Local Self-Government in India and UK

The different Indias we inhabit

India Not Shining..

Catching up..
I am coming off more than a month-long hiatus from blogging. One of the reasons: I have become a dad again, with the birth of our baby boy (yet to be named) on Oct 12. However, I have been reading the usual newspapers and the occassional online columns/blogs.And as active as ever on Facebook.I drafted a couple of posts in between on (1) the AP situation with respect to Jagan and the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) and (2) Sachin Tendulkar completing 20 years in international cricket. Many people have written about Sachin, and in a much better manner. So, I decided to junk that post.I have also junked the post on Jagan and OMC, but decided to salvage a few points. As

Many reasons for man made floods in AP and Karnataka?
Warning: A rambling rant without any external links.My last blog post was a translation of a famous scene from the Telugu film, Daana Veera Sura Karna. As the saying goes in Telugu, there are a thousand reasons for Karna's death.It needed the coming together of many banes (शाप, శాపాలు) to have Karna killed.This could also be true for the floods raging over parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for the past one week.Where does one start when pinpointing the reasons for these floods? May be some one like P.Sainath should write a book called - Every one loves a flood?The straightforward reason is the belated reaction or negligence by the Go

The coronation of Karna
I made an attempt to translate one of my favourite scenes from the movie Daana Veera Shoora Karna. There could be a few words that I have not translated, but overall, I think I managed to convey the spirit of the dialogues, especially the ones by Suyodhana.Scene: The Court of Kaurava king Dhritarashtra. The court opens on to a ground. The Kaurava and Pandava princes, the elders of the clan, and other courtiers are present. The public is seated around the ground, where an exhibition of skills has been going on. Arjuna has emerged as the best fighter among all.Drona: In the entire Bharata Khanda, my favorite disciple, the thir

On the age of 'ostentatious austerity'
I wanted to write about this austerity thing. But now, its taken a new turn. Will write after we see the fun with Shashi Tharoor's 'cattle class' statement, inspired by Kanchan Gupta, and taken offence to by the Congress Party. Meanwhile, here's an excellent view of the issue from former diplomat M.K.Bhadra KumarHypocrisy of the 'austeri

Will / Should Jagan succeed YSR as CM?
When I heard a confirmation of YSR's chopper being found last Thursday, I had just reached my office. I called home and asked my wife to switch on the .I told her to call me as soon as she sees a confirmation of YSR's survival or demise. And in a conversation with a colleague a few minutes after the confirmation of his death, I suggested that by evening we would see Jagan being sworn in as the new CM.That it did not happen and Rosaiah was made interim CM was explained away by people.They said it was mourning period and let Jagan at least complete the last rites along with his family. Well, the funeral did not stop Rajeev Gandhi from being sworn in as PM on the night of Oct 31, 1