My little ocean of dreams...

What the heck is Social Bookmarking?

2007-03-14T18:40:00.000+05:30

The fact that 'Humans are social beings', animals rather, is still reverberating in my head... Afterall, during my times as a kid in a primary school - or anybody's time in that phase for that matter - I didn't know the best way to escape from this balderdash coming straight from the horse's mouth, the hooved quadruped being the Social Science teacher, was as simple as catnapping ( But it would be altogether different matter if I were ever to be caught napping then!! So if any kids do read this piece de resistance of an ad'vice' from me, please don't try this at your school! )

Jokes apart, the recent spate of Social Networking sites, Orkut, MySpace, Multiply... just to name a few, is a manifestation of this social behavior of humans. These sites have caught the attention of the large online community in a big way, and boy-o-boy, aren't they addictive? It has revolutionized the way we live, seamlessly integrating our business needs and friendship with people from far away lands, and not to mention, the near ones too... ( I for one figure on my neighbor's friend list on Orkut! )

Social bookmarking, too is a revolutionary Web 2.0 concept just like Social Networking. The Wikis, the blogs, the Social Networks, all come under the broad spectrum of Web 2.0

Social bookmarking is a web-based service to share Internet bookmarks.The Social bookmarking sites are a popular way to store, classify, share and search links through the practice of folksonomy techniques on the Internet or Intranet.

Other than web page bookmarks, services specialized to a specific subject or format - feeds, books, videos, music, shopping items, map locations, wineries, etc. - can be found. Social bookmarking is also part of Social News Sites like Reddit.

In other words, Social bookmarking is an answer to the more-often-than-not erratic search results that turn up today when you query for information on a search engines like Google or Yahoo. People have found a clever way past the Algortihms of these search engines to get a good front page ranking for their Websites - sites which consist only of promotions and advertisements, sites which aren't related to your query even in the remotest sense.

Agreed, people can still rig around Social Bookmarks for personal benefits, but the fact that there will be many more people reviewing your claims will automatically 'bury' your fraudulent information. So think if Social bookmark as a VOTE, if you liked what you just read on a site, you could give it a positive feedback on these Social Bookmarking sites. In this way, not only can you do away with those messy bookmark tab on your web browser, but also help other users find quality information on the Web. Another plus is, there is no way you will loose your precious links in this case, you can always return to the site by bookmarking it online...

Functional Overview

In a social bookmarking system, users store lists of Internet resources that they find useful. These lists are either accessible to the public or a specific network, and other people with similar interests can view the links by category, tags, or even randomly. Some allow for privacy on a per-bookmark basis.

They also categorize their resources by the use of informally assigned, user-defined keywords or tags (see folksonomy). Most social bookmarking services allow users to search for bookmarks which are associated with given "tags", and rank the resources by the number of users which have bookmarked them. Many social bookmarking services also have implemented algorithms to draw inferences from the tag keywords that are assigned to resources by examining the clustering of particular keywords, and the relation of keywords to one another.

Its increasing popularity and competition have extended the services to offer more than just sharing bookmarks, such as rating, commenting, the ability to import and export, add notes, reviews, email links, automatic notification, feed subscription, web annotation, create groups and social networks.

Automatic notification

Since the classification and ranking of resources is a continuously evolving process, many social bookmarking services allow users to subscribe to web feeds (see RSS) based on tags, or collection of tag terms. This allows subscribers to become aware of new resources for a given topic, as they are noted, tagged, and classified by other users.

Advantages

This system has several advantages over traditional automated resource location and classification software, such as search engine spiders. All tag-based classification of Internet resources (such as web sites) is done by human beings, who understand the content of the resource, as opposed to software which algorithmically attempts to determine the meaning of a resource. This provides for semantically classified tags, which are hard to find with contemporary search engines.

Additionally, as people bookmark resources that they find useful, resources that are of more use are bookmarked by more users. Thus, such a system will "rank" a resource based on its perceived utility. This is arguably a more useful metric for end users than other systems which rank resources based on the number of external links pointing to it.

Many of the popular Social Bookmarking sites include StumbleUpon, Digg, del.ico.us, reddit... Let us take a sneak into what these amazing sites offer :

StumbleUpon :

StumbleUpon is a commercial web discovery service that integrates peer and social networking principles with one-click blogging. The Toolbar system automates the collection, distribution and review of web content within an intuitive social framework, providing users with a browsing experience that resembles "channel-surfing" the web. Users access the service via a browser toolbar; toolbar versions exist for Firefox, Mozilla Application Suite and Internet Explorer.

