Aap karen to Chamatkar.....Hum karen to.....

Well deserved.....Hail to the Bravehearts who did this...

Up yours NDTV......

NDTV....and more precisely the great Ms. B. Dutt have decided that since they cant do a proper job of reporting, they shall behave like the R Sena and the S Sena and beat up anyone who point out their mistake. Aside: Try explanining to RT or BT that their take on Marathi Manoos and Valentines day is against the Fundamental Rights of the Citizens. So here it is. Reproducing Mr. Kunte's blog word for word. Let NDTV know, that if you believe in the freedom of press, if you believe in the power of your reach, you should also know that with great power comes great responsibility.

To the lawyers of NDTV, look up Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.


[Update] looks like quoting the post might lead to more trouble for Mr. Kunte. For interested people here is the Google’s cache of the post (scroll to the very bottom)

with media like these, who needs spies and informers???

Long long time ago, in a certain age of innocence, I was a fan of 24X7 news reporting. I used to be awed by the courage showed by these men and women as they reported from the front line. But then some where down the line, that awe started to vanish. And over the last two days, as Bombay faces its worst invasion, that awe has given way to disgust.

I mean how stupid can you get? If NSG commandos are carrying out an operation, you are showing the helicopters coming in with the commandos? The terrorists sitting inside need not even look out of the damned window. He just has to switch on the TV and watch a damned news channel. He will know approximately how many commandos are coming, which way are they coming, what is happening much better than if he had an informer in the crowd below.

Get a life, 24X7 news channels. In your quest for TRP, you are blurring the line between honest reporting and actual playing into the hands of the enemy.

And as for the questions....I used to adore Barkha Dutt.....but sorry lady....your lame questions have really put me off.......one fan less for you....

In memoriam.... Mumbai 26/11

Obama's speech

Obama has finally been elected as the next President of United States of America. If there is any country that has come to terms with its past it is the USA. And coming to real terms. Not the fraud coming to terms by electing a Dalit President or Sikh Prime Minister and still bickering about caste and region. Here is the transcript of his victory speech. Brilliant piece if ever there was.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.

We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.

For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep.

We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much.

But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Adieu Prince......

"I have a secret weapon", Azhar told the press on that beautiful autumn day as India vanquished a far superior Pakistan. The secret weapon had other feathers on his cap. A straight bat six against Murlidharan. Charging into Pollock as he ran in to bowl. A brilliant 144 that ensured that India won a test after having been asked to follow on. And last but not the least, the bare-chested shirt wave at the Mecca of Cricket....Lords.

The Captain who forged the Indian Team, who popularized the huddle and for whose backing we discovered the gems who are a part of the team today, Saurav Ganguly has announced his retirement.

There have been finger pointing at the fab four, there have been media spats, ugly politics that have taken place behind the scenes, but the fact remains, if any of the fab four have always got the short stick and has always managed to bounce back he is the man. And today as he decides to walk into the sunset, it will not be an easy walk. He will not be under pressure to perform, but yes he will be under pressure. To cap off a brilliant career with a flourish. The last hunt. The final bugle call. It will not be easy to walk off. But then it will be the brilliant end of an era if he does let his bat do the talking once again.

What was his contribution to Indian cricket? He forged a team. A team who dint win by chance. But a team who won because they believed they could. A team who did not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but who even if they lost went down fighting. This team reflected what the new India was all about. It was the resurgent India that faced the world.

And if sometime soon we eventually win the World Cup, and not the 20-twenty version, we would have one person to thank for that.

Goodbye Prince, we shall miss you.

The Good, the bad....the M

Well, Gujarat it is. West Bengal's loss is Gujarat's gain. Don't know if Nano will still remain the 1 lac car, or if the price will escalate. The fact remains that again the ordinary bespectacled, fish eating bong will have to step out of West Bengal in order to earn a living. And what will remain back would be the shadows of a golden past. Hats off to Momotadidi and co...

Why Tata Sky and others should start worrying...

Two new news items have generated world wide attention. This and this . In addition by the year end Reliance ADAG is going to launch its Big TV. RCom has also reportedly placed orders for 5-million Set top boxes (STB).

Till now the cable tv scene in India has been that people were at the mercy of their cable operators. The cable scene in India is unruly at best and a gangster's paradise at worst. The introduction of set top boxes and the entry of big players like the Hindujas (Incable), Subhas Chandra's Zee (Siticable) and Rahejas (Hathway belongs to Rajan Raheja Group) has cleaned up the scene a bit. But the last mile connectivity is still provided by the local cablewaala. That is where DTH comes in. You dont have to deal with the local cable operator. You deal with a reputed company. Either Government (Doordarshan), or Zee (Dish TV), or Tata (Tata Sky). Now with the entry of Reliance the customer has one more choice.

This is precisely why the existing operators should be worried. RCom has the pockets to survive the initial years till it breaks even. It with its deals with Steven Spielberg and Bachchan ADAG has in its kitty the power to give the viewers the choice to view just released and yet to be released movies. The average viewer will get to watch the latest movies without having to shell out huge amount for the multiplex experience. That is big bang for the buck.

Lets us face it, most of the viewers have a few chosen channels and that is what they watch. The operators on the other hand have to ensure that they offer something different from the run of the mill to get more people on to their network. The cable TV market is growing at 8-10% in India. With many state governments taking a cue from Karunanidhi, free color TVs will be distributed amongst a lot of people. With just two channels on terrestrial broadcast, these people will increasingly turn towards cable. That is where value packaging comes in. The distributor who can offer maximum value for money will rule the roost. And reliance with its deep pockets can afford to take a hit on the price of its equipments to lure customers. This is what was done when RCom launched its mobile service.

It is time to be worried for the other players. The big hulk is coming. Either adapt or perish. Let us now see which way the wind blows.

Arundhati Roy makes a case for Afzal...

Ofcourse Ms. Roy, your heart beats for the poor terrorist. After all the Union of India has not been able to prove his guilt with conclusive evidence. It doesnt matter that people laid down their lives as a consequence of his action, it doesnt matter that our soldiers fight on a valiant battle so that you can sleep in peace. Tell us Ms. Roy, other than that Booker of yours, have you done anything which has wiped a widow's tear or brought the smile on the face of an orphan?

Ms. Roy, you were not abroad IC 814. Ms. Roy, remember Rupin Katyal? They are the nameless people who have lost their lives because of people like you Ms. Roy. You come out on the streets demanding Human Rights for these terrorists. But, ofcourse; a Rupin Katyal, newly married, going back from his honeymoon has no Human Rights, our army men on the freezing mountain tops have no Human Rights, the 7/11 blast victims did not have Human Rights, a Priyadarshini Matoo has no Human Rights.

All animals are equal, some are more equal than the others.

Auld Lang Syne

.........to all the brave officers and men of the olive hued army, that proudly defends our Motherland, everytime.......to all those who marched out of their homes in the Summer of 99, heads held high....never to return.....to all those mothers who let their son walk into the battle....to the wives who till date remember her dearest.....to those who died and those who lived....those who captured hill after hill after hill.....to those who were captured and I pray you return......on the 26th of July.....I am proud to say that I am your insignificant countryman....for whos tomorrow you gave your today................