Trial is Error

It has been nearly 5 months now after the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, the financial capital of India. Still there is no sign of justice or any stern action taken against the masterminds behind the attacks. India has already submitted dossier to Pakistan with all the necessary evidence claiming that the terrorists are of Pakistan origin.

Pakistan dogged by its own political problems, invasion of Taliban and terrorised by their own non-state actors has lost focus on punishing the accused of 26/11 attacks on India. It is just an eye-wash for India when Pakistan had been claiming that all the suspects have been arrested and investigations are going on. No one knows the actual truth. It won't long before this incident fades away from every one's memory. Can we expect any justice or concrete action taken against the criminals? India has been pressing this issue with the help of other nations like the United States, UK and other UN countries to dismantle terrorist organizations within Pakistan. Today it is India and tomorrow it may be any country that will become a victim of terrorism, if fast action is not taken by Pakistan. Considering the audacity of the Taliban Chief Mehsud who gave a statement in public that he is planning an attack on the United States which will be one of a kind and would cause maximum destruction, its high time Pakistan acted on these terrorist groups.

After much controversy on who will take up the case of the lone captured terrorist Ajmal Kasab, finally we have Abbas Kazmi who has taken up Kasab's case. The much awaited Trial is underway at the highly secured Arthur road Jail in Mumbai. Excuse me! What are we doing here? Are we trying a terrorist who is responsible for waging war against India and responsible for death of hundreds of innocent citizens in the court of law? A statement in one of the newspaper said "Kasab will be tried in the court of law and if found guilty, he will be punished". Does the law still think that Kasab is not guilty? Of course he is and the whole nation has seen it. We have enough evidence of Kasab and his accomplices for their inhuman acts.

I am not here to exploit loop holes in our legal system and I am aware that even hard core criminals get a chance to be tried in the court of law. In Kasab's case, trying him in the court is just adding on financial overhead for the Indian Government. Think of the amount of money that has gone in facilitating security for this captured terrorist. Police protection, bomb proof enclosure, security arrangements, ensuring his health condition etc. all for a person who has committed an unpardonable crime.

Most of us as Indians would like instant justice to be done to the innocent victims.Death in an encounter for Kasab like his accomplices from Pakistan went through. Human rights activists, please forgive me but I think Kasab deserves nothing less than death for the acts that he has committed.

As any other fellow Indian hoping that justice will prevail and Kasab and all others behind the 26/11 attacks get the deserved punishment we all have been looking for.

Its Truly ROYAL

Kudos to Rajasthan Royals on winning the first ever IPL challenge. Little did everybody expect that this supposedly "underdogs" would come out with flying colours. I would say all the credit goes to skipper Shane Warne. He is instrumental in bringing all the players together into one cohesive unit. Just before the finals of the IPL, Rajasthan Royals were indeed favorites for the coveted trophy. It was a perfect end to the super exciting series. Fortunes fluctuated like a pendulum and ultimately favoured the brave as the saying goes. It was a mind blowing end and Warnie deserved to be at the crease to see his team through.

Just before the final started there were predictions as to who would win the tournament.Some of them stressed that Rajasthan Royals must not win since a loss for M.S Dhoni means that Australia won the match. This was not an Australia versus India match and mind you Shane Warne was playing for Jaipur and not for Australia this time. The efforts put by him to transform a bunch of low profile players to unbeatable team must truly be appreciated. Warnie leaves a message that commitment, determination, aggressiveness and never give up attitude will take anyone to the zenith of success. Senior Indian players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly can take a leaf out of Warnie's book as they failed miserably to lead their respective teams from the front.

Just to remind you all, Shane is not getting any younger than these Indian players I mentioned, but the hunger he has shown for success is amazing. Nobody ever imagined that a team which did not have a coach, no big names in the team and no "bollywood" celebrity as a mascot can still win clearly shows that its the will to do that matters and not the hype. Cricket is about the talent, commitment, skills and determination and just not about glamour and glitz.

There have been controversies related to bad team selection (Royal Challengers), cheer leaders, friction between SRK and Sourav etc. Barring all these IPL has truly been a great entertainer quenching the thirst of many a cricket buffs. This will indeed be a moment for the Jaipur team to cherish for a long time to come.