StumbleUpon uses collaborative filtering (an automated process combining human opinions with machine learning of personal preference) to create virtual communities of like-minded websurfers. Rating websites updates a personal profile (a blog-style record of rated sites) and generates peer networks of web surfers linked by common interest. These social networks coordinate the distribution of web content, such that users 'stumble upon' pages explicitly recommended by friends and peers. Users rate sites by way of a simple thumbs up, thumbs down selection on the StumbleUpon toolbar, and can optionally leave additional commentary for the site's review page, which also appears on the user's blog. This social content discovery approach automates the "word-of-mouth" referral of peer-approved websites and simplifies web navigation. Stumblers (as users of this community dub themselves) also have the ability to rate and review each others' blogs as well as join interest groups, which are community forums for specific topics. Users can post comments much like a discussion board in these groups and post websites that apply to the specific topic.

You could try this functionality by downloading a toolbar on your Web Browser, so the next time you feel like browsing, you can select your topic of choice and StumbleUpon will do the rest, taking you to relevant sites on your topic of choice.

Learn how to Stumble! Visit StumbleUpon

Digg :

Digg is a community-based popularity website with an emphasis on technology and science articles, recently expanding to a variety of other categories such as politics and videos. It combines social bookmarking, blogging, and syndication with a form of non-hierarchical, democratic editorial control.

News stories and websites are submitted by users, and then promoted to the front page through a user-based ranking system. This differs from the hierarchical editorial system that many other news sites employ. However, this democratic style has led to criticism that Digg is susceptible to ideological or commercial manipulation.

Functionality

Readers can view all of the stories that have been submitted by fellow users in the "digg/All/Upcoming" section of the site. Once a story has received enough "diggs", it appears on Digg's front page. Should the story not receive enough diggs, or if enough users report a problem with the submission, the story will remain in the "digg all" area, where it may eventually be removed.

Articles are short summaries of stories on other websites with links to the stories, and provisions for readers to comment on the story. All content and access to the site is free, but registration is compulsory for certain elements, such as promoting ("digging") stories, submitting stories and commenting on stories. Digg also allows for stories to be posted to a user's blog automatically when he or she diggs a story.

Visit Digg.com

del.ico.us :

The website del.icio.us (pronounced as "delicious") is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. The site came online in late 2003 and was founded by Joshua Schachter, co-maintainer of Memepool. It is now part of Yahoo!.

A non-hierarchical keyword categorization system is used on del.icio.us where users can tag each of their bookmarks with a number of freely chosen keywords (cf. folksonomy). A combined view of everyone's bookmarks with a given tag is available; for instance, the URL "http://del.icio.us/tag/wiki" displays all of the most recent links tagged "wiki". Its collective nature makes it possible to view bookmarks added by similar-minded users.

del.icio.us has a "hotlist" on its home page and "popular" and "recent" pages, which help to surface interesting content and make the website an effective conveyor of popular internet memes and trends.

The web site's simple HTML interface with human readable URLs, novel domain name, as well as a REST API and RSS feeds for web syndication, have contributed to making it one of the most popular services of its kind.

Use of del.icio.us is free. The source code of the site is not available, but a user's own data is freely downloadable through the API in an XML or JSON format, and can also be exported to a standard Netscape bookmarks format.

Everything posted to del.icio.us is publicly viewable by default, although a user can mark specific bookmarks as private, and imported bookmarks are private by default. The public aspect is emphasized; it is not focused on storing private ("not shared") bookmark collections. Many people use the del.icio.us linkrolls, tagrolls and network badges to display their links and information on their weblogs. Others use the RSS feeds and "daily blog posting" feature to do this.

Visit del.ico.us

There are many more like Reddit, Yahoo MyWeb, which offer similar functionalities.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! HAPPY BOOKMARKING!!

What the heck is RSS?

2007-03-04T18:58:00.000+05:30

RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts.
Its name is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication.

RSS is a rapidly spreading technology that helps you keep up with websites that are constantly being updated. RSS is just a little peep, a signal, a flag that is set on a favorite blog or Web site, telling an RSS reader that it has been updated.

