Advanta, a US company started more than half a century back, is that country’s largest provider of business credit cards to small businesses. Sometime back it shot into the news because of Ideablob, a social media product it promoted. Now Ideablob is not just another SM platform like the thousands that have sprung up of late. For a change, it gives away money every month, as much as $10000. Interested? Read on. To be a claimant for the award all you need is an idea to begin with. After you’ve expressed your idea to Ideablob free of cost, the next step is to garner votes for your brainchild from other members. There doesn’t seem to be any stopping you from actively canvassing votes – much the same as the various singing contest on India’s small screen. If your idea ranks among the top 8, it qualifies for the final stage. Here again there is voting that in the end ferrets out the winning idea, and yes a pot of $10K. Do you think your idea has the zing to climb to the top? You should because if non-profit milk-banking can be a promising entrant, why not yours? Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Life on Web, Make Money Online
 Construction is about to begin in full swing at the Emaar-MGF 6.24-acre property beside Silver Springs complex on EM Bypass. Talks have it that there will be 2 hotels in that land – a 300-room JW Marriott and a 250-room Holiday Inn. [Picture on the left that of Marriott Hotel on Orchard Road, Singapore; Image source] When the 2 come up by 2010-end they will have ITC’s Sonar Bangla to give company close by, and a DLF hotel to the north not very far. Emaar Group’s growth pang will see yet another property, 300-room Park Hyatt, coming up at the RCTC land on Russel Street. There again the Park Hotel is close by. Not content with hotels only, the realty major is also building an integrated township on a 40-acre plot along the Kona Expressway, which will have a 100-room budget hotel among other amenities. If all these investments – by Emaar or Jindals (refer last post) – look big, they truly are. Yet they pale before the scale of projects being increasingly planned in Bengal. For example, SAIL will, apart from Burnpur, spend Rs.20000 crore in Kulti and Durgapur. And, if rumors are to be believed, L&T Power Development plans to put in another Rs.20000 crore in Haldia power plant. Does it therefore surprise that in the third quarter of the current fiscal the state has received the highest number of investment proposals in the country? The figure is mind-boggling Rs.1,27,302 crore. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Investment
 The JSW Group of Sajjan Jindal is building an integrated steel plant at Salboni in West Midnapore district. It will have capacity to make 10 million tons of steel when completed. The total investment will come to about Rs.15000 crore. PM Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone of the plant early next month. [ Image source] A few days back Sajjan Jindal met CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and expressed his interest to set up deep sea port being planned off Bengal’s coast in the Bay of Bengal. He is likely to start a pre-feasibility study in February even as the shipping ministry at the center continues dithering to appoint a consultant for the same job. Jindal’s interest for the port came as a bit of surprise. But in today’s TT things get clear as to the reasons thereof. The proposed deep sea port off Sagar Island in the bay is likely to receive iron ore in large bulk carriers. The ore will come from Chile where the Jindals have acquired a 1200-hectare mine. If ore is from Chile, the coking coal will come from Mozambique and possibly from Canada and Australia as well. The Salboni steel plant will produce 6 million tons in the first phase. This will increase to 10 million tons in phases. The total cost has debt component of Rs.10000 crore and equity Rs.5000 crore. Of the equity component, the parent company JSW Steel will bear up to Rs.1500 crore. The balance will be raised through an IPO at an appropriate time. Summing up, the new company, JSW Bengal Limited, will not only have the steel plant, but also a captive power plant, a cement plant, and maybe the deep sea port – all these in less than a decade. That’s a lot indeed. Update (Jan 31, 2008):Sajjan Jindal is having company - competition rather - of Venugopal Dhoot to build the deep sea port. Meeting CM yesterday, the Videocon chief has put his claim for the port. This is a good sign because it indicates the port will likely have good prospects when built. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Business, People
In an impromptu talkathon organized by Star Ananda last evening and telecast in that channel, sparks flew over the righteousness of High Court’s decision to cancel this year’s Book Fair at the Park Circus Maidan. It was amusing to see that the same court that only last week was hailed for rejecting petitions challenging the Singur car factory was now being blamed for stopping the book fair by a section of the speakers on the podium. Heading the group was author Sunil Gangopadhyay. He let his sentiments cut loose when he said that if planned he might participate in the gherao of the High Court. This audacious statement seemed disbelieving to those assembled. It also put in perspective his contempt at the turn of events that were expected but derisively overlooked. Sunil Gangopadhyay rode roughshod when he said that those who opposed the book fair could not be called book lovers. In a swift swipe he sought to reduce all those whom he perceived as opponents of book fair at Park Circus to objects of ridicule. He perhaps thought his snide remarks would lift him to a higher podium. In reality he came as small, pathetically small. In fact, for once, from the vehemence of some writers for not agreeing to the shift of the fair from the Maidan it would seem that they might have vested interests in play. And, what would that be? I’m not sure, but it seems that the book fair is the only lifeline where the Bengali non-text books sell well. And it is at this time that new Bengali books are launched, and the old ones re-packaged. If that is true, then where else but at central places like Maidan will there be large enough crowd to do good business? This is important because unless they are really good, the books will not sell beyond the homely gathering of captive readers. It feels sad, but perhaps the truth is that the high talks of book-loving and culture go only to hide a bigger truth. Today’s Bengali books cannot stand on their own strength. They need props. New books are rarely launched in the whole year for the fear of failing. Sans marketing which almost comes on a platter during the book fair, chance is less that books will sell. Unfortunately for the authors and publishers, the city’s yearly tryst with book-loving now faces a formidable challenge – that of concern for environment. It’s time our ‘bookish’ pride makes way for a cleaner, healthier look for the fair. The early, the better. Articles about last year's book fair: Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: City Life 1, Culture
