feasted on the tragedy of the family. Facebook was filled with posts and shares on the incident.
When the initial reports came of the tragedy, it came as the news of a 17 year old 'murdered' in a scuffle with others of the same age group over something which sounded like a love-triangle (or square not sure).
From a Facebook post I came to know that father of the victim has just passed out 6 months back. What an unfathomable tragedy for the family.

Movie Review | Madaari and Nil Battey Sannata

During the last week I got to see two movies. Incidentally while one revolved around a ‘mother’ as the central character the other one revolved around a ‘father’; the first one was Nil Battey Sannata and the second one Madaari.

First about Madaari. This movie carries a story line similar to Sanjay Dutt starer Pitaah or Tathastu and the very recent A Wednesday. A grieving single father shocked and disturbed by the death of his only son, who dies from the collapse of a flyover, takes up the responsibility to find justice for his son. He kidnaps the son of a powerful minister in the government and that pulls by the neck all the corrupt individuals who were directly or indirectly involved in the flyover collapse.

The topic is a very relevant one in the light of the recent flyover collapse in Kolkata wherein many died. The collapse happened just before the elections and there were evident pointers towards the ruling party for reasons such as low quality material, excessive push to finish off the construction before the polls, questions on the quality of material supplied by ‘syndicate’ members close to the ruling party etc. But unfortunately the accident even failed to create a dent on the vote bank of the ruling party in the elections which were within a month or two of this unfortunate incident; in fact the same leaders returned back to power with a stronger mandate. Some inquiry into incident might be going on, but at the end the result is known. At the end it is a test for the family members of the victim to fight out in the court rooms against power and money.

First Day to Play Group | July 11th, 2016

This July 11th our son Raunak embarked on a very beautiful journey. He joined the pre-school or play group. We (me and my wife) were contemplating for a few days to get him enrolled to pre-school but having heard the how kids start getting common cold, cough and other ailments after joining, we were a bit sceptical. We were also quite unsure because most of the pre-schools in the vicinity are not very well maintained and clean. Luckily and thankfully Bubble Blue recently opened a branch at Sherwood Narendrapur. Even though that one is exclusively for the residents, one of my close friend who is a resident there was able to make some exception for our son.

Movie Review | The Theory Of Everything

The Theory of Everything is a movie about one of the most spectacular struggles of human determination against all odds. Undoubtedly Stephen Hawking is one of most well-known face of physics and astronomy in the world today; may be apart from Einstein there is no other face from the field as well-known as him.

The movie captures his struggles, his journey and the most touching relationship he had with his first wife Jane. May be Hawking would not have scaled the heights of achievement without the support of his wife. Eddie Redmayne gave a tremendous performance and no doubt that had earned him the coveted Oscar in 2014 for the best male actor. It is really hard to distinguish the on-screen Hawking from the real one just by the looks; the similarity was too much.

Open Letters on the Kashmir violence of July,2016

Violence is again back in the valley. Since the death of an hitherto unknown terrorist (or separatist? Or extremist?) by the name of Burhan Wani at the hands of security forces Kashmir is on the boil. At least 34 people have so far died and many hundreds are injured; some permanently blinded. Media and social media has also been active on this Kashmir issue; some favoring the nationalism and the actions of the armed forces while others standing in solidarity with the Kashmiri population.

Recently an open letter surfaced on social media written by an army veteran by the name of Major Gaurav Arya. And then there was this response to that open letter written by a Kashmiri settled in Mumbai. These two open letters more or less captures holistically the mood and countering opinions from either side.

Turkish Military Coup of July,2016

The failure of the recent coup in Turkey is being hailed the world over by political leaders and media to be a success of democracy. But there is something intricate to that. The secular Turkey came up through the visions of a military leader and this coup was an attempt by the army to overthrow the regime of the current President which is attempting systematic radicalization of Turkish politics and society while moving away from its secular foundations.

I recently came across this article which had captured this thought process. Europe may stand to lose by supporting the current regime.

Repairing my Nikon D5100

​My Nikon D5100 is alive again though a bit handicapped. After the severe fall which it had 2 weeks back I had almost given up that I would be able to use that one again. But thankfully enough I am again able to click with that.