Users of RSS content use programs called feed 'readers' or 'aggregators': the user 'subscribes' to a feed by supplying to their reader a link to the feed; the reader can then check the user's subscribed feeds to see if any of those feeds have new content since the last time it checked, and if so, retrieve that content and present it to the user.

The initials "RSS" are variously used to refer to the following standards:

* Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
* Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91, RSS 1.0)
* RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0)

RSS formats are specified in XML (a generic specification for data formats). RSS delivers its information as an XML file called an "RSS feed", "webfeed", "RSS stream", or "RSS channel".

Programs known as feed readers or aggregators can check a list of feeds on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that they find. It is common to find web feeds on major websites and many smaller ones. Some websites let people choose between RSS or Atom formatted web feeds; others will provide only one of the two.

Client Side Newsreaders

RSS-aware programs are available for various operating systems. Client-side readers and aggregators are typically constructed as standalone programs or extensions to existing programs such as web browsers and Email readers. Many browsers have integrated support for RSS feeds. There also are other applications that can convert an RSS feed into several usenet articles, viewable through the major newsreader software such as Mozilla Thunderbird or Forté Agent.

Web Based Newsreaders

Web-based feed readers and news aggregators such as NewsGator Online require no software installation and make the user's "feeds" available on any computer with Web access. Some aggregators combine existing web feeds into new feeds, e.g., taking all football related items from several sports feeds and providing a new football feed. There are also search engines for content published via web feeds like Bloglines.

So, it's really easy keeping updated about your favourite blogs... Many free services like Google reader, NewsGator arrange them in a hassle free way to make life even more easier for a reader. You can find my RSS feed at the top right, 'Subscribe to my posts', clicking on it is all that's required to get you all started. You could also consider subscribing to my posts via email. Mails of the new entry will be mailed to your preferred inbox as and when they are entered.

So, good luck and hope to see you around.

If you'd like to subscribe to my blog, click here.

Why the tiger bows to the Eagle that flies above?

2007-02-28T07:45:00.001+05:30

Let me begin by making a mention of Hatim Katharia, a soldier of Indian origin working with the U.S army... Sorry, who had worked with the U.S army. Hatim Katharia lost his life in a rocket attack when he was sent to Iraq. Most of you must be thinking as to why I am pulling out pages from dilapidated history books where the name of Hatim Katharia is lost in a blur of words.

Hold on! This incident has many subtexts about which I will throw some light upon as you continue reading this article... which I'm sure you all will do ( Please do! )

Let me give a brief, but substantial background of Hatim Katharia.

At the end of August of the year 2004, Indian newspapers came up with the headlines reporting the death of Hatim Katharia. In November 2003, there was a mention of Uday Singh who had lost his life in the battle zone. The media also piled upon Lt. Neil Prakash, heaps of adulation for receiving the silver star. We now come across our first subtext. The death of Army specialists Hatim Katharia, Uday Singh, and the honour of Lt. Neil Prakash represents the very best of India's secular traditions at a time when some countries specialise in exporting Jihad.

Hatim came from a middle class Bohra Muslim family in Dahod in Gujrat. After doing a bachelor's in Software Specialisation, he went to the U.S to get his masters. He worked for sometime as a gas station attendant at Fort Worth near Dallas and then decided to enlist himself in the U.S army hoping a stint in the army would help him fund his Scholarship. He signed up in 2004 and was soon assigned to a battalion in Iraq where he met his end. This brings us to the second and the most important subtext.

What led the learned software engineer, who surely would not have been left unemployed, unlike the hundreds of unskilled workers who reside in every nook and corner of our country, to emigrate to the U.S and voluntarily join the U.S army? What is the psychology of a young educated youth to to make himself party to a war that lacks a sane justification? What made him take part in a battle against people in a far away land who did not even threaten India?

I cannot but wonder how an educated middle class youth can get so desperate to get a degree from a U.S university, get himself enlisted in the Army and then help a nation plunder another one.

The reactions of Hatim's relatives, as published in the newspapers, is quite revealing :
Says his mother, who conducted tuition to fund her son's U.S trip -

"His ambitions took him to the U.S, then to the Army and then... but he died a martyr's death."

Here we stumble across a third confusing subtext - the concept of Martyrdom!

The Muslim family consider their son to be a 'shaheed'. How do the Iraqi insurgents who killed this co-religionist describe him? How are the Iraqi suicide bombers addressed by their near and dear ones? The Americans, