Spoken words

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw or Sam Bahadur as he was popularly known amongst the gorkha's of the 8 Gorkha Rifles, is probably one of th e most honored and revered general in Independent India. Only one of the two generals to be awarded the title of Field Marshal, he remains one of the towering figure who had given the dignity and prestige to the Indian armed forces of today. Been in almost five wars through a span of forty years, his is a great service to the nation. My father, having got the opportunity to work quite close to the general during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, still remembers the charm and personality of the gentleman soldier. My father and his colleague armed with a Nagra recorder and an Arriflex camera, were the few hand picked journalists by Doordarshsan assigned to cover the war from the front lines. On doing so there were several occasions where he had the opportunity to interact with the general. He remembers him to be known for his h...

When the 1983 World Cup began, India was considered to be the underdogs. Not even given the slightest chance of putting up a a worthy challenge. But things were a lot different than what was expected. A dashing cricketer from Chandigarh, leading a group of young guys in their twenties, proved the world wrong. With the least bit of expectations on their shoulders, there was nothing but the game on their minds. The underdogs put up an inspiring performance that took the cricketing world by surprise. Indians had announced their arrival at the forefront of cricketing history. In their league stages of the tournament, they won 4 out of their 6 matches. This, in a pool consisting of West Indies and Australia. Both considered to be strong favorites in the tournament. Zimbabwe in the same group was capable of creating some upsets too. Particularly Kapil Dev's brilliant 175 against Zimbabwe after coming down at 17/5, remains one of the most spectacular performances in cricketing history. U...

For how long can our dependence on fossil fuels go on like this? I think it is high time that we begin to give importance to smaller energy producing sources. The schemes that were suggested to be suitable only for small or rural settlements (like gobar gas, wind mill, solar) need not be looked with the same view any more. With so much energy available for FREE, its just a matter of tapping and utilizing it. Instead of large corporations controlling and distributing energy, its time that we all took it into our own hands. Every house can contribute to energy production. May it be through, solar, wind, water or bio-fuel. Store and use what each each house requires and share the rest with others. I haven't done the math but i suppose its possible. This might seem quite imaginable at first, but it might work with a few sacrifices like judicious energy consumption, discarding Air Conditioners and so on. As for mobility, i believe walking and bicycles will fit the bill perfectly. Not on...

Oil or black gold as one calls it, has enslaved us for decades. We cry about its rising price, bicker about over dependence on it,complain about its harm to the environment, yet we cant seem to function without it. And as one had predicted it a very long time ago, it will get over one day. And this, what we see today is just the beginning of things to come. Already a few wars have been fought over it, from time to time. Sometimes the reason isn't so obvious, but mostly it is. Soon enough, there will be more such brutal endeavors to take control of the ever diminishing resource. Up to a point when there is none to spare at all. Thought there has been a whole lot of research and development (at least i assume so) in this field, we still haven't moved on to the next big step in energy sources. Other than probably nuclear energy for electricity production ( which is always under wide spread debate for various reasons ). For a country like India, which imports a large percentage of ...

Benazir Bhutto, her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, her brother Murtaza Bhutto and now she herself. All victims of the savagery of the Pakistani political set up. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (January 5, 1928 – April 4, 1979) was the President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977. He was the founder of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). He arrested for allegedly masterminding the assassination of a rival political leader. He however had claimed that all the evidence was fabricated by the General Zia-ul-Haq, who had overthrown the government and arrested most of PPP's leaders. Further more Zulfikar Bhutto was also accused of rigging the 1977 elections, by the General. He was tried by an alleged "partial" judiciary and sentenced to death. In spite of numerous International appeals to commute the sentence, General Zia was executed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by hanging on April 4th 1979. This led to a widespread unrest in Pakistan. Murtaza Bhutto (Septembe...

Corruption has become a part of modern life in our country and affects everyone, one way or the other, whether you like it or not. Either we are a cause of it or are forced to become a part of it, no matter at what level we are. Money for each and every thing. Even for something which is our basic right. Which is delayed or denied, due the lack of ability or unwillingness to pay up those in charge. On the other hand, money can bend the rules and make new inroads into the system or bypass it completely.There is a price for almost anything. Things can be as you want if you are willing to pay the price, no matter how many rules you break or inconvenience you create for others. It is so easy for those with money and power to bring down the system to its knees. Dictate terms to their liking and get away with anything. It is a rather sorry story.Yet things go on in front of everyone, but nothing is ever done. Unfortunately everything is just assumed to be normal since it is seen everywhere a...