Dahi-Haandi: Janmashtami celebrations in Mumbai

If you happen to be from Mumbai and/or were in Mumbai last Sunday and dared roaming around the city I am sure Dahi-Haandi celebrations could not have been missed. Fine that it was celebrated with all the gusto but the way the city life is brought to near stand still by mounting haandis on a [...]

Yet another conspiracy theory?

The special tribunal of the Supreme Court had suggested the government to uplift the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The country experience deadly blasts in Jaipur followed by twin day bombings of Bangalore and Ahmedabad and defusings in Surat. The government has obviously been under pressure to complete the blasts’ investigation.
Government [...]

Nice Senti from Dr. Manmohan Singh

Our PM, Dr. Manmohan Singh did not read out his statement, he submitted this copy to Speaker of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
Excerpt from his speech:
“I have often said that I am a politician by accident. I have held many diverse responsibilities. I have been a teacher, I have been an official of the Government [...]

Honest party

How honest and open Samajwadi Party is in being corrupt!! While most politicians may never disclose their affiliations to corporates, the following manifesto speaks loudly of their love-affair with a certain business group (read GADAR in some random manner). Though one may say that all resemblances are purely co-incidental. But, ye public hai ye sab [...]

A crying kid, an uncle and a diplomat

The Uncle:
“Now, the difference is that the honeymoon period is over… It is only a question of filing divorce papers if it comes to that end. The Prime Minister knows it and he is the one person who knows it.”
— CPI-M General Secretary, A B Bardhan
The kid:
“I don’t want to rake up the past, was [...]

Now the price rise

It has been made clear by the Government of India that the increase in price of fuel is imminent. One needs to guess the politically stable limit of the same. Lets see the intensity with which the Communists will react!
If you are out there in the market, do not buy fruits and vegetables to eat, [...]

And thus it began

Since our minsters were not able to arrive at a decision in their meet yesterday, we already have some news flowing from the oil companies. Rationing has begun!

Oil and GoI

With crude oil prices hovering around $130 per barrel, what options does the Government of India have?
(a) Increase the fuel prices and link them to the international benchmark; essentially dismantle the administered price mechanism: Economists will argue this to be the best long term solution, but a political disaster with certainty, the policy pundits would [...]

NMS

How about forming a Non Maharashtrian Sena (NMS) to counter the goons of MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena). No violence; just increase the murkiness due to similar pronunciation:D
BTW, I have a firm belief we are not really a true democracy so I plan to learn Marathi (its a good language to know) and also be unequivocal [...]

Mumbai Traffic versus Mumbai Traffic Police

It may not be hard to predict who is faster (or rather less slow) – the traffic in Mumbai, known to be moving at a snail’s pace, or the Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP henceforth, nice abbreviation- isnt it?).
I had a bad experience of being fleeced by one of the cabbie of a “cool cab” (the [...]