No boundaries on this Earth

Sunita Williams, the Indian-American Astronaut visited India recently. During her visit, she spoke a few sensible words when asked about how Earth looked from above. "The earth looks very beautiful from space. There are no boundaries drawn on this earth. It is drawn in people's minds" she said. How does she make people realise her statement? India being a rich country in diverse culture, we have always fought in the name of religion, caste and creed. India boasts of rich heritage, vast culture and diverse people to the rest of the world. But are we living up to the reputation in the eyes of a Foreigner? Just think for a moment. We have seen innumerable media clips propagating the unity in diversity theme. People watch these and forget next moment. The Ramar Sethu issue has led to so much controversy that Indian Politics is de-graded in front for everyone.

Salman Khan is in news once again. He visited a temple of Lord Ganesh in Mumbai to seek blessings. One of the members of his community gave a Fatwa (an order) that Salman should not belong to Islam since he believes in idol worship. I pity Salman Khan. Can this get more ridiculous? In this democratic country, is there no freedom of worshipping the God of your choice? There are a lot of Hindus who visit the Haji Ali Darga in South Mumbai. All the Churches are visited by people of all caste, creed and religion. Some have embraced other religion as their religion due to the faith that they have in the God and the teachings that the religion has to offer. People have realised that religion is no more a barrier since GOD is a universal entity and does not follow any religion. But its is political motive of some rogues that has introduced the hatred towards other religion.

Let us all be tolerant towards fellow human beings for "Tolerance" is the greatest asset that we as human beings possess. Let us not draw lines in our minds. Wake up! its now or never.

Abhi Aish tie the knot

Finally Abhishek Bacchan and Aishwarya Rai are off the spotlight after much hyped Abhi and Aish wedding. Since the time this much awaited event has occured, there has been a lot of hype from the media, lot of e-mails circulated, news on the internet, public opinion etc. I fail to understand why so much hype is created about the wedding of Abhishek Bacchan and Aishwarya Rai. No ones denies that she was former Miss World and one of the world's beautiful women. However, what we are not understanding is that they (celebrities) have personal life and want to live life like all others.

I read somewhere that lot of people (mainly the youth) are jealous of Abhishek. This is the craziest thing I have ever heard. I started receiving e-mails from my friends with subject line "Exclusive coverage of Aish Abhi wedding". There were photos of the wedding and their chartered flight to Tirupati circulated in these e-mails. The funniest part is that the same e-mails are circulated again and again. Every moment of the marriage has been captured by the media and broadcasted as headlines. Is there nothing else happening in this world? Are we running out of news to broadcast? Media coverage has gone to the extreme that they are highlighting the kind of flowers with which the flight was decorated.

The general public at Tirumala had to wait for long hours before they could get the Darshan of the Lord. They were blocked since Aish and Abhi were given previlage to enter the temple premises with tight security. It is understandable that previlage is given to certain category of people like the national leaders and people who have the VIP status. Public opinion says that all celebrities should be treated as common people atleast when it comes to visiting temples.

For all those folks out there I would like to say that not everyone can get Aishwarya Rai. Be content with what you have got.

Caribbean Cool

The world cup is just around the corner. This time it is in the Caribbean where the best of the cricket teams clash for the coveted cup. The much awaited ICC world cup has got enough hype before it kicks off this March. Added to the hype, we also had a lot of warm up games with many of the teams competing against each other. As an ardent fan of Cricket and as an Indian, I wish from the bottom of the heart that my country takes the cup home. However, it is not going to be easy. The odds are highly stacked against India.

Looking at the recent past, India has not done really well except against West Indies and Sri Lanka at home. We all know that India plays well at home. India has a bad reputation playing and winning in conditions suitable for the bowlers. It would be interesting to watch who would make it to the top 4 and come out as a winner.

Australia is definitely the hot favorites for this world cup as well. They will be defending the cup they won last time. A fit and energetic team poses threat for everyone in the league. It is a great team which boasts of all rounders and why not. Every one in the team contribute a bit. They also are an excellent fielding outfit. All teams need to play out of their skins to beat this team. I think there is a high possibility of this team winning.

The Kiwis may come as a dark horse in this world cup. The resilient New Zealand team has given a tough time for the Aussies recently. They have chased very high targets against a quality Australian attack. Watch out for the Kiwis.

The South Africans have been a professional outfit right from the time they entered the international league. They have been dogged by controversies and bad luck in all the world cups. The team performs consistently and one bad game has thrown them out. We will have to wait to see what this determined South African team does this time.