With YouTube’s announcement of expanding " the number of supported cell phone technologies that can support the viewing" its millions of videos, a new peak is now set in mobile video service. Up until now this service was available to select users. No longer. In about 17 countries and 11 languages, YouTube videos will henceforth be available to virtually any mobile owner with streaming video capability. You may wonder if and how that matters. Well, for content writers like me it does. It immensely does. Take a look at the image below.  YouTube already has better share of daily pageviews than Google, and the gap appears to be widening. This indicates that online videos are becoming more and more popular with each passing day. No surprise therefore that YouTube mobile application supports uploading of videos from cellphones, and in fact many opine that mobile users can post better and longer videos from mobile devices. I’m all for this. Even though my cell doesn’t have the MMS (multi-media messaging) capability – an old model you see – I shortly plan to go for one that allows me to do all that and much more. The PCWorld article informs that for now YouTube service is available for Sony Ericsson k800, w880, Nokia e65, n95, n73, 6110 navigator and 6120 classic devices. May the readers of this blog suggest some! Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Life on Web
There are reports that the occurrence of bird flu in Bengal was known in the first week of Jan, but the information was officially let out a week later. This lapse and the subsequent slow approach to limit the spread of the disease to other places are being thought to be lacking the urgency they demand. There’s no way anyone in Bengal can remain aloof to the possibility of danger the disease poses. The trouble though is that the situation in the state is completely different from earlier instances of bird flu at Manipur and Nandurbar in Maharashtra. A look at the following TT schematic makes it clear ( image source) why it is so.  In Bengal, poultry farming is the source of income for millions, a livelihood that comes just after cultivation. In many village homes ducks and hens share the same space with their owners, and there simply are no separate enclosures for the birds. For these people the birds are their main source of income, and so it is very difficult for them to part with the birds especially when it is not certain how they are going to earn their means the next day. For the government the task of meeting the challenge of containing the disease is enormous. It has to spread awareness among the poor, mobilize trained personnel to collect and cull the birds, and distribute relief to those who loose the birds. The fourth action is perhaps the most important. The health department persons from the government have to keep strict vigil to watch out for any fatal outbreak anywhere, whether among other birds, animals like pigs, or humans. Since this is the breeding season for migratory birds assembling on every large waterbody in the winter, this poses yet another dimension to the already overloaded work schedule. On top of all these is the game of politics. Later this year the panchayat elections are due in the state. Anyone who has even a small inkling of what it is like will know how bitter the elections for local bodies in Bengal become. With that in mind, it was no surprise that the ruling party was initially in 2 minds on how to go about. Now it seems there is some progress. According WHO experts, home-bred ducks are the actual source of the H5N1 virus, carrying it from the migratory birds from the water in which they all swim. The problem is ducks usually show no outward symptoms of having contacted the virus even as they spread it among the hens and chickens, and later, if not controlled, to pigs and humans. Meanwhile, the WHO is also thinking that the ultra-rapid spread of the virus in Bengal may after all be to the account of a new kind of H5N1 (ABP, Jan 25, pg 10). To know that for sure will need lots of research. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Culture, People, Science
In Kolkata there are coin suppliers in every market. Early morning when the markets open, these people make rounds of fish, vegetable and fruit stalls and sell coins at a margin. Often they will supply coins worth Rs.50 and charge 4% as commission, that increases at times when the supply ‘dries up’ for reasons such as the coins being melted to make shaving blades. Supplying coins is a lucrative early morning business for some like dropping newspapers or milk pouches at homes. The return is not bad, but now there may be more reasons to cheer. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced plans to unleash Rs.10 coins before Diwali. Global tenders are to be invited soon for making 300 million pieces of Rs.10 coins worth Rs.300 crore ($75 million). RBI’s action comes because smaller coins are fast getting out of circulation. This perhaps means if people start using higher denomination coins more, then the pressure on the smaller coins may become less. It though doesn’t happen like that on ground. Popularity of smaller coins never really ebbs in Kolkata – perhaps the sole exception among the major metros. The reason according to me is the cheap cost of public conveyance that is often less than Rs.10. This is where I think the bulk of expenses occur. Public buses and auto-drivers have to perforce carry small change, for otherwise if the passengers don’t have small coins they may not pay the fares. The same goes for small shops as well. How will the tenner coin be? As per ET Jan 15 report, the Rs.10 coin will be 7.71 gm bimetallic – cupro-nickel or alloy of copper and nickel – composite with the rim made of aluminum, copper, and nickel. Apparently, only foreign makers have the know-how to make such coins. The government does have an eye on depleting stock of Re.1 and Rs.2 coins. So, in addition to Rs.10 coins, 2,000 million of Rs.2 and 800 million of Re.1 will also be made. Budget for these two combined: Rs.500 crore. Incidentally, contrary to popular take, coins of 5 paise, 10 paise, and 25 paise have not been discontinued by RBI. They are however no longer used. A near similar fate hangs for 50 paise coin, which still finds use in Kolkata, but very minimal in other metros. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: City Life 1, Oh Really
I'm very happy to lend my voice to my blog. I've wanted to have it for a long time, but only yesterday got down to work on it. The audio clip nestles on the right sidebar at the top. Just click the play button to hear my voice. And in case you too wish to have an audio clip of yours in your webpage, just let me know (mahanagar[ dot]net[ @]gmail[ dot]com). I'll be happy to share with you how to do it. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: What Else