The after the crash I visited Capital Electronic at Esplanade. This one is a authorised Nikon camera service centre. I gave the camera to them on a Saturday and came back. They told me that they would first call me with the estimate and then once I approve they will go for the repair. The same day afternoon called me and told that the camera body had a damage in the shutter which would require Rs. 2200 to be repaired. The lens had greater damage and would require at least Rs. 3000; the amount may increase further. I gave them approval for fixing the Camera body but asked them to hold on for the lens. I was thinking about getting a new lens. I got an automated SMS on the next Monday that the camera body is repaired.

What to do in case of traffic accidents in Kolkata?

The other day I had a very nasty experience on the road. While on my way to office thought of getting the air pressure checked at the BPCL petrol pump off EM Bypass near Patuli Dhalai Bridge. When I reached there for refill there were 2 more cars already in queue and 1 was getting its air filled. I joined the queue. Suddenly an Ola cab came from the opposite direction driving against the direction of traffic on EM Bypass and since it was coming from the opposite direction its entry to the petrol pump was blocked by the queue in front air refilling pump. The driver then started to honk vigorously and then started hurling abuses. Now that is an incident which anyone would face on a daily basis but then I didn’t had the mood of getting down from car and get engaged with such crass person. Reacting to such unruly behavior result in unfortunate incidents of road rage frequently reported.

Euro 2016 Finale - A night to remember for a long time

It was sometime around 2:49 AM IST when Eder’s long distance shot landed at the back of the French net. It was the 109th minute and France knew that was it. The ultimate dream has come true.

Portugal won their first major international trophy. They had Eusebio, they had Figo but they required a Cristiano Ronaldo to achieve the glory. This has been a fairy tale tournament for Portugal. At the onset no one would have thought they would be there in the finals leave aside being the champions but now they are the topmost team in Europe.

The final was nothing less than a fairy-tale too. From the onset of the match it was clearly evident that France was the team with a complete upper hand. They had most of the ball possession and had a couple of attempts at the Portugese goal itself in the first 20-25 mins. Portugal was on the other hand struggling the control the ball in the midfield and there was no supply to their forward line. The Portugese defence and goalkeeper were being tested and they did a good a job to hold Griezmann and company.

Thoughts on the Dhaka terror attack - Continued

Few days back I had done a post on the gradual radicalization that has taken place of the Bangladeshi society. The attacks that have taken place are the result of years of Ismalisation that has taken place for the past few decades.

In the aftermath of attack the following article in Sunday Times of India points to the same direction.
The story can be read here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/deep-focus/Why-Gulshan-was-waiting-to-happen/articleshow/53134372.cms

My Nikon D5100 Destroyed

Got to end the day on a very sad note. My beloved Nikon D5100 is dead. Actually it is dead and destroyed. Took out the camera in the evening to take a passport size picture of my son; needed for his school admission.

Had kept the camera on the dressing table and just as I was about to pick it up holding the body, the camera belt got entangled with a drawer handle. I had picked up the camera suddenly and with that sudden force the camera slipped out of my hand and fell on the floor.
I was just dumbfound to see the camera lying split into two parts. Picked it up and understood the damage to be severe. The lens is completely destroyed and uprooted from the camera base. I have no hopes for the lens but if somehow the camera body could be repaired.

40000 rupees gone in a second. I had purchased this one in 2013 from Mustafa, Singapore. Used it to capture some really wonderful moments. Completely heart broken now. Will be taking it to service centre. Hope some how it can come back to life.

Euro 2016 Finale

So the stage is set for the Finals on Sunday. Portugal will be meeting hosts France in Paris. Both the semi-finals have now ended in the identical 2-0 score line. The odds are heavily stacked up against Portugal but still my bet is with them. And the reason for that would be the same because of which many people would love to see France win…..Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal was ultimately able to halt the dream run of Wales. The first half of the match was equally played out with Wales having a slightly upper hand. Bale made some really sharp entries into the Portugal half but they missed a finisher. They also missed the services of play maker Ramsey who was ruled out because of successive Yellow cards.

Thoughts on the Dhaka terror attack

The connection with Bangladesh runs very deep into the Bengali community of India. For long Bengalis had been one of the worst impacted because of the political division which the sub-continent had witnessed in the past century based on religious and lingual demarcations.
The idea of partitioning Bengal was first implemented by Lord Curzon in 1905. Bengal at that time was a huge province and Bengalis were dreaded as a community by the Brits. They had understood that Bengalis had the ability to provide intellectual and political guidance to rest of India. The partition of Bengal in 1905 was withdrawn after sometime because of huge protests.

