One nation

Part II 7). Another areas which can be explored for research and development is green energy. Solar, wind energy, ethanol from corn are some areas in which research can be encouraged. Currently India is on track in terms of solar energy. Lot of companies has shown interest and started heavily investing in projects related to solar energy. but the benefit will be immense if we can come up with technology which is cost effective and easily available to common people. 8). Currently India is gripped by shortage of power (electricity). Most of the cities in India witness power cuts owing to non availability of enough electricity. These power cuts are results of in efficient planning on part of the energy policy makers and politician. This is another area in which government private partnership can be helpful in creating power plants to meet the demand. 9). India has been spread heading the growth in software services. But now the focus should be shifted to product based services. Even after...

Part I In recent times recession is the buzz word used everywhere by everybody and anybody. Recession has hit hard in USA as well as in India. There is no quick solution to this problem, but gradual step by step techniques can lower the impact on the everyday life. From India's point of view the recession impact can be reduced by: 1). Voting a stable government at the center. It will ensure that the economic reforms are carried out with long term goals. Currently any government coming to power is of short cut mentality where reforms are introduced to appease the voter for the next election without having any long term plans. 2). Tap on corruption. This is very vital aspect to country's growth. Corruption menace must be stopped. It will not only increase funds in exchequer and the government will have more money at its disposable to invest in infrastructure projects. These infrastructure projects then will trigger economy by inducing money in the market. There are lot of areas i...

After the Landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Station completed another chapter in its quest to become the human outpost in Space. The ISS received its new sets of solar array, the power capability of the station has been enhanced paving way for new modules and lab on the Station. The Japanse space agency will have an important role to play when its lab are launched in the space in future. Japanse space agency has a lab along with a platform and a robotic arm to installed in the space. There are couple of Russian modules yet to be transported along with other American labs. The expected completion of the station is around 2010. But the completion of the station solely depends on the Space Shuttle, recently Space Shuttle had issues with the thermal blanket, before that it had problems with its fuel tank. This may sound to be glitches but they are great learning experience for NASA and its international partners. The Russian computer failure was another example on how unpredictable w...

India disgracefully bowed out of the World Cup 2007. It was not a surprise for many who had followed Indian cricket in recent times. The timing of exit is alarming. Unfortunately this was the last world cup for many Indian players who formed the nucleus of Indian cricket for the last decade. There will be a fact finding mission from BCCI into this debacle. But I think India failed in every department and also in dressing room. Greg Chappell is almost certain to be fired by the BCCI . My personal opinion is that Greg has an excellent coaching skillet but his plans were hijacked by internal politics which has marred Indian cricket for long. Indians especially the cricket players are not a disciplined lot, shown by lot of antics by star players in and out of the ground. Disciplining such experienced lot was I think the most difficult job Chappell had. One more area in which Indian cricketers failed was to rectify mistakes. Take example of Virendra Shewag , until recently he stated t...

T he world cup 2007 started with much fanfare and bang as expected. The initial stage matches with minnows in fray were expected to be dull affair. But thanks to Ireland and Bangladesh the world cup has become interesting from the word go. The resilience and commitment shown by Ireland is second to nothing. The first timer at the world gave an excellent example of fighting till the end and use available resources to the best. Ireland performance knocked out Pakistan out of the World Cup. Bangladesh victory gave tremors in Indian camp. Minnows good performance is good for cricket and its development. But this article is not about this but what happened after that. Pakistan exit had great impact on the fans in Pakistan and the cricket fraternity there. But the most shocking news was demise of Coach Bob Woolmer. The reason behind his death is unknown but without doubt we can say that lost game had some role in it. Cricket is religion in Pakistan and India . It is very stressful...

No Life on Mars by Jean Thilmany, Associate Editor H ydrogen peroxide can bleach hair, propel rockets, and wipe out microbes. And that's why a University of Michigan professor of atmospheric and space science believes that we shouldn't expect to meet a Martian anytime soon. Mars is thought to have been formed with the same ingredients that, on Earth, created molecules that led to plant and animal life. Those molecules haven't yet been detected on the Martian surface, and they probably won't be, according to Sushil Atreya, a professor in the department of atmospheric, oceanic, and space sciences at the Ann Arbor campus and director of the university's Planetary Science Laboratory. Atreya attributes the lack of life on Mars to fallout from extensive dust storms on the planet. The storms can be dense and can cover wide areas. A particularly large storm, for instance, erupted more than a year ago, at the end of October 2005, when Mars and Earth were closer to ...