Bloodbath, mayhem, carnage, whitewash – you say anything, but perhaps none can truly describe the plight of people remotely connected with the Indian stock market. The avalanche of downslide came all too sudden, and no holes in any corner remained that could house the scared investors from hiding. The claws of mounting losses bit hard, just too hard. But there was some consolation for the harried investors - of brotherliness, of camaraderie. For, all the major stock indices world over wore the same desolate picture, except maybe FTSE. I wrote on Saturday last that my friend Srini feared that the Sensex would see 17000 soon. Little did I realize that his forecast would become true in just 2 trading sessions. So, where are we headed? The turmoil notwithstanding, experts believe the ‘India story’ remains intact even though there are indications of US economy sliding into recession. That possibility is not without ground. The year-end commerce between the thanksgiving and the Christmas just gone by has been singularly unimpressive in the US. This is taken as a tell-tale sign that all is not good in that great consumer-centric country. The fear is further compounded by the Fed’s dramatic 75 bps reduction in US credit rates, the biggest one-time rate-cut in nearly 2 decades. A common refrain is that if US economy sneezes, there’s no way the others will not catch cold. These ‘others’ are those countries that perforce depend on the performance of US economy. There is also the view that Indian economy is least dependent on US, and so in the long run there won’t be that serious a problem for us even if the US falters. That may indeed be true. The Sensex recovered a lot of lost ground in today’s trade, though it would be wrong to take this as an indication of return to normalcy. Most stock experts opine that the volatility of stocks will henceforth be a regular feature. However, the common wisdom is that even if the short-term indicators look bearish, the long-term outlook of Indian stocks continues to be promising. Let’s raise a toast to that – a half glass maybe to reflect the somber mood! Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Investment
Our reading habits are transforming constantly with each passing day. Before the Internet thing, anyone would have laughed off the suggestion of reading on the computer screen, specs dangling on the tip of the nose. It’s no more a laughing matter. If you’re serious about keeping up to date with happenings around, there is no shortcut to seating before your computer and reading online. You may say, what’s the need of online reading? Which is very true unless your bread requires you to do so. And there lies the key to what I suppose the greatest habit-transformer ever on a gigantic global scale. The point is you can’t hope to earn your bread if you’re not able to punch the keyboard and take in what all the screens say. That will in no time include books and newspapers, and yes movies as well. Okay, this much is clear. Now suppose you have a handheld device that fits in your pocket that gives you all those online info without the need of ever ‘connecting online’. Further suppose the device is such that it doesn’t stress your eyes to read the matter on screen – very unlike the pain of reading on computer monitors. All these and more are what comprise the new Amazon Kindle. It was launched in end-October last to time the festive season, and it literally sold like hot cakes amid gloomy forecasts in the recession-hit America. There is presently a ‘mile-long’ queue to lay hands on Kindle, and there’s no stock to meet the demand. To give you a fair idea of how good Kindle is, the 295gm (10.4 ounce) 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches electronic book device with paper-like high resolution screen offers more than 90,000 books plus newspapers, magazines, and blogs – some paid, some free. And since the item is an Amazon offering, you can easily screen-shop for anything in the virtual store. Any downside? The only one that I can think of is that Whispernet, the broadband communication technology that forms the backbone of providing the service is available mainly in the US. So, no cheer for rest of us. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Life on Web
My friend Srini, an avowed stock market enthusiast, is downcast for the past couple of days. He rang up today morning sounding somber, and wondering how long the downslide will continue. It didn’t need much prodding to make him forecast ominous days ahead for the Indian stock market. “17000 is where the Sensex is headed,” he remarked, continuing, “Curse me.. I should have sold some stocks last week.” Srini is among those investors who do 2 things that pundits say are not the right ways to reap the long-term benefits. They constantly shuffle their portfolio hoping that the new buy will be better than the one bought 2 weeks back. They also attempt to ‘time’ the market. Both belong to that style of investing what the long-term investors will scrupulously avoid. The latter will in fact ‘up’ their holding at every decline once they’re convinced about the intrinsic value of a stock they’ve chosen. The essential difference between people like Srini and long-term players is that, while the former fear the market and are always apprehensive of it, the latter love the market and maybe rejoice when the prices slide downward.  I sympathized with Srini, and asked him, “Did you subscribe to R-Power?” His mood livened up immediately. For sure he did, and why won’t he? It appears the entire Indian investing class has put in their money in Reliance Power. The stats say the R-Power IPO has closed with subscriptions exceeding Rs.7.57 trillion ($192.6 billion), which, according to today’s TT (Jan 19), is “ Rs.77,000 crore more than what the Manmohan Singh government needs to run its operations this year’. The Bloomberg says that the cumulative bids for the R-Power IPO is not only the highest in the country thus far, it is ‘ equivalent to the aggregate market capitalization of companies listed in the Portugal and Czech Republic markets taken together’ (ref: ET, Jan 19). Anil Ambani is likely to announce the final figures in a press conference today, and there is every chance the final figures will be more. [Image left: Anil Ambani, a voracious runner. Image source] Now, here is the supreme irony. The R-Power IPO has boomed in the week when the Sensex has shed 1814 points – 687 of them yesterday. So what takes? Here is the other part of the puzzle. In the week gone by over 10 lakh demat – the actual term is Depository Participation Accounts – has been opened. This I’m sure can be directly related to the IPO. This means many retail investors have drawn in their money from wherever they can, including selling maybe good stocks (not surprising) they were holding, in order to subscribe to the R-Power IPO. The euphoria has been so high that the mere mention of it cheered my friend Srini though he actually rang up to share his grief over the tumbling of share prices. If Srini, the 15-year veteran in stock investing, can swear by a company that hasn’t yet had a noteworthy bottomline, what is the fault of new investors who have given in to the lure? Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Investment, People
On Jan 10 when the Nano was being unveiled at Pragati Maidan, the opposition MLA of Singur ridiculed the name of the people's car, and said it'd be so tiny that it'd remain invisible even through a telescope. He further said that the name itself suggests that there'll be no car manufactured from Singur plant. Well, he is wrong. He is wrong for many reasons. First, the people's car drew a record number of crowd who had to be controlled outside the pavilion before being let in. The visible enthusiasm was good enough to drive home the point that the car has indeed been a hit with common people. Second, a US diplomat openly praised the design of the car. Third, during the just concluded China visit by the PM, there were reports that China wants to import Nano in large quantity. Lastly, putting the final nail in the coffin of high hopes of the opposition, the High Court has dismissed all 11 petitions today morning that challenged the Singur car factory. Here is what the AFP report says (selected excerpts): There was "no colourable exercise of power" by the state government in acquiring the land, Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice P.C. Ghosh said, dismissing all the 11 petitions challenging the land acquisition process.