Then came 1947. This saw a massive migration of people from Bangladesh into India and vice versa. And then again 1971. One of the main reason why India justified its entry into the Bangladesh Liberation War was the refugee crisis it had to face. It resulted in the displacement of some 10 million refugees from Bangladesh into India.

It took a lot of time for all these refugees to settle down but the emotions attached with the roots were hardly uprooted. The romanticism attached with Bangladesh still persists. The dialect (even though Bengali of West Bengal is distinctly different from how Bengali is spoken in West Bengal), the food habits, the ghoti-bangal debate, the debate over Mohun Bagan – East Bengal are all testimony to the deep connect which still runs between Bengalis on either sides of the border.

Euro 2016 Semifinal | Battle of Galacticos

The first seminal of Euro 2016 will be played tomorrow between Portugal and Wales; each team lead by two Galacticos of Real Madrid. Portugal additionally is being led by also the man who is one of most hated players on earth at this moment.

Our generation is fortunate enough to have seen two of the greatest footballers of all time, Messi and Ronaldo, in full glory. While there is a never ending debate going on as who is the better between the two, the two have continued to go in fame and glory. Both have achieved tremendous honors for their clubs and personally but glory for country is something still eludes them.

Juvenile Law in India

Few months back there was a lot of debate in media, newspaper and social media upon the release of the juvenile criminal in the Nirbhaya case. The media had branded this juvenile to have committed the most barbaric of the acts during the crime.

However the criminal managed to escape the full scale of punishment just because he was 6 months shy from turning 18. He was spared the fate of being tried as an adult and was awarded just a 3 year term for a crime which led to the death of a young girl; after a lot of suffering. In December 2015 the so called juvenile got released from the correction facility and was handed over a handsome rehabilitation package to start a new life. In an Utopian world it would be nice to assume that the criminal bend of mind of this juvenile had got corrected during the time he spent at the correctional facility. And he is ready to be integrated into the mainstream. But if that is true practically is subject debate and discussion.

Jupiter landing by Juno

Source: ToI Kolkata (1st July, 2016)

Iceland @ Euro 2016

This was tweeted by Iceland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to show how the national football team of Iceland was selected. That team has now beaten England to reach the Euro quarterfinals in their debut appearance itself.

Remote Controlled Ships of the Future

Source: ToI Kolkata (29th June, 2016)

A Summary of the Mexit

Source: ToI Kolkata (28th June, 2016)

A summary of the Messi exit saga which took place yesterday.

COPA 2016 | Come Back Messi

2014, 2015 and now again 2016. International glory continues to elude Argentina and with that one of the greatest footballers across generations; Lionel Messi.

Monday morning at 5:30 AM IST, Argentina met Chile for the second consecutive time in the finals of the Copa Centenario 2016. Argentina had also found Chile in the last edition in 2015 and got beaten by the same opponent on penalties 4-1. This is also the third consecutive year Argentina has qualified into the finals of a major international tournament.

Chile again provided to be a hard nut to crack. Higuain repeated what he had done in the 2014 FIFA world cup finals; squandered a golden chance. That was a decisive chance for Argentina because during the entire 120 minutes Argentina never came so close to winning.

Rise of Ronaldo-Euro 2016

Sometimes it is really hard to understand human behaviour. Why some people like someone and why doesn’t, each group would have their billion reasons. Such a case in point is Christiano Ronaldo one of the two superstars of world soccer; the other being Lionel Messi. CR7 has got his own share of fans but along with that he has got his share of ‘Hate Fans’. These are the people who hate him but don’t ignore him. They make sure that they troll each and every negative move by CR7 and that is why I consider them fans too. Whether it’s a comment, a public reaction, a bad performance on the pitch or a damn missed penalty; they celebrate and publicise everything and hence I consider them fans too.

Portugal and it’s captain CR7 was having an utterly forgettable Euro 2016. They drew the first match against Iceland 1-1. Iceland is the surprise package of this Euro. With the support of more than 8% of their population rooting for them in every match, they are just rocking this Euro.
The next match against Austria was even worse. CR7 missed a number of chances during the entire and even missed a penalty. It was a complete disaster and the match ended 0-0. CR7 was blasted all across social media for his lacklustre performance. Some people went to the extent of predicting the fall from grace of CR7; his imminent end was near.

Coming into the Hungary match there was tremendous on Portugal and specially CR7 to perform. They had to win and expect Iceland loses to qualify the normal way. To qualify as the third team they needed a draw but not a 0-0 one so that they can qualify with a better goal difference over Austria. Hungary was the top placed team of the group and in fine form. In the build up to the match the pressure was evident on CR7 from his impulsive act when he threw the microphone of a reporter into the lake.

