1411 was less, you thought. What about 411?

What’s common between Goddess Durga, Emperor Ashoka, Lord Vishnu and the National Emblem of India? We know you know the answer. But what if you were told that in a country of 1.15 billion human beings, there are only 411 such left now?

Yes. We have only 411 Asiatic Lions left in the the whole of our country, that too in small pockets in the Gir forests of Gujarat. (- Data quoted from Gujarat Govt.’s 2010 report).

It’s strange, thinking about the lions and tigers in the middle of all this busy lives of us; somewhere it does not strike a cord.

more

HTC Desire: A Beautiful Deal

Whatta beauty! That pretty much explains the recently announced, (in India), Android flagship device – the HTC Desire. We were never so convinced with most HTC devices; they are good but we have better in the market. But this one is an amazing device at Rs. 28,900.

more

Nikon Coolpix P7000: This one is for you.

Only recently, I got this hang of photography which made me dig deep into digital cameras. There are a wide range of cameras available in the market from normal click-o-cam to DSLR. So? Actually, I am neither interested in any click-o-cam nor any DSLR. This post is intended for those photography enthusiasts who consider themselves on the border line between being consumers and professional users. Oh yes! I am talking about you. I am talking about 'Prosumers'; the cameras or other gears which are targeted for sale to people who love photography but they're not professional photographers. So, Nikon Coolpix P7000 which happens to be the latest model in their coolpix series caught my eye. It is about to hit the market in the last months of this year. Exposed online already!

more

Why Peepli [Live] was not just another Bollywood Movie

No, this is not a review of Peepli [Live]. I would not even try to rate the movie to encourage or discourage movie enthusiasts.
People who were looking forward to watch it have already done so, and people who are not interested in such genres of movies have forgotten its existence all together. What this post aims at is somewhat different.

Peepli Live is not a normal masala movie of Bollywood. It ain’t an art film either. There are some movies which can not be stereotyped into any categorization. It’s one of those.

more

Honour Killings: What a Shame!

‘Chandigarh: A father kills her 17 years old daughter and her 21 years old lover in a fit of rage after seeing them together in a room, talking.’
‘Bhojpur, Bihar: A 16-year-old girl, Imrana, is set on fire inside her house in a case of what the police call ‘moral vigilantism’. The victim screams for help for about 20 minutes before neighbors arrive, only to find her still smoldering. She is admitted to a local hospital, where she later succumbs to her burns.’
‘The Times of India Report: More than 1,000 young people in India have been done to death every year owing to 'Honour Killings' linked to marriages and love affairs that do not get acceptance from the society.’

more

My tryst with slavery

Date: August 14 2010

“Every independent country is independent in one way however, every independent country is a slave in more than one way.”

Its 64th Indian Independence Day tomorrow, I am sitting in front of my desktop in the office and sulking. I am trying to concentrate and my inbox is getting filled with patriotic forwards. Neither can I ignore the vibration of my mobile nor can I get my bugging boss out of my mind. It is true that tomorrow is an important day but how many of us really think of independence as a gift? Being born as a free Indian with a plenty of fundamental rights in a platter and the fundamental duties on the backburner, we take our independence for granted. We were born in free India, introduced to Maruti 800 and humara bajaj at the age of 3-4, given a treat in Mc Donalds at an age of 15, encouraged to blog our views and vote our favourite politician at the age of 18- why would not we take our independence for granted just like we take the oxygen we inhale, the water we drink for granted?

more

Freedom from Regionalism.

““Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -how passionately I hate them!” ~ Albert Einstein
( I wonder what Einstein must have to say about regional patriotism: the worst putrefaction a pure feeling can ever suffer from.) 

Hello my Indian friends. Within an hour, our country, India will have completed its 63 year of being Independent. This must have been a long journey (given, I joined only 21 years ago.) We, the children of free India, are often accused of having taken the independence for granted.
We have been accused of having the privilege of being born in a free India.

more