A Tata Motors official would not comment on the court decision, saying it was up to the state government.
But the company "is moving along on target" for the jelly-bean shaped car, called the Nano, to roll off production lines in the second half of the financial year to March 2008, said the official, who wished to remain unnamed.
"This (court order) will definitely strengthen the industrial drive in the state," West Bengal's Industry Minister Nirupam Sen told reporters in Kolkata. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Business, People
 There’s a bit of drama going on for this year’s selection of the country’s highest civilian award. Strangely, only politicians are enacting the drama, which gives the impression that only they are the right claimants for the coveted honor. [Image of Bharat Ratna medal left; image source] The game was started by LK Advani, who I feel has that gifted over-cleverness of making an issue out of perfect non-issues. He is wily, and when his ‘inner voice’ tells him he can play a masterstroke, he rarely feels the need for his party’s formal nod to do so. His backing of Jinnah while in Pakistan was an example. Sadly for him, it turned out as a costly mistake. He literally had to fight with his back to the wall to claw back into reckoning. Now that he has vaulted to the post of PM-in-waiting, he doesn’t seem to want any fly in his carefully nurtured ointment. Which perhaps is why he proposed Vajpayee’s name of his own volition – today’s paper (TT, Jan 18) mentions Susma Swaraj hinting so. According to me, his calculation is that by proposing the former PM’s name he can forestall any attempt by Vajpayee to claim the post of PM-in-waiting that he feels is rightfully his. After all, to be considered for the Bharat Ratna is perhaps too lofty for the ex-PM to clamor for the lowly post of PM, should his party come to power 2 years hence. The second bird Advani proposes to kill with his proposal has 2 mutually exclusive components. One, if per chance Vajpayee is not handed the honor, he can then cry hoarse that the Congress government has no respect for the ex-PM. Two, if it happens otherwise, that is if Vajpayee is made Bharat Ratna, then again he can cry hoarse that it’s because of him that it has happened. The later events however are proving embarrassing for Advani. Since he made his demand public, there has been no stopping the demands for the honor. Of all the names proposed, the two worthy ones are Biju Patnaik and Jyoti Basu. My guess is that despite his cleverness, Advani may not have bargained for so many claimants, thus making the carefully planned game inching slowly out of control. Not only that, there have been small missiles as well that needed to be ducked. For example, the CPM on Basu’s choice says it never runs after such awards as the Congress and BJP do. Well, that’s a real lofty one. So now that the Pandora’s Box is firmly open, it will be interesting to see how the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha manages the issue in the days to come. Meanwhile, if you ask me, I’ll unhesitatingly propose Ratan Tata’s name for Bharat Ratna. It’s mainly because of his effort that the country is going to see an indigenous engineering marvel, the people’s car, by name ‘Nano’. Ratan Tata has many other singular achievements to his credit, but to me Nano crowns them all. For, when the car becomes a success, it will serve as a glowing example in the revival of interest in basic scientific research, which the country so badly needs.  The Bharta Ratna Citation, the certificate conferred to Late M. G. Ramachandran posthumously in 1988. [ Image source] Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Commentary, Oh Really, What Else
The full back-page ad in mainline papers today says it is the largest shopping mall of India. A small asterisk next to the announcement leads you to the bottom corner to the collection of 3 words, ‘In Eastern India’. You may dislike my piquing over small things, but such is the imperatives of the day that you cannot take small lines lightly. So there you’re. The South City Mall that covers a cumulative area of a million square feet is the largest in eastern India. It ought to have come to life early last year, but then such announcements are for the digestion of gullible. Now that it is opening today, hopes are rising that it will soon turn out as ‘the destination’ in much of south Kolkata. And why not? The mall has 6 plexes, 6 anchors, a large food court, and multi-level parking for 1300 cars. Between the 4, South City Mall meets the biggest needs and the biggest worry – that of parking – with equal aplomb. But there are other worries – some bigger than the mall’s biggest. For example, take the case of traffic snarl that will inevitably happen on the Prince Anwar Shah Road at both the Golf Green and the Jadavpur PS junctions. Sometime last year, there were talks of the mall developers wanting to build flyovers to ease traffic congestions. What has happened since is not known. The array of shops in the mall has the potential of luring the majority of shoppers south of Gol Park and up to Garia. For people in Dhakuria, Selimpur and indeed Jodhpur Park, the best address to float around will be the South City Mall. As for single screens like Navina and Menoka, one feels sorry for them. They will likely extinct sooner than later. Priya will last longer if only for its location and superb positioning. The only difference that goes in favor of standalone screens is the relatively cheaper cost of entry. It’s an irony that the South City Mall brings along a touch of sophistry at a time when the city suffers the ignominy caused by the carnage from fire in some illegally built market complex at Burrabazar. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Cityscape, Edifice, Market
Sitting at my home, away thousands of miles from the thick of action, the cancellation of Golden Globes telecast by NBC on Jan 7 appears like a tiny blip on my radar of consciousness. I may have let it pass unnoticed and vanish into my mind’s oblivion, but for the fact I feel the story behind the incident concern many of us, the vast multitude of online content writers. News has it the Golden Globes could easily have been a $75-million event, and should that be so, who doesn’t know the collective creative spirit could have had a fair share of spoils – money plus acclaim – at the annual event? But this year was different. The Jan 7 cancellation of the Golden Globes marked the medium-term culmination of the 4-month old strike by the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA). There have been efforts to end the strike. Maybe you like the phrase, ‘break the strike’, depending on which side of it you belong to. The strike continues though even as the graver possibility of Oscars biting the dust on Feb 24 looms large. If it so happens, it’ll be first ever in the history of Oscars. Even though Golden Globe stands nowhere compared to Oscar, the informed view is that the cancellation of these mega events – no doubt they are super duper by any standard – is in fact a sideshow of a bigger conflict. The question to solve is how much to pay the content creators who are supposed to be the fertile brains behind much of TV shows and even movies of the digital age produced at Hollywood. The fingers promptly rest on such wonders like YouTube that grew rocket-like in just 2 years on the back of rich content created by you and me. The idea has percolated that the moolah in the digital contents is too big to justify meager handouts to the content creators. How the things finally pan out is a bit premature to guess, but I believe if the WGA can wring out respectable benefits from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), it may result into trickle-down advantage for web content writers world over. And that includes me as well. WGA’s resolve has therefore echoes elsewhere, even if on the surface there doesn’t seem much cream at first glance for faraway watchers like me. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Elsewhere, Life on Web, What Else
Scenario 1:The Gujjar agitation in May-June last year stunned the Rajasthan government. The Chief Minister apparently had no clue that the agitation could turn so violent. Subsequently there was a strong demand that the state’s CM must be removed from her post for failing to gauge or control the trouble in time.Scenario 2:2 illegally built market complex catch fire in the city on Jan 12, and just 2 days later (Jan 14) 7 heavyweight politicos from distant Rajasthan converge in the city to hasten the allegedly sloth fire-fighting efforts. They – ministers, MLAs, MPs, and officials from there – wanted to take their Bengal counterparts to task at – where else, but – Writers Building for the latter’s apparent incompetence.The question that pops up is what makes the western dignitaries hotfooting to a place 2000 km away from their fiefdom and enter into a could-have-been fisticuff with a Bengal minister? The audacious display of temper by the Rajasthani politicians is no less stunning than the abysmal failure of their government to control the Gujjar strife. I’m not saying the state’s fire minister is a saint. He shouts hoarse the dangers the Durga Puja committees pose by not abiding the fire safety standards in the pandals. But when the push actually becomes a shove as in the present case in Burrabazar, his culpability leaves no one in doubt. But that’s a different point. As it usually happens, disasters bare truth. In the case of Burrabazar inferno, the fact that the Marwari businessmen, who have a vice-like grip on the city’s commerce, have flouted every necessary civic and safety norm to flourish their business stands naked. Not without reason therefore the VIPs from Rajasthan are sparing no effort to show their concern, which for once looks really genuine. This strange but real concern from afar raises questions. Does not this indicate an unseen thread of mutuality that has percolated not only the layers of powers-that-be in Bengal but also extended to the distant state of Rajasthan? I believe this is so. Meanwhile, from my brief interactions with various people, I’m convinced that no tear is shed for the businessmen who lost ‘everything’ in the fire. Sounds harsh? But it’s true. To most, the Burrabazar fire is at best a grand spectacle better seen from a distance, and at worst a major irritant on way to Howrah station and doing other needful nearby. Despite the screaming headlines, the common perception is, "The fire is atoning for the sins of illegality. May better sense now prevail!" Update (Jan 16):Ex-VP Bhairon Singh Shekhawat visited the city yesterday to express solidarity with the ‘dispossessed’ business people of Burrabazar. Also, Basant Kumar Birla, the doyen of Birla empire, announced a grant of Rs.2 crore for the affected. There will perhaps be more sympathy/donation than what comes in papers. Surprisingly, none of the sympathizers speak anything about the utter disregard of the norms and the illegality of the whole thing. Wonder why..? Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Commentary, Oh Really
I usually do not allude to speculations, especially those that are clearly evident after just a little probing. The one here is not an exception, but for the fact that I liked the images so much that I cannot prevent myself giving them here. Well, it’s about Renault’s Yeni. A friend of mine sent me some mind-blowing pictures of Yeni, which I then traced to a car enthusiast’s Singapore based site. Perhaps the photos come from elsewhere that I couldn’t locate. Oddly, the car enthusiast’s webpage having the images mentions Yeni as the world’s cheapest car in the post dated Aug 21 last year. Nano wasn’t yet out then, so the mistake can be forgiven. What however takes the breadth away is the mention that Yeni is a joint venture between Renault-Nissan and Tata Motors. Well, the truth is Renault is the partner of Mahindra in India, and jointly they brought out the sedan-class car Logan in the market last year. According to reports, Renault-Mahindra partnership may perhaps not last beyond Logan, and the French car company will go ahead with the planned Tamil Nadu factory with Nissan. Whatever it is, certain things are for sure. Nano is none else’s but Tatas’, and for once the world has been waiting for the car’s unveiling with great eager. If now Yeni too debuts on Indian roads, it will be a battle royal between the 2. And tell you what? Yeni is too sexy to ignore. What do ye think..?     Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Commentary, Oh Really
 Schematic of how fire started at Burrabazar on Saturday early morning [Image source]Not in the living memory had such a thing happened. The said-to-be biggest CPM rally in the Brigade Parade Ground suffered negligible media coverage in yesterday's TV channels and in today's papers. It was completely overshadowed by the eye-catching event at Burrabazar – the raging fire in 2 buildings. Clearly the ruling party didn't bargain for that. All the efforts to make the rally next to none had been painstakingly done. Perhaps for the first time except during Puja days, the Metro ran specials in the morning, a Sunday, to carry the rally-goers. Conveyances in thousands were arranged from vantage points like Howrah and Sealdah stations to Brigade to ferry listeners. This was nothing new. What was new was the unprecedented announcement in the form of official press release by the government to warn the people of possible traffic jams. Pray why not. The city is known to have of late grown a disliking for rallies that have the potential to reduce non-participants to mere spectators. But that didn’t deter the rally goers from doing exactly the same. A picture in today's TT (Jan 14) showing hundreds of cars piling up on one side of AJC Bose Road flyover watching the free run of mini-trucks carrying the rallyists racing ahead on the other side reminded me of the Republic Day parade on Red Road. All in all, the stage was all set for a massive propaganda. Alas, the fire stole all the attention. Which is to say that the mega arrangement coupled with the star attraction of CPM's top brass addressing the rally firmly remained sort of non-event yesterday. Is that an indication of 'fires' ahead as the CPM embarks whole hog on industrialization? One hopes not. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Oh Really, People
Sometime back I traveled to Howrah Station through BBD Bag on a Sunday. The winter was kind that day. The day was brightly sunlit and colder than the usual gentle stuff you find in Kolkata. Since it was a Sunday, the roads had little traffic, and even less people. As I raced in the car past the GPO, and then taking a left turn onto Strand Road, I wondered how clean the city looks at its busiest place when there is no chaos around. 2 days later I again chanced upon a visit to BBD Bag – I come here very occasionally – and this time I cursed my going there. The early morning wintry air was heavy with smoke and other pollutants that emitted from the ugly buses that raced against one another. There was no modicum of traffic rule except for stopping at signals, which was all that the police care for. As I went past Tea Board on Brabourne Road, there was the familiar jostling on the sidewalk because there was so little place to accommodate the rushing feet. The men who manned the roadside stalls appeared completely oblivious to the hardship of the people jockeying around every obstacle to move ahead. Such was the commoner’s plight on the road that it has ceased to be even considered as a problem. After all, the place is home to the largest wholesale market in the entire eastern India. And who doesn’t know the power of Burrabazar businessmen who literally control the flow of goods into the city? All of these must be of no surprise to anyone who has spent some years in the city. But perhaps for the first time, the city’s mayor has publicly admitted his helplessness to enforce the corporation’s building rules in the Burrabazar area after yesterday’s devastating fire. He says thus in today’s ABP – oi elakaye be-aini bari keu bhenge thekhak na! (let me see if anyone can break the illegal houses in that area..!). Kolkata is a strange city. It is very apparent that the city’s administrators have an overwhelmingly callous attitude to the plight of common people. Just as in spite of the High Court’s ruling, the footpaths in Burrabazar still continue to be occupied by the vendors, similarly there is no visible action against smoke-belching buses and trucks that ply in the city and the unruly way they ride. There are many such instances. Is it therefore any wonder that the Book Fair has bulldozed its way to Park Circus maidan despite everyone knowing the dire consequences the people will suffer on the fair days? First timers to the city find it exasperating to live in. You can’t blame them because perhaps nowhere else you’ll find the common living rules being flouted with such impunity. Limited means is one thing; to completely overlook others’ problems is uncivilized and speaks of unbelievable audacity. Welcome to the city of joy, or shall I say beware of the city of sorrow! Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: City Life 1
Let me strike while the iron is hot. A friend of mine has sent me a list of 4 new words 'proposed' to be included in the English lexicon. The words are interesting as you'll soon discover below. While I claim no credit to have emitted the words, I do mention that my including them here comes with the usual diclaimer clause. I've them here purely in jest, and I intend no offence to any person. Here now are the words. Bucknor: (n) (adj) 1. Temporary blindness leading to missing out on the obvious. 2. To be at the wrong place at the wrong time. 3. Situations leading to grave judgmental errors. Usage: I feel bucknored by my boss; Life often throws a bucknor at you. Benson: (n) (adj) 1. Something that legitimises a severe bucknor. Usage: First they bucknored me and then they bensoned it! I am toast. Also see bucknor Ponting : (n) (adj) - display of unquestionable integrity, inspite of being incorrect. Usage: I tried to explain the situation to the client, but he was a real ponting. Now I am being bucknored by my boss. Symmo : (n) (adj) - display of ape-like behavior, but still pretending to be normal Usage: Ever since the project deadlines got revised, my boss has been a symmo. The HR is pontinging, and the client has bucknored me. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Oh Really, People, What Else
 Nano Standard - the 1 lakh (ex-dealer) people's car with rear-wheel drive,
all-aluminium, 2-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine
[Picture Source] A year back, this time around, Nandigram was on flame, and Singur was the hotbed of protests against Tata’s People’s Car. Today Singur, though still kept simmering by interested quarters, is busy building the plant that will manufacture Nano, the people’s car, later this year. These thoughts must have crossed the minds of Tata Motors’ executives and assembled guests at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi today as Ratan Tata unveiled Nano in the morning to a resounding applause. Nano is crucial to Bengal’s industrial resurgence. The state’s once fabled base of industries has since long been brought to shreds by militant workers, egged on by the left ideologues. They believed workers’ interests were paramount even if the industries in which they work went to hell by their actions. The clock has turned full circle. It is now the state’s turn to shed all veneer and go begging for industries. Its efforts haven’t gone waste, the proof of which is the Tata Motors’ Singur factory, which by itself has the potential to grow enough greens in the industrial wasteland of Bengal. But Nano is not the only Tata initiative in the state. Near Kharagpur, heavy vehicles are to be made by Tata Motors in separate facilities. These mother plants are in turn bringing in scores of auto-ancillaries, and taken together they will be employing thousands of people. Direct employment is like the low-hanging fruits that are easy to pluck – in this case easy to happen. The indirect advantage is usually many times over, rising from the fact that people with more money at disposal will like to spend it. The chain continues, and its multiplier effect is felt for a long time to come. Maruti’s Gurgaon is a testimony to that, not to speak of Pune that rose to prominence primarily on the basis of flourishing auto companies in the city and nearby. 2008 may be watershed year for Bengal that will likely see many more industrial developments. If Sajjan Jindal’s (JSW Steel) 10MT Salboni plant and IISCO’s modernization are the major ones, there are any number of relatively smaller ones slated to take off in this year – for example Videocon’s proposed IT SEZ near Siliguri. Another reason why 2008 bears the signs of being remarkable is the fact that the CPM, the dominant partner in the left, has pulled out all stops in its zeal to pursue ‘capital’. It’s not the hide-n-seek game any longer. That the smaller left partners are growing restive is an unmistakable sign of that. Given the way the things are proceeding, if the CPM, sorry the left, wins the panchayat polls later this year more or less decisively, we may see the pursuance of capital in Bengal like never before. Perhaps the time is finally arriving to tighten our seat belts. Just perhaps. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Commentary, Corporate, People
 Figures sometimes tell uncanny tales you wouldn’t have otherwise thought probable. Take for example the TOI-Synovate poll for selecting notable Indians who have outshone in their respective fields in the year just gone by. The results came out in the paper’s Dec 30 edition. I was looking at the winners in the category of political/social category. Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh occupied the first 2 slots with 35% and 22% of the votes. Narendra Modi came third with 19% votes. It is normal that the leaders of the current day rulers have more popularity in opinion polls because people see and tend to remember them more. But to have no opposition leader of pan-India stature in the top 5 slots is something that is noteworthy. One might argue Narendra Modi with 19% share of the votes is a tall opposition leader, but the fact is that Sonia led in every city except Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, and that between Sonia and Manmohan their share is 57% of the total. There’s more. Narendra Modi polled 79% in Ahmedabad, and since state elections were also going on in Gujarat around the same time, it’s no wonder that he received so overwhelming thumbs-up. Who ranks after Modi in the list? It’s Mayavati with 8%. Looking at the figures it is possible to argue that had the Gujarat elections not been taking place at the time when TOI polls took place or if you put aside the Ahmedabad figure, even Narendra Modi won’t have had the respectable double-digit popular nod. There is a reason why I’m mentioning these figures. It’s my contention that Narendra Modi is a sectarian popular leader. Yes he is popular among the Hindus in Gujarat, and one may envy him for having successfully created a cult-like image for himself. But in the process he has also created a deep chasm of division and distrust in the state. If I may quote from the editorial piece, Blame The Middle Class, written by Ashis Nandy, the political psychologist, in yesterday’s TOI, here are some selective excerpts: Recovering Gujarat from its urban middle class will not be easy. The class has found in militant religious nationalism a new self- respect and a new virtual identity as a martial community, the way Bengali babus, Maharashtrian Brahmins and Kashmiri Muslims at different times have sought salvation in violence. In Gujarat this class has smelt blood, for it does not have to do the killings but can plan, finance and coordinate them with impunity. The actual killers are the lowest of the low, mostly tribals and Dalits. The middle class controls the media and education, which have become hate factories in recent times. And they receive spirited support from most non-resident Indians who, at a safe distance from India, can afford to be more nationalist, bloodthirsty, and irresponsible. If Ashis Nandy has his opinion, another columnist Swapan Dasgupta has his too. Dasgupta is effusive about Modi’s ways, and sometimes back in The Telegraph he even went to the extent of comparing Modi with Mahatma Gandhi as someone setting the national agenda. In the same Dec 30 edition as the TOI-Synovate poll results, Dasgupta in his piece, The Modi charisma, glorifies Modi by saying that he has come to personify courage and integrity. Here’s a selected part from Dasgupta’s: The Gujarat model is not in conflict with the Bharat model. What has clicked in Gujarat is a leadership style built on innovation, dedication and a resolute defiance of a compromised Establishment. A Modi folklore has been created around an Angry Middle-aged Man with a 56-inch chest.
It has corresponded with subliminal perceptions of good leadership. And the Gujarat voter is no different from the Indian voter. Well, the game is now defined. As can be seen in the narratives from the 2 eminent writers, the time is upon us to take a side. With India marching to a new destiny, and considering that the country is more diverse than what our cocoon-like knowledge permits us to realize, whether it’s Modi’s vision as exemplified by Dasgupta (or feared by Nandy) or an all-inclusive progress that takes the country to greater heights remains to be seen. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Commentary
Never before in the club’s history did East Bengal play so badly that it has the real chance of slipping from the list of top football clubs in the country. Mohun Bagan with its formidable team this year is yet to find the right rhythm though it’s in much better shape than the red-and-gold. I’m a fan of red-and-gold, and I find it numbing to see my favorite team suffering defeats at the hands of nondescript teams. Why is this happening, no one knows. When I speak to people who apparently know more than me, they say the club officials are responsible for the fiasco. The way some players like Alvito D’Cunha and Suresh manage to remain untouched despite serious complaints against them, shows that the trouble in East Bengal is indeed deep and entrenched. However, in spite of feeling let down by my favorite team, there is some good news that brings cheer to my mind. One such is the pledge by the Bharti Group to invest about Rs.100 crore or more (as necessary) to roll out and finance a football academy in Goa. Up until now leaving the 2 Kolkata giants, almost all other top football clubs are owned by corporate houses, like Mahindra, JCT, Dempo, etc. ONGC on its part has sponsored the National Football League (now I-League) for quite a few years. And the Tatas run the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur. That is all about corporate participation in Indian football. Bharti’s involvement will be the first on a scale that is incomparable by Indian standards. How does Sunil Mittal describe the momentous event? Here it is: Football is the world’s most popular sport. It unites the world. Our vision is to develop a rich football culture in India. To achieve this vision, we will look at partnering with leading international football clubs and institutions like Manchester United and IMG. We’ve had a huge dose of cricket and I think it is the time to start a programme to make India a footballing nation. In 10 years we want India to be on the world stage. 3 cheers to that – hip, hip, hurray. [Collated from ET, Jan 5]Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Sports-n-Games