As the match started in the opening moments Hungary got a lead. Gera took a shot at the goal from outside the box in the 19th minute. It was a ground shot which the goalkeeper should have stopped but he may have lost sight of the ball because of the multiple Portuguese defenders in front of him and the ball found back of the net.

COMETH THE HOUR, COMETH THE MAN.

After this what we saw was one of the best revivals in the recent past and so far the best match in the Euro so far.

In the 42’ CR7 put a ball through to Nani. The assist bifurcated the Hungarian defence and landed on Nani’s feet. Thankfully Nani made no mistake and equalised for Portugal. At half time the score line stood at 1-1.

The second half was display of riveting football. Hungary first took themselves 2-1 up by scoring from a free kick. The free kick was deflected from a defender’s should and the goalkeeper missed the change in the flight of the ball.

In the 50’ Ronaldo scored a clever back-hill to restore back 2-2 parity. Inside the box Ronaldo got the ball at his feet with a Hungarian defender shadowing him. If he had taken the normal route then surely the defender would have cleared the ball. Instead CR7 fooled the defender and goalkeeper by letting the ball pass then slightly diverting the direction of the ball with a back hill. It was display of superb timing and footballing sense.

But soon after Ronaldo equalised Hungary again found the back of the net and were up 3-2.
Then in the 62’ minute CR7 rose high and high above the defenders of Hungary to equalise with a brilliant header. A trademark CR7 header. And that helped Portugal qualify for the next round.

Ronaldo has again proved his critics wrong. Why he is hated is not clearly understood but why he is loved is quite know. May be he is hated because he is arrogant and does pretends quite a few times on the field; but all that is part and parcel of the modern game. Messi and Ronaldo are two of the undisputed greats of his generation. Messi is a naturally gifted talent. CR7 is a man-made talent. Whatever he is today is mostly because of years of hard work he has put behind those. And that demands respect.

Today Portugal would be facing Croatia. Croatia has had a fine run this Euro. They have beaten Turkey and the mighty Spain; and have drawn 2-2 with Czech. Let’s hope for a good match and a Portuguese win.

New Lane for Panama Canal

Source: Times of India (06/24/2016)

Elephant in Danger

Source: Times of India (06/24/2016)

দুর্গাপূর মানে

Veg and Non-Veg Divide of India

The following image depicts the distribution of Vegeterian and Non-Vegeterian as a percentage of the total population in the states.

In India we have the Vegeterian people living mostly in the Western and Northern states of the country. The states in the Eastern and Southern have a more number of Non-Vegeterian people.

First Pink Ball Match in India

CAB Super League final between Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore Club held on 21st June, 2016 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

ভারতের প্রথম গোলাপি বলের ম্যাচের ঐতিহাসিক কিছু মুহুর্ত :
.
প্রথম ব্যাট : জয়জিৎ বসু (মোহনবাগান)
প্রথম বল : রবিকান্ত সিং (ভবানীপুর)
প্রথম রান : জয়জিৎ বসু (মোহনবাগান)
প্রথম উইকেট : জয়জিৎ বসু (মোহনবাগান)
প্রথম উইকেট শিকারী : গীত পুরি (ভবানীপুর)
প্রথম বাউন্ডারি ও ওভার বাউন্ডারি : বিবেক সিং (মোহনবাগান)
প্রথম অর্ধশতরান : অনুষ্টুপ মজুমদার (মোহনবাগান)
প্রথম শতরান : অরিন্দম ঘোষ (মোহনবাগান)
প্রথম পাঁচ উইকেট শিকার : মহম্মদ শামি (মোহনবাগান)

প্রথম জয়ী দল : মোহনবাগান

Argentina in Copa 2016 Finals

Today was a fabulous day of football. Got up at 6:30 in the morning; was late by few minutes in switching on the TV. And by that time Argnetina had opened their account vs USA. The first goal a ball chipped by Messi from outside the box just where Lavezzi was moving in. The entire US defence was bypassed by that assist from Messi. The goal was scored just 3 minutes into the game.