After much speculation and guessing Team India was selected for the World Cup. Selectors didn’t throw any surprises this time around and selected a more predictable team. As always this selection process is also marred by controversies. Front runner is inclusion of Virendra Shewag, who got a boost in confidence from the selectors and the captain. All others players select for themselves with few exceptions. I predicted the world cup team couple of months back, my team came closely to what selected with exception of Uthappa, I had Gambhir in it. Given a chance I would also select Robin. Robin Uthappa has played couple of solid knocks and he often plays with straight bat which will be asset in West Indies . Gautam Gambhir is also a flamboyant player with variety of strokes in his armory but I think he gets carried away and throws his wicket casually; it’s a primary reason why he is not included in the squad. Inclusion of Dinesh Karthik might have not gone well with some people, who ...

India’s lackluster performance in South Africa prompted severe reply in India. For a change MPs also got into the arena. There was effigy burning and slogan shouting against I guess every member of the team along with coach Chappell. There was demands for sacking of Chappell and induction of sourav. Criticism is good positive criticism is better. But behaving like hooligans at couple of loss does not reflect the tradition of this country. With technological advances especially in IT industry world recognize Indians as smart people. But such incidences were loss of cricket game raises such indiscipline behavior is appalling. I would appreciate Sharad Pawar on his decision to back Chappell till end of the contract and give full support to the Indian team. The way Indian team is playing there is nothing much a coach can do when there is sheer lack of application on part of the batsman. The batting lineup should adjust to the condition and apply accordingly. Regarding MPs furor I would lik...

Indian tour to South Africa is a acid test for both Chappell and Dravid. There has been lot of criticism of the team and experimentation techniques of Chappell. Whoever is involved in cricket in India should be ready for such type of tirade as it is the psyche of this nation. I fully support Chappell’s experimentation techniques. People should understand that results are never achieved in short span especially in sports. It requires lot of permutation and combination to come up with exact fit. I think the team is going in right direction. Cricket is game of uncertainties and its likely to lose matches in process of built up. Indian fielding has improved in recent times and also the bowling to some extent. Everybody should appreciate that this is a very young team and it requires lot of support in terms of showing confidence in them before they can become world beaters. Another person affected by criticism is Suresh Raina, he has been out of nick for some time now. He has been heavily ...

Recently I had an opportunity of viewing “Syriana”. The motion picture was nominated for academy awards, with George Clooney winning it for best supporting actor. I wanted to see this movie for a long time because of the hype and reviews over the Internet. It did not disappoint me. The word “Syriana” is a metaphor for foreign intervention in the Middle East. The movie is geopolitical thriller. The story moves around the world from Houston Texas, Washington DC to Spain, Switzerland to middle east. The theme of the movie revolves around crude oil. The movie starts with characters around the world, Bob (George Clooney) is a CIA agent who sells two stinger missiles to a gun dealer, and one of the missiles is sold further to blue-eyed young man. Bob assassinates the gun dealer but the second missile disappears. Matt Damon is a Energy analyst trying to get a business from his company from an emir. Emir of unknown country awards an oil exploration contract to a Chinese company, American Conne...

Sachin Tendulkar’s innings against west Indies at DLF cup after 6 months layoff was refreshing one. I had never doubted the genius but certain few manjrekars and other required vindication on their face to acknowledge the little master. The most exciting part of his innings was his aggression. I have followed Tendulkar right from his debut in Pakistan to current but on few occasion saw him hitting 5 sixes. Tendulkar is aggressive player but he seldom hit sixes he is more a four kind of batsmen combining timing with sheer placement, power was never a part of Sachin’s batting. I think this time he was determined to show the detractor that he can play the long handle if he wants but sometime he chooses to be subdued player for benefit of the team. Openings innings with Dravid is good experimentation but I think Shewag will be wasted by this arrangement. Shewag is excellent stroke player with best hand eye coordination. He is more comfortable when the field is up and he has more choices o...

Atlantis Space Shuttle flight marked the beginning of new chapter in built-up of International Space Station. After the Columbia accident lot was said and written about NASA’s space program. People doubted NASA’s ability to pounce back after such disaster. NASA’s has gone a radical change in terms of management and problem resolution after the board cited serious problems in NASA’s culture during the Columbia accident investigation. I started working at NASA after the board review and saw immediate difference in approach on critical issues. NASA’s managers gave outmost importance to all the viewpoints and concerns, overall it increased the workload for the managers but gave a greater level of confidence in carrying out the space station mission. The Discovery flight was a logistics flight which was essential to put supplies on the Station. After the Columbia incident the space station was fed with supplies through Russian spacecraft (Soyuz, Progress). For time being they were the lifel...

First of all I would like to congratulate author\director\actor of "Final Draft" on excellent performance in the play. I am not avid watcher of Marathi play. I took a shot of watching “Final Draft” after some good reviews from my friend. I watched this play at Gadkari Rangmandir in thane. The ticket was cheap as compared to what we pay to watch disastrous movies at multiplex. So on that count I also would like to appreciate producers efforts on making play affordable to watch. First impression of “Final Draft” for me was unrealistic. I thought the protagonist girl was to fragile in her thoughts to inspire a arrogant professor to mends his way. Please understand that my views on this play are from my point of view and they may sound naïve. But I guess in any work if you want to reach the pinnacle of perfection you have to take in account all the viewer (also a knucklehead like me). I didn’t had problem in understanding the message of the play. But when I watch anything whether...