If Google can tread on Wikipedia’s domain, why can’t the latter? And so, after a long lull of Google’s overwhelming supremacy we’re going to see some action in the ‘search’ scene. From who else, but Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia. It’s named Wikia. Wikia plans to debut on Jan 7, that is 3 days from today. Tongues are already wagging to predict likely fallout of Wikia’s coming. But perhaps it’s too soon to say anything. For the newcomer it’s too formidable a challenge to take on Google, entrenched as the latter is in virtually every country. Wikia will be like a whiff of fresh air in the search arena. As Rosalie Marshall’s report says, "... the new community driven search engine will take time to evolve, just as Wikipedia took time to build up its entries." So there lies the big difference. Wikia will not likely spider the pages. It’ll be more akin to Wikipedia where volunteers contribute the contents. How will that be any good or worse than Google? This only time will reveal. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Life on Web
 Among the places receiving record footfalls on the year-end days just gone by was the Salt Lake’s premier shopping-cum-pleasure destination, City Centre. A place for pleasure and enjoyment, the City Centre presents itself in a way that permeates an adda-like time-passing, if shopping is not the option. City Centre has in fact turned out as a popular hangout for gen-next, and why not? The mall has food joints, branded and otherwise, that are enticing, though not necessarily light on purse. But then who says the gen-next doesn’t have money to splurge! In June last year, City Centre has been adjudged the most preferred shopping mall in India by CNBC Awaaz (picture on the left, source). The main reason why people like it is that you find a laidback atmosphere here. That perhaps is because there is plenty of roaming space in open air, and a visible lack of commercial exploitation of the visitors. The onus is clearly on making the place as congenial and inviting as possible to make people come in and connect with one another. The idea is that more the people come and longer they stay and roam around, more the business for the shop owners. Elsewhere in other cities, City Centre means the center of the city, usually referred to as downtown or CBD (Central Business District). See below a magnificent picture of a part of Connaught Place, Delhi’s CBD ( source). In Kolkata however City Centre is an altogether new destination. In fact in another couple of years there will be 2 City Centre, the second one, more spacious and elaborate, also from Ambuja Realty, coming up fast in New Town.  Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Cityscape, Market, Shops, Spots
The Kolkata of 50s and much of 60s had cabaret dancers holding the center-stage in renowned restaurants and hotels in the evenings till wee hours. Industrialists, patrons of various hues, and those who had money to spare would throng the venues to enjoy and let enjoy their dues. Liquor flowed like water in the Hooghly. There were other places of merriment, notably the sophisticated clubs, but there would rarely be the presence of cabaret dancers to add to titillation, though here too liquor was the fulcrum around which the fun circulated in abundance. For the well-heeled people who enjoyed life like the smooth moist butter about to melt, bad times fell soon as the city found itself engulfed in the fight against class enemies. Today as the state strides the path of economic revival and growth, the days of fun with women ready to reveal have firmly arrived. As I read today’s TOI story, Kolkata shocks moral police, telling vivid details of the last year’s last day’s late partying, there is no doubt that you cannot call Kolkata a ‘bare-all backbencher’ any longer. What is especially notable is that the urge to feel the warmth is not restricted among the men only. The fair sex is also an inseparable part of it. Sample the excerpt from TOI. At a city disc of a five-star hotel at three in the morning, the stench of puke, the blinding smoke, the psychedlic lights and party animals falling over each other were somewhat overbearing for those dead sober. With smashed women crying hoarse at the thought of going home, couples smooching as if they were part of an adhesive commercial and organisers counting fresh notes while turning a deaf ear to queries about programme timings — it was an eye-opener of sorts.
As Mir put it, "I found myself surrounded in a sea of cleavage. People neither knew where they were nor where their clothes were. The more people drank, the more they sank and didn’t know whom to thank. Beer guzzlers took to their mugs as if all liquor shops would be banned for the whole of 2008." Crass partying, did you say? Let it be. A vibrant city has many faces. The ‘fleshy’ urge is one of them. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: City Life 1, Culture
 The grand old dame of India’s sedan class of cars has finally taken a bow. Starting yesterday, the first full working day in the new calendar year at Maruti’s Manesar facility where Esteem used to be built, the car will now not be made anymore. Instead, what will in due course take its place is a hybrid between Esteem and Swift, some likely pictures of which have appeared in the latest issue of Autocar India. It’s still a toss-up as to whether the Swift’s hatchback model would also be withdrawn later this year. The Esteem debuted in the year 1994, taking on the mantle of Maruti 1000 that was launched 4 years earlier. 1000/Esteem was the 4th model from Maruti for the variation-starved Indian roads after 800, Omni and Gypsy. Esteem did very well for many years because it spelled class, and was a favorite among the country’s moneyed people. Later, early this century, when many sedans came to rule the road, Esteem saw its luck dwindling. Many people felt there was lack of leg space in the car, and that to enter inside was a real problem. Yet, for all the perceived problems that the car still sold well bore testimony to Maruti’s vice like grip on Indian car market and its excellent pan-India network. The Indian car market is slated to witness exciting times this year. Jan 10 auto expo in the capital’s Pragati Maidan will for the first time see the ek-lakhi car from the Tatas. For Maruti it’ll be a big challenge to hold on to the magic of 800/Alto after Tata’s car comes on road in the middle of this year. While Maruti will no doubt not yield its small car space so easily, it may not still match the Tata Motors’ ek-lakhi car’s price. This perhaps is why Maruti is slowly positioning its arsenal of cars in relatively higher price segments. SX-4, coming as it does in the category of higher-priced sedan, is quite well received after Baleno. Similarly, who knows, the ‘cross’ between Swift and Esteem – let me call it Sweem – may also do well in mid-level sedans! Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: What Else
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