Wads of cash made a dramatic entry in the parliament last evening just before the voting on the civil nuclear cooperation (or the nuclear deal in common parlance) was to take place. The effect was electrifying. Discussions stopped. All eyes riveted on the scene enacted at the opposition bench as the members of the principal opposition party threw about the bundles in a way as if they were dirt. They tried to hold aloft the moral posturing that money meant nothing to them compared to ‘principles’. Meanwhile the house adjourned amid din. When it re-assembled a little later, the principal opposition party had already decided that the episode just enacted was sufficient reason to stall further proceedings and ask for PM’s resignation. Fortunately that didn’t happen, and the trust motion sailed through. I am happy that the trust motion was won, and even if I’m to believe that money exchanged hands to ensure the win of the ruling coalition, I’d say that the means can be anything if the ‘end’ is good in the larger interests of the country. To compare last night’s incident with the epic battle in the Mahabharata, let me recall the moment when Karna’s chariot was stuck on the ground. Krishna edged on a hesitant Arjuna to not waste a single moment but to fire arrow at Karna. Later the same Krishna disclosed to Bhima the secret of killing Duryadhana after the latter was given an impenetrable shield by mother Gandhari on his entire body except just below waist. The point I want to make is that the civil nuclear cooperation is good for the country even though almost the entire opposition rallied against it. Every political party played their role in the episode, but that played by the principal opposition party shows an unfathomable smallness on their part. The irrefutable facts like the former PM announcing at the UN of agreeing to stop any further nuclear test after the global furor over Pokhran-2, the former foreign minister’s account in his book of agreeing to sign CTBT, the present PM-in-waiting endorsing the civil nuclear deal when the PM explained it to him and the former PM in private (see Karan Thapar's article in the HT), the former foreign minister’s admission that he indeed approached some sections of the so-called third front with the promise of outside support should they attempt to form government, and several others stand as testimonies of moral bankruptcy of the PM-in-waiting. The situation looks like there may be elections before the year ends. And there being numerous issues of concern like little signs of prices of essential commodities climbing down, it is indeed possible that people choose to change the government at the center. By that time hopefully, the civil nuclear cooperation would have reached a decisive stage. In which case this may go down as yet another instance in the history of the country where the evils of unholy nexus could not prevent India from claiming its rightful place in the world.  A day later - PM with PM-in-waiting on the occasion of Bal Gangadhar Tilak's birth anniversary in the Central Hall of Parliament today. [ This picture is taken from Hindustan Times] Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Commentary
 Wonder what this farmer is shown doing! Watch closely, you’ll likely conclude he is stuffing papers inside a bag. Well of course that is so but going by the TT story, the man is actually shoving in hard cash. [Image left courtesy TT]The incident is bizarre because of several reasons. First is of course that despite having crores in their homes, there has been no reported attempts of get-rich-quick thefts. The reason may be that many in the village were flush with money and so there was a strong bondage of camaraderie. The IT sleuths however came calling soon and were stunned to see such huge accumulation of cash in some homes. Here is the second bizarre happening. According to TT, as cash was everywhere in the home, the farmers stopped cooking out of fear the notes might catch fire. For the past month or so after they got the money this financial year, the farmers have been getting food from outside. The taxmen counted the cash, deducted capital gains amount, and advised the farmers to deposit the costly papers in the bank before leaving.  Crossing over to our next story, also about a poor person but this time a polio-affected beggar, it surprises me to see how such stories fan out faster than air. Lakshmi Das started begging at age 16 near Hatibagan, and had this unique habit of saving from whatever alms she would get. Today, at age 60, she intends calling it a day but not before having her tidy sum counted and taken in the bank. For the Manicktola Central Bank of India officials, counting the 4-bucket full of coins weighing 91 kg has proved formidable. Lakshmi though preferred not to budge or take leave while counting was on. Her sister Asha who lives close by says, “ She is very possessive about her coins and never allowed me to touch them.” While Lakshmi’s account is no doubt startling, prompting the bank’s manager to reminisce the golden theory, “ Her efforts show that you can save even if you earn a pittance”, what also amazes is how people in other parts react to the story. I’ve looking at this article in Get Rich Slowly (how apt..!) that has attracted no less than 28 comments at the last counting, many of which look really concerned. [Lakshmi’s image at right courtesy BBC]. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Elsewhere, Oh Really, People
Would you believe Kolkata, sorry Calcutta, was once hailed as the most lively city east of Suez! Today that labeling would seem a cruel joke. The filth, the mess, the apathy, the dogma, the arrogance of the empowered, the mediocrity all around, the neglect of anything humane, the breaking of law with impunity, and perhaps all other ills have come together to make the city uncouth and unpleasant. In recent times the 3 decades' old rulers of the state are losing mandates. Is anything going wrong for them? Are people getting impatient? Are they angry? The Telegraph has in the July 5 editorial put the matter succinctly. I reproduce it below. Before you delve into it, a sentence or 2 may be in order. Lest one thinks that the demise of the present rulers, should that happen, will cure all ills, he/she may be mistaken. The rot in the system is so deep that one fears that one or 2 changeovers will make no difference at all. Bengal is distinctly unlucky. The political sons of the soil have miserably failed the state. Watching from sidelines I've a sinking feeling that it will be decidedly long, long haul for Bengal to see its pride restored, if ever. FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
Efficient governments are alert to their failings; inefficient ones are oblivious to theirs. It is not surprising therefore that the Left Front government that rules West Bengal — and has done so for more than three decades — is yet to come to terms with the two electoral reverses it has recently suffered. It is possible, of course, that senility — politics is a realm in which a week is famously a long time — has robbed the Left of its reason. When the panchayat poll results went against them, the Left pundits were quick to link it to the land acquisition policy, which followed the industrialization policy adopted by the chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The municipal election results suggest that the Left, especially the Communist Party of India (Marxist), is losing ground in urban segments as well. This, for obvious reasons, cannot be explained by that deus ex machina, land acquisition. So the Left is floundering to explain its losses.
