ferris wheel || Canon400D/EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 | 0.3Sec | f3.5 | ISO100 | 09Jun'07 20:05 | Handheld

Mahim Fair/Mahim Causeway

From today I will try and publish at least one post a day. If I don't have anything to write, then 'Daily pix' will be used as fillers. It will be a record of my visual experience (photoblog). Most of these pictures are shot on specific occasions, either during a trek or some visit. But, hopefully, I will have enthu to do photo walks specifically for this.

equipment list
.. Canon digital Rebel XTi (400D) body
.. Canon EF 18-55 f3.5-5.6
.. Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG MACRO
.. Vivitar VPT-1200 Tripod
.. Canon Powershot A400

software
. Gimp 2.6.1
. Canon DPP 2.2
. Irfan View
. Qtpfsgui 1.9.0
. FDRTools 2.2beta3

Brief technical details of the picture will be above each photo.

1. Dirty Politics

Modi announces Rs 1 cr for slain cops' kin

Martyr's father snubs Kerala chief minister

'Politics of martyrdom'

2. Bumbling Politicians

"bade shahron mein aise ek adh hadse hote rahte hain. Woh 5,000 logon ko marne aye the lekin humne kitna kum nuksan hone diya" - Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil

“Before I could reach there, the terrorists who had attacked one of the hospitals, the Cama Hospital, had left and those who attacked the railway station had also left.” - Home Minister Shivraj Patil (more gaffes)

"If it had not been (Major) Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way." - Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan

3. Mumbai Cops

Hats off to the brave cops who braved the terrorists. But the potbellied, lathi wielding and 303 carrying force needs a serious makeover...

4. Dumb advertisers

I don't know what to say of this advert... "During these challenging times in Mumbai we are with you. To register your claim if any please call our 24x7 toll free number 18002098888. Be safe. Team ICICI L"... and I am not even registered with them!

Another political one upmanship...

5. Rumour Mongers

Rumour-mongers keep Mumbai on the edge

6.Sensational Media

Nov-28 2008:1.36 PM: Fresh terror attack outside Mumbai. Firing outside RBI headquarters - CNN-IBN

They say that everyone in US remembers what (s)he was doing on Sept 11, 2001. I guess, every one in Mumbai will remember the same on Nov 26, 2008. And now that the 3 day ordeal is over, I am sure every one here has a story to tell. I have mine and it will take some years for me to forget what happened on Wednesday, November the 26th.

So here are how the events unfolded for me...

9:20 PM: After a thoroughly frustrating day (in more ways than one), I decided to head South of Mumbai on my Thunderbird, to sit by the sea side and think over the events of the day. One the way, I stopped near Mahim Station and gave a call to my friend Saroj who stays on Marine drive thinking that we can catch up on things and share frustrations. Within a few seconds plans to catch a movie at Sterling cinema at 10.45 PM were made.

9:45 PM: Reached Chowpati. Stopped near Wilson College and called Saroj to check his co-ordinates. Then headed towards Air India building to meet up with him.

9:50 PM: Reached Air India building. Waited for a couple of minutes for Saroj to join. We then headed towards his house. For a change he decided to drive my motorcycle and ended up driving it on the wrong side of the road.


View Larger Map

10:02 PM: Saroj's roommate was returning from his dinner at Bademiya, a popular joint behind the Taj Mahal hotel and happened to be one of the first to hear about the shooting at Leopold Cafe. He SMS'd Saroj to stay put as there were 'some gang wars going on in Colaba'. We decide to call and check with the Cinema house. I fired up Safari on my iPhone searched for the cinema and directly dialed the number. The call was immediately picked up and the person on the other side confirmed that the movie will start at 10:30 and tickets were available. We decided to take our chance and head towards Sterling cinema near CST/VT.

10:12 PM: Almost reached Sterling cinema and saw crowds running in all directions randomly. Saroj said that we better get out of that place. He knew the geography of South Mumbai much better than I and we headed back towards his house. He pointed to a shorter route out avoiding Metro cinema and we take that.

10:30 PM: Reached his place. Parked the bike and decided to head to Marine Plaza hotel to sip some coffee. By the time we reached the entrance, rumors had already spread across Mumbai about the incident. But, nobody seemed to know what exactly was happening. We enter the coffee shop and sit next to the window to get a view of the Marine drive.

10:41 PM: 2 blasts go off in quick succession in Oberoi. The place we were sitting shook. We decide to stay put till things calm down.

12:40 Midnight: We reach Saroj's place. By this time, the hyperactive people in the complex had created enough ruckus about an unidentified motorcycle (my bike) parked in the premises. Deflated both the tires and were planning to call the cops and report about the bike. We calm them down and I decide to stay at Saroj's place for the night.

Well, that's my story.

Of all the things I can remember. two things stood out...
- the Security guard (a Bihari) and the Darbaan(a Punjabi) of Marine Plaza stoically stood outside the hotel assuring every guest that they were safe inside and that they will ensure that no one suspicious will enter the hotel.
- the residents, long time residents of Mumbai, were the ones who feared their lives and did all things possible to damage that of some one else

This one is a share from my RSS reading list...

Heard about Joe a few days back. I am that kind of guy who usually forgets names. But this guys name stuck in my mind because he was making $250K a year! And he is a PLUMBER!!

The Analysts at CNN were already blowing this guys name up much before McCain (almost surely) made it a Dictionary term by mentioning it 21 times! I think this was more than the number of times he mentioned Senator Obama (For the record, he mentioned Obama 41 times)!!!

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Check out the number of Ads that show up when you search Google for this guy. He is already selling Tax calculators, T-Shirts and hair treatments.

And just for the heck of it, I created this word cloud of the top 50 words mentioned by McCain during the 3rd presidential debate from the transcript using Wordle.

And almost immediately after I finished it, looks like some one did the cloud for Obama's transcript :).

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Nice comment on the state of India... Not sure if this can be attributed to APJ Abdul Kalam...
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I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.

• YOU say that our government is inefficient.
• YOU say that our laws are too old.
• YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
• YOU say that the phones don't work; the railways are a joke, The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
• YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name...YOURS. Give him a face...YOURS.

• YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. - In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores.
• YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are.
• You pay $5(approx. Rs.250) to drive through Orchard Road(equivalent of Mahi Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM.
• YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over-stayed, identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?

• YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan,in Dubai.
• YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.
• YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds(approx. Rs.800) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else."
• YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son.
• YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand. Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston????? We are still talking of the same YOU.
• YOU can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch the Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal Commissioner of Bombay, Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pickup a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff that is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry,girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forgo my son's rights to a dowry.

" So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and The government. But definitely not me and YOU.When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. - When New York becomes insecure we run to England.
When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. - When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, the article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too?

I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow American to relate to Indians?. "ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY" Let's do what India needs from us.

Found an interesting article shared by a friend.
I thought that Orkut was more popular - appears facebook is? A little dig into Google Insights for search (trends.google) gave the results better for India. India seems to be showing every where inthese heat maps with just 5% penetration of internet! And someone seems to be stealing my BP :(