Recent controversy involving master blaster once again raises the questions whether so-called commentators and experts are really qualified enough to speak on a subject matter. What Manjrekar did was a publicity stunt but the worst part was that it was done at a cost of one of the world’s best cricketer. On any scale Tendulkar’s is the greatest cricketer in this universe. Apart from showering praise on tendulkar lets concentrate on the validity of Manjrekar’s claims. First of all I don’t think that Tendulkar is kind of person who will fake injury to get out of series. The point of contention is whether he decides to play after taking account the injury or his current form. I have seen Tendulkar from days of his debut in Pakistan to his current state and I believe he is one of those cricketers who play in spite of injury, I can quote lot examples in which he continued his batting even after being injured. One such example is the famous test series against Pakistan and last test at chen...

Miami Heat became first time NBA champion. The team got revived after induction of Shaq couple of years back was a good contender for the ring. The credit goes to the trio of Pat Riley, Shaq & Wade. After trailing by 2-0 against Dallas life was never easy for Miami they had to win all 3 home games and beat Dallas on there home court, which they were not able to do since 2002. Shaq’s presence guarantees you that he will be double teamed, which makes life easier for other players including Wade. As we have seen Shaq was not in his personal best otherwise the series would have been 4-0. He continues to face trouble at the free throw. But I guess Shaq would not mind that adding fourth ring to his record, this win is special to Shaq as it was without Kobe Bryant. Shaq and Kobe were involved in bitter power struggle at LA Lakers which led to disintegration of the team and Shaq moving to Miami. I think this was Dallas Maverick’s best chance with all players including Nowitzki firing all c...

India is in very good position in the 2nd test match against West Indies. Having bowled out WI for 210 and asked to follow India has excellent winning chance thanks to some discipline bowling. With couple of days still to go in the test, Dravid must be hoping to pull out a historical win. Rain may play a spoilsport as it did on the 3rd day, but the Indians should keep a attacking field and wrap the game before any signs of rain. Lara must be a worried man; evident from the fact he came after the fall of first wicket instead of Sarwan which shows lack of confidence. The Indians should utilize this vulnerability of the West Indian batting line up in their favor. It is important to see how Dravid rotates his bowlers. The last two days of the match would be a test for Dravid and his captaining skills. Even though advantage with India cricket is a funny game.....................

Yesterday I saw "History of Violence", Academy award nominated movie. I expected the movie to be about negative side of violence. The movie does show the menace of violence on life, but moreover it portrays a man's fight for denouncing violence. The movie starts with two killers going on killing spree in suburban motel. Tom Stall lives a happy life in small town Millbrook Indiana. He owns a diner and his wife is lawyer along with two kids. His life changes when two criminals try to rob him at gunpoint. Tom intervenes to save his co-worker and kills both the criminals. After that incident Tom becomes a local hero and his name flashes all over the news media. At first it appears to be a fight of common man against organized crime. But it soon changes with visit of a man from Philadelphia who recognizes Tom to be Joey, dreaded criminal from Philly. Tom fights battle between saving his family and concealing his identity. The man who had denounced violence for sake of simple ...

As the news poured regarding the death of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, Nicholas Berg came back to my mind. I saw that video showing beheading of the American, I thought I was strong enough to withstand but in hindsight I would have been better not watching it. That video is example of animal instinct and radicalism in name of Islam by Zarqawi. I think Iraq war has both sides to it. American invading a free nation supporting it by the whim and fancies of there president was a mistake. But at the same time killing innocent people under the name of religion in gruesome manner does not also find place in free world. What Zarqawi and his organization did can never be justified. I doubt his killing would completely end insurgency but it will severely hurt the network. The people of Iraq has been suffering for years, first under Saddam and now due to American presence and inability of there leaders to form a stable government. Hope this killing ends insurgency in Iraq and give it...

The first test match between India and West Indies ended in thriller against expectation with Windies tail enders saving a day for them. At the end of first days play it was assumed that the match would be drawn or won by West Indies thanks to mindless batting display by Indians players. As the match progressed, some good display of bowlers especially Anil Kumble revived the situation for India. Looking at the Indian bowling attack in first innings, lack of experience was evident coupled with slowness of the pitch. Munaf Patel bowled relatively well in the first innings, while VRV was in all sort of trouble along with Shreesanth. I think the Indian management made an error of judgment in exposing the young inexperienced bowling attack. Either Irfan or Bhajji should have been included; I think they will just do that in second test match. Positive for India was a magnificent double hundred by Wasim Jaffer. It has been long since an opener besides Shewag scored a double hundred for India...