The second goal is one of the most memorable goals of this edition of Copa and which is going to be remembered for a long time. Messi wearing a silver
boot generated a golden moment when he took the free kick from just outside the box. The US goalkeeper was standing near to the far post. Messi took the shot, the ball rose, curled and then dipped to enter the top right corner of the net. The US goalkeeper did try but that one was truly beyond his reach. With this goal Argentina more or less sealed the fate of USA. And Messi moved on to become the highest goal scorer or Argentina surpassing Batistuta.

Then came the third goal in the 50th minute when Higuain moved in cleverly capturing a rebound off the US goal keeper.

The fourth goal was again a sublime assist from Messi. He moved in parallel with Higuain into the box. With the ball at his feet the momentum of the entire defense was shifted to towards him leaving Higuain completely unmarked. At the final moment just before taking a shot Messi swiftly passed on the ball to Higuain who just scored from the sitter. An player in the position where Messi was for this goal would have been tempted to take a shot but Messi resisted that temptation and went for the option which had a higher success rate.

US didn't had much of an answer to the genius of Messi as he periodically destroyed the American defense. In spite of the score line you can never pass USA as a 'small team'. They had proved their capability against more fancied opponents in the past.

Argentina qualified for the second straight Copa America final and they would again be facing the same opponent Chile as last time; when they lost. Argentina last lifted the Copa in 1993 when Batistuta, Ortgea, Simeone used to play. But since then had reached the finals in 2004, 2007 and 2015 to loose every-time.

ISRO Launches 20 Satelites

 Source: Times of India (06/23/2016)

Deaths Due to Lightning in India

 Source: Times of India (06/23/2016)

Human Migration and EU

 Source: Times of India (06/22/2016)

Largest Plane to Launch Satelite

 Source: Times of India (06/22/2016)

Global Human Migration Crisis

 Source: Times of India (06/22/2016)

Firearms Menace in USA

 Source: Times of India (06/22/2016)

Movie Review: Udta Punjab

The first we saw Alia Bhat debut in Karan Johar's college romance Student of the Year, not many people could have actually predicted the true potential of hers as an actress. She is not the best looking actress in Bollywood nor she is tall. Her acting skills displayed in her first movie was also not top notch. Not many people would have expected Alia Bhat to have a long run in Bollywood.

But in 2014 many things changed for her. She did '2 States' and 'Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya' and then came 'Highway'. In 'Highway' her acting skills were on full throttle ans she received acclaims far and wide. And now we have Udta Punjab. What a performance she has given? Her portrayal of migrant laborer girl who, while attempting to make some quick bucks, got sucked into the drug vortex of Punjab has to be seen to be appreciated. Alia Bhat lacks considerably in glamour quotient when compared to a Deepika or a Anushka; and that actually works in her favor when playing such roles.

Sahid no wonder delivered another nice performance. Again for him no one would have expected that he would be able to come out of the 'sweet lover boy' mould and move on to act in movies like Kaminay and more recently Haider. He has moved on from copying the mannerisms of Sharukh Khan to a more matured acting path. His career has seen quite an upswing since separating from Kareena.
Kareena also played a good role in the movie but at times her acting provided glimpses of Jab We Make. The enthusiasm and spark visible on Kareen's face did not quite gel with the background of an investigation on drug cartel.

The movie overall is definitely good and maintained a good pace. Undoubtedly the usage of expletives was quite rampant but then how would you depict a Punjabi society without those. Nihalni provided an unwanted publicity to the movie which turned into a craze. But Udta Punjab deserves every bit of attention it has received.

My Rating would be 4 out of 5.

দুর্গাপূর মানে - ১

দুর্গাপূর মানে:
সোমবার সকালে গাড়ি ও মানুষের সংখা ও গতি দেখে বোঝা মুশকিল এটা সোমবার না রবিবার সকাল। সোমবার সকালেও শহরটাতে এত শান্তি, দেখে অবাক লাগে।
রবিবার রাতে কনো আড্ডাতে কাউকে বলতে  শোনা যাবেনা 'চল চল কাল আবার সোমবার'.

যদি ওখানে কেউ একটা চাকরি দিত।

Book Review: The Rozabal Line

Few days back I completed this book. This one had generated a lot of interest when it was released for the first time. Those were the days when Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code had made novels dwelling in the boundary of fact and fiction were toast of the season.
The good thing about these novels is that they mix a lot of fact with fiction. And these are not facts which are very common place to be found. Reading such novels has got two levels of attraction. The facts are obviously the first as you get to know some hitherto unknown ones. For history lovers they are truly revealing. And then you have the plot interwined which gives you the added thrill.

