We have all come across this situation one time or the other. We are driving our motorcycles and pull up right behind an overloaded truck that is spewing smoke from its exhaust. We cautiously take a peek to see whether there is any oncoming traffic and try to pass the truck before our face turns [...]
In a rather strange ruling the Delhi High Court said that people who are in a live-in relationship cannot complain about infidelity or immorality. The judges said “People who chose to have live-in relationship cannot complain of infidelity or immorality as live-in relationships are also known to have been between a married man and unmarried [...]
My interest in science and space in particular grew exponentially as I started watching the television show Cosmos presented by renowned astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan in the mid eighties. I am not sure whether programs such as these are shown on Indian television anymore. But people of my generation will be forever grateful for [...]
India’s Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal unveiled a $35 computer prototype to the media last week. This news spread like wild fire and within minutes most of the media outlets in the world started reporting it. All these reports had a smiling photograph of the minister with the computer prototype in his hand. Mission [...]
Those of us who are in the software industry have been in situations where we release a product to the customer only to find that the customer has found some issues that requires another full release or a patch release. In such situations one of the first questions that management wants answered is why we [...]
One of my favorite quotes about India is by the first century Greek Philosopher Apollonius Tyanaeus who said “In India, I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth, but not adhering to it, inhabiting cities, but not being fixed to them, possessing everything, but possessed by nothing”. I am not sure if Appollonius [...]
Indian constitution guarantees freedom of speech just like the American constitution yet places some significant restrictions on it. According to the constitution these restrictions are in place “in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order or morality”. The Indian government has used this loophole on numerous occasions to impose censorship. [...]
Some of the questions that I am asked most by readers of this blog and by a few of my friends are whether I am nationalistic and whether I see anything wrong with nationalistic thought. My first reaction normally is to ask for clarification on what they mean by nationalistic thought. In most cases the [...]
The motto of the International Cricket Council is “Great Sport Great Spirit”. But the spirit was anything but great after the failed attempt by Australia and New Zealand to install former Australia Prime Minister John Howard as the next ICC President. The reaction from both Australia and New Zealand raises many questions about their perception [...]
I am from Kerala but I lived in Tamil Nadu (mostly in Madurai and Coimbatore) for a couple of decades. Due to state government policies then I was forced to learn Tamil during my school days. I did not like being pressured to learn a new language but I am now glad that I did [...]
I was talking to a colleague of mine and within a few minutes the subject turned to corruption in general and the corrupt Indian politicians. Corruption is one of the most popular topics of conversation in India today and rightly so. Corruption is rampant in India compared to Western Europe and North America. Indians love [...]
Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace has published the failed states index for 2010. The group aims to rank nations based on what they call “12 Degrees of Failure”. This includes among other things demographics, number of refugees, illegitimate government, brain drain and human rights. For the record Somalia came in first with [...]
In an attempt to embarrass India, a Canadian Indian politician with Sikh origins has introduced a motion in the Canadian parliament asking the Canadian government to declare the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as a genocide. This motion comes a few weeks before the Prime Minster of India Manmohan Singh’s visit to Canada to attend the [...]
Former American President and five-star general of the United States Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that “We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom”. There is no question that peace and freedom go hand in hand. You cannot have peace if you do not have freedom. But this message is yet [...]
Lord Venkateswara Temple located in Tirumala (Chittor district in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh) has become one of the most visited places of worship in the world. It is estimated that over 50,000 people visit the temple every day. It is one of the most important temples in the Hindu pantheon. The presiding [...]
I am an Indian who has lived half of my life in the United States. Adjusting to live in America is very difficult for a person from a developing nation like India but I would not have it any other way. It has been a fun, humbling and a learning experience. Indians in the United [...]
Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) General Secretary J.B. Kadian informed journalists that “at the intervention of the Chief Labor Commissioner (CLC) and in the interest of the traveling public, we are calling off our spontaneous, flash strike with immediate effect. We are communicating to our rank and file to join duty immediately”. What a kind [...]