For West Indies, they will be playing in their home turf and the conditions suit them. We can never predict this team since one player can turn the whole tide in their favour. Pakistan is in the same league as West Indies for they are so unpredictable. If they are on a roll, nobody can come in their way. One more team which can spring surprises is England who can give any team a run for their money. Counting out the minnows of Cricket (not under estimating), these are the teams to watch out for.

What does it take for India to compete against these teams and come out as a winner? The answer lies within every player and I am sure everyone agrees with me : Commitment, Consistency, Fitness, Focus and the thirst for taking the cup for the second time in history. On paper, the team looks very good with big names and great statistics behind them. But on the ground, they have to start off from Zero every game to make a difference.

All I can say is "May the best team win!!!"

Invasion of technology

Technology has brought people closer. Communication between people situated in different corners of the world can happen in a jiffy. I can very safely say that "This world is a very small place!". May be 15 or 20 years ago this was not the scenario. I remember my uncles and aunts talking about their son or daughter studying abroad and the only means of communication with them was through post. Do we still remember the postman today? Of course telephone existed. But it was more of a luxury rather than a necessity. Calls to international destinations were very expensive. Years passed by and with the advent of Internet, e-mail was born. People thought that this was an amazing discovery. You could connect to the world with Internet. Gradually, technology revolutionized and brought in more and more goodies. Satellite communication, mobile telephony, Internet telephony, voice chat, video conferencing, VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) and the list is endless. Indeed it has brought people closer and if you need someone they are just a phone call away. With the advent of many private service providers, there is stiff competition in the market to provide best service at low rates. Now international dialling is no more expensive. Rates have been slashed making life of a common man a lot easier.

While all these things seem wonderful, there are a few things to ponder about. While I was watching "Lagey Raho Munna Bhai", one of the dialogue delivered by the lead actress of the movie caught my attention. In this universe where everything is moving so fast and the world has come closer, we have forgotten to pay attention to finer points. "Do we know who stays next door?". Of course we do not know who our neighbours are (atleast in metropolitan cities). All are locked indoors and nobody is bothered about what is happening in the society. I am more concerned about the younger generation which is glued to the computers. Gone are the days when kids used to go out and play. All the physical activities among the kids seem to be deteriorating. They are more interested in chatting with a stranger in Brazil rather than playing with folks next door. I had not even imagined about a cell phone during my school days while MMS is child's play among the adolescents these days. Its a pity to know that technology is being used to remember Birth Dates of the dear ones.

I am not complaining about the usage of technology. Technology is definitely a boon for the mankind. Every effort needs to be put in to avoid abuse of it. Let alone people who have been hit by this invasion, I need to come out of this addiction as well and begin to socialize.

The year that was...

11th Jan 2007
Amstelveen, The Netherlands


Looking back at the year 2006, I noticed that it was a mixed bag for me with joy and sorrow. Started off the year with a bright note going out of my home country on job assignment. Came to The Netherlands to see new world, new culture and new faces. Faced some challenges of getting accustomed to extreme weather conditions. One of my dreams to see the Eiffel tower came true when I visited Paris in February. I must tell you this is an awesome place to visit once in a lifetime. I went back to India in March. There was another surprise popping up this time when I was asked to pack my bags again for another assignment. This time it was on a longer term. I was right under pressure to deliver goods. I lived up to the expectations with a couple of successful projects. Received appreciation for projects well done. Truly happy moments for me.

I also happened to chase my second dream of visiting Switzerland. No wonder people call this place "Paradise on Earth". By the time I could realise, I had reached half way through the year. On the personal front I had to go through a rough phase. Now, life started getting monotonous and there was no more motivation to keep me going. I needed to re-fuel. I went back to India to spend some time with my family. Met a friend who came all the way from Mumbai. Lived some nostalgic moments with him. Also, met a friend whom I know for 6 long years. I am blessed to have such friends. It was time for me to bid adieu to Bangalore and come back to Amstelveen.

The last 3 months of the year have shown me that "Life is beautiful". Sweet memories and smooth sailing has taken me to a new level. Overall, the year that was has given me an ideal mix of sweet and bitter moments. I miss my family and friends out there. I look forward to this year to bring success, prosperity and challenges in my Life.

PS: This topic is an inspiration for me from a blog maintained by my cute friend.

Signing off....