The Rozabal Line is a well researched book on a very sensitive topic. The author had listed down all references to the external websites and books which had provided the premise information for the work. While reading the book it may not be possible for a reader to read the references in detail as that would stretch the time required to complete the book. But anyone with interest to further learn and explore the subject should definitely try that.
The part where the book seriously lags behind is the fiction. I would say the author could have done a much better job if he had put some deeper thought and imagination into that part.

When the book has its foundation in facts, the fiction should not be something completely out of this world; the chapters on past life regression were such. 1 2 3 4 5....and you travel back to a birth more than 2000 years back or you see the future...is one of the most absurd pieces of imagination I have read in a long time.

Apart from that exit sections of the novel were a bit hastened. While during the initial portion author devoted a lot of time in setting up the premise but ended the storyline in a jumbled manner. A reader may think that the book would be more on the subject of Jesus in Kashmir but at the end the focus shifts to something else; not sure if that is deliberate or the author lost his way. The author tries to establish a link between Hinduism and Christianity which could be real interest to the Hindutva focused groups.

Overall if you want to gather the facts on the subject of Jesus in Kashmir, this is a good point to start. If this is your book on such genre, you may find it interesting. But if you have already read Dan Brown you may find it a bit difficult to motivate yourself to complete this book.

মহাগুরু

শেষ পর্যন্ত মহানায়ক নিয়ে বিতর্ক হতে পারে কিন্তু মহাগুরু একজনই।

কমান্ডো,  গুন্ডা, ফাটাকেশটো থেকে তাহাদের কথা, শুক্ন লংকা.....উনি একমাত্র পারেন।

Of Encroachment and Eviction

For the last few days encroachment and eviction are two terms which we are getting to see almost every day in the newspapers. Thanks to the very unfortunate incident which took place in Mathura where 26 lives were lost for a 'cause' which was everything else apart from being a valid cause.

Few days before that there was a similar incident which took place at Baruipur rail station in West Bengal. There was a hawker, in fact to say correctly illegal hawker, eviction drive organised by the railway officials accompanied by a handful of police personnel. May be the railway officials had not anticipated but they were faced with a massive resistance from hawkers who were helped by many goons from the nearby areas. The bomb making industry displayed its arsenal and there were, as per ToI reports, 14 bombs hurled. And the railway officials were happily thrashed. Unlike in Mathura, fortunately no life was lost in Baruipur.

Copa 2016: Argentina vs Chile

Today's match between Argentina and Chile was a throwback of the 2015 Copa final. The match started with some good moves from Argentina. 

First 25 minutes of the first half was completely dominated by Argentina with Di Maria creating some good openings. But having very few chance of playing in the same team for most part of the year, the lack of coordination between the midfield and striking force was visible. Chile gradually repelled back the initial set of attacks and settled into the game. Once they grasped the game they also created chances and looked to dominate rest of the first half. There were some close misses from their side.

In the second half Chile looked to attack more from the onset. They were doing quite good but because of some sloppy work in the midfield helped Argentina pump in 2 goals in quick succession; Di Maria scored the first one (50') and provided the assistance for the second one to Banega (58').In the last minute of extra time (90+3') Chile scored their only goal. It was a mistake from the Argentine goal-keeper who charged forward to fist the shot from a free-kick but missed because the distance was too far for him to cover. 

Something which Argentina needs to look at:

• They need to look for an alternative to Higuain as their main striking force. Higuain was the top scorer in Serie A in the recently concluded season but he looks far from convincing while playing for Argentina.
• Di Maria is in prime form. If Messi can come in (he missed this match) then he should be more playing in the creative role and Di Maria as the striker.
• In today's match the absence of a striker in the middle was noticed many times. Crosses from the left and right flanks were not getting converted. In fact there was an instance when left flank crossed to right and then right to left again but no one was in the middle to collect and score.

How does IRCTC book train tickets?

Do you Know why  IRCTC does not allow you to choose seats? Would you believe that the technical reason behind this is PHYSICS.

Booking a seat in a train is far more different than booking a seat in a theatre.

Theatre is a hall, whereas train is a moving object. So safety concern is very high in trains.

Indian railways ticket booking software is designed in such a way that it will book tickets in a manner that will distribute the load evenly in a train.

Let me take an example to make things  more clear : Imagine there are sleeper class coaches in a train numbered S1, S2 S3... S10, and in every coach there are 72 seats.

So when some one first books a ticket, software will assign a seat in the middle coach like S5, middle seat numbered between 30-40, and preferably lower berths (Railways first fills the lower berths than upper one so as to achieve low centre of gravity.)

And the software books seats in such a way that all coaches have uniform passenger distribution and seats are filled starting from the middle seats (36) to seats near the gates i.e 1-2 or 71-72 in order from lower berth to upper.

Railways just want to ensure a proper balance that each coach should have for equal load distribution.

That is why when you book a ticket at the last, you are always allotted an upper berth and a seat numbered around 2-3 or 70, except when you are not taking a seat of someone who has cancelled his/her seat.

What if the railways book tickets randomly ? A train is a moving object which moves around at a speed of around 100km/hr on rails.
So there are a lot of forces and mechanics acting on the train.

Just imagine if S1, S2, S3 are completely full and S5, S6 are completely empty and others are partially  full. When the train takes a turn, some coaches face maximum centrifugal force and some minimum, and this creates a high chance of derailment of the train.

This is a very technical aspect, and when brakes are applied there will be different braking forces acting at each of the coaches because of the huge differences in weight of coach, so stability of train becomes an issue .

Source: Whatsapp forward

Knowing vehicle information

Any vehicle on the road if you want to know the name of the owner, it is very simple. Just type VAHAN space Vehicle No and send to 7738299899 , you can get the owner of the vehicle in return SMS, thanks to "DIGITAL INDIA"
it will be easy to complain on vehicles who do not follow traffic rules, and commit Road Accidents.....

Example :
VAHAN MH12GFXXXX

Source: Whatsapp forward

Gabbar Singh and Management Lessons

Gabbar Singh was a MANAGEMENT GURU as is reflected in some of the timeless management lessons he delivered through the movie Sholay.

1. Jo Darr Gaya - Samjho Mar Gaya!
Courage and enterprise are important factors for laying the successful foundation of a growth oriented business.

2. Kitne Admi The..??
It's important to know the competition and its size. He understood that even a small team can make a difference.

3. Arey O Sambha, Kitna Inaam Rakhe Hai Sarkar Hum Par ?
Know your market value. Promoting one's own brand is very important and to be reiterated always.

4.  Goli 6 Aur Aadmi 3!
Create an illusion where his insurbodinates had a chance of survival but kills them in the next scene.
Moral - Perform or perish.

5. Le Ab Goli Kha
Sometimes in the interest of the organisation you have to take hard and unpopular decisions....
So sometimes a leader has to 'fire' some employees.

6. Yeh Ramgarh Waale Apni Betiyon Ko Kaunsi Chakki Ka Aata Khilate Hai Re.
Market research is important to understand value propositions !!

7. Yeh Haath Mujhey Dedey Thakur.
Identify elements of threats in the market and take measures to minimise them.

8. Holi Kab Hai, Kab Hai Holi ?
Conduct advance mapping of key events within the industry and devise penetration strategy to have a competitive edge over your rivals.

9. Basanti, Naach!
Motivate your team through rewards beyond just salary and bonus

Source: Whatsapp forward

Knowing Muhammad Ali

What do you stand for? This week Muhammad Ali passed away. His life was an example of how the legacy we leave isn't in the knocks we take, but in the stands we make. Here are Ali's Top 10 stands:

Stand #1: He made a stand in 1954 when, as a 12 year-old Cassius Clay, his bike got stolen. He told the nearest policeman, Joe Martin, he wanted to "whup" the thief. Joe said "You better learn how to box first." and then trained Cassius on how to box. Six weeks later, he won his first fight.

Stand #2: He made a stand in 1960, just six years later, by enduring his fear of flying to fly to Rome and win the light heavyweight Gold Medal at the Olympics.

Stand #3: He wore the medal everywhere he went but, several months after the Olympics, he made a stand when, after he was refused service from an all-white soda fountain counter, he threw his prized Olympic Gold Medal into the Ohio River (It was finally found, 54 years later in 2014 on the river's banks during the "Annual Ohio River Sweep")

Stand #4: He made a stand in 1965 for racial and religious freedom when, after causing a major upset in beating Sonny Liston to win the World Championship title, he embraced Islam and switching from his "slave name" Cassius Clay to his new Muslim name, Muhammad Ali.

Stand #5: He made a stand in 1967 against being sent to fight in the Vietnam War, saying "My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, some poor, hungry people in the mud, for big powerful America, and shoot them for what? They never called me nigger. They never lynched me. They didn't put no dogs on me."