The bewilderment of the Left is rooted in its own refusal to acknowledge its myriad failures. This refusal itself is a product of the Left’s arrogance and smugness. In over thirty years, the Left Front government cannot point to a single sphere affecting the daily life of the people of West Bengal, especially in the small towns of the districts, where it has been successful in demonstrating efficiency. The condition of government-run hospitals remains unfit for any human being. Detailed reports and appeals have failed to wake the government up and make it initiate certain changes and reforms. Thirty years of Left rule have destroyed education, primary, secondary and higher. The CPI(M), which has always maintained a tight control over education, has made it into an extension of the party. It pursued, at one time, an anti-English policy that has produced a generation of Bengalis incapable of communicating in English. This has made that generation a non-starter in any activity outside West Bengal. The CPI(M) has attempted to cover up these failures with its smugness and with the use of terror and intimidation. People are reacting to all this, and if the warning signs are not read in their stark reality, the Left may well find itself in deep trouble, which is entirely its own creation.
It is ironic that the policy of industrialization is a recent addition to the Left’s long list of failures. If it had pursued this policy, however unpopular among certain sections of the population, it could have posted at least one achievement. But faced with opposition, the Left back-pedalled on this policy. The Left is thus visited with all the sins of industrialization without any of its virtues.
Alarm bells have begun to ring for the Left in West Bengal. Is it ready to hear them? The answer, if the past is any guide, is no, since the Left only hears what it likes to hear: a cacophony of its own making. The finger is moving though its writing is still not clearly visible on the wall. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Commentary
Suddenly the dynamic architecture is upon us. It’s revolutionary, and it tests the limit of your imagination. Nobody quite seemed to have had any clue of its possibility before it came to the fore. The claim to the fame of inventing the concept belongs to David Fischer, a Florence-based Israeli architect. Last week the media, assembled in New York to hear him, were treated to utter astonishment as David’s plans came unfolded. "This building never looks the same, not once in a lifetime," he said. That does indeed appear as true if you watch the animated video below or in David’s Dynamic Architecture website. The first dynamic tower, an 80-storey building, is slated to come up in Dubai. Next may be the turn of Moscow for a near-similar 70-storey edifice. In the Dubai tower, named the Da Vinci Tower, each of the 80 floors will rotate at its own speed with the help of 79 giant power-generating wind turbines located between every floor. The video below informs that while each storey of conventionally built building takes 6 weeks to complete, it will take just 6 days in case of Da Vinci Tower. It helps because David Fischer is an expert in prefabrication which is the technology to be used. Not surprisingly, the tower will be up and running by 2010. The cost is expected to be totaling to $700 million, while the apartments will be priced between $3.7m and $36m. I’ll surely be green with envy at not ever being able to buy an apartment there, but then not all people are equal. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Elsewhere, Oh Really
 When the doctor at the SSKM Hospital in the city inserted his gloved finger inside the wound to gauge the depth, he was in for a shock. Not only did his finger disappear fully, there was still some room left beyond. The wound Fatik Haldar carried on his right shoulder measured one of the canines of a Royal Bengal Tiger that wanted him for its lunch on July 2 in the Sunderbans. Fatik survived because in an opportune moment he landed a mighty kick on the soft underbelly of the tiger. The latter, surprised at the intrusion, decided to drop its prey and perhaps wait for a second time. To save himself, Fatik seized the opportunity with all the energy he could summon. He could flee, helped by others who later brought him to the city hospital for treatment. Around the same time when Fatik was attacked, another fisherman in another corner of the forest was killed by a tiger. The incidents, getting frequent in recent times, show that in Sunderbans the fight between man and tiger for survival is becoming intense. As succinctly pointed by the TOI in its July 3 report, it’s perhaps only in the Sunderbans that the man, despite being the deadliest predator, does not occupy the top slot in the food chain. Fatik’s photo on the left is taken from TOI. Like this blog? Get daily posts by email. Labels: Nature, Science
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A day later - PM with PM-in-waiting