Stand #6: He made a stand at an Army recruiting station a few months later, when he refused to step forward when his name was called. He said "You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won't even stand up for me in America for my religious beliefs and you want me to go somewhere and fight but you won't even stand up for me here at home."

Stand #7: He was banned from boxing for 3 years and was stripped of his World Title. He made a stand throughout the 3 years of his ban by visiting colleges and speaking out against the war and for racial justice. Then, in 1970 at the end of the ban, despite still having a 5 year jail sentence pending, he re-entered the ring and  beat Jerry Quarry. The next year, after 4 years of appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed his prison sentence.

Stand #8: He made a stand in 1974 against the stripping of his title by beating George Foreman in "The Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire, winning back the World title.

Stand #9: He made a stand in 1984, after discovering he had Parkinson Disease, by setting up the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Centre, saying "Many fans wanted to build a museum to acknowledge my achievements. I wanted more than a building to house my memorabilia. I wanted a place that would inspire people to be the best that they could be at whatever they chose to do, and to encourage them to be respectful of one another."

Stand #10: He made a stand for sport, despite his deterioration from Parkinson's, and appeared at every Olympics to carry the Olympic flame through to 2012, where he was helped to his feet in the Stadium by his wife Lonnie, after no longer being able to carry the flame.

Sports Illustrated name him "Sportsman of the Century". The BBC named him "Sports Personality of the Century." When asked how he wanted to be remembered, he said "As a man who never sold out his people. But if that's too much, then just a good boxer. I won't even mind if you don't mention how pretty I was."

For me, I will remember Muhammad Ali like the Olympic flame he carried at every Olympics. As a never-ending light that is passed on from one person to the next, always standing, always shining.

"We become heroes when we stand up for what we believe in." ~ Muhammad Ali

Source: Whatsapp forward

Our safety is in our own hands

Because of my job I had been to Singapore and had stayed there for close to two years. Singapore is indeed a remarkable country; it is indeed a first world oasis surrounded by third world countries as the father of modern Singapore has remarked.
Anyone who would have visited the country would agree that it is an extremely safe and secured city state with a very tight administration. But still I had seen notice boards put by the police at many places mentioning "Singapore is a Low crime city but not a No crime city".

What about the tax and cess?

" স্যার lunch এর জন্য ধন্নবাদ । দিন দিন আপনাদের ক্যান্টিন এর মেনুটা বেশ জমপেশ হয়ে উঠছে। তা আপনাদেরও কি বিল এর ওপরএ  সেস টেস দিতে হচ্ছে নাকি? "

"Sir,thank you for the lunch. The Parliament canteen menu is geting better by the day. Do you guys also need to pay the cess on top of the bill?"

Cartoon inspired by Laxman re-created by Raktim...

Mexico 86...the moment not witnessed

There are moments in sporting history which create legends..give birth to gods who are not only remembered but worshiped for centuries and ages to come. Mexico 86 was one such moment.
Unfortunately I had not the witnessed the moment live. I was only 5 years old and there was no television then.

I first came to know about this god sometime around 87 or 88...exactly not sure. I was gifted a poster of Diego Armando Maradona by my uncle and he explained me who the man in the poster is. And from that moment the love started. It was love, worship; maximum and unconditional. Since then I have witnessed many other greats gracing the game; Zidane, Ronaldo, Messi, CR7. But the gap still remains.

When I first witnessed Maradona live it was in Italia 1990 but Maradona was only a shadow of his earlier magic; his passion for game and country notwithstanding. The tournament started on a sad note with a loss to Cameroon and ended with a loss to the eternal nemesis West Germany. I still remember the sadness experienced that night and the tears shed by Maradona while tearing apart his jersey. Sadness of that magnitude was equaled later on only in 1996 when India lost to Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup Semifinal and the once again in 2014 when Germany beat Argentina by a solitary goal.

The Copa starts today. When Argentina had last won Copa in 93, Maradona was serving a ban imposed for drugs intake

Growth of ISRO - An Infographic

A nice info-graphic which few days back appeared in the Times of India. Goes a long way to show how ISRO has been rapidly multiplying its earnings; a trendsetter for other public sector organizations.

Source: Times of India

Election 2016 Infographics - Part 2

This is the second installment of the election info-graphics collected from The Telegraph. These capture a summary of the assembly election result for West Bengal in 2016.

Source: The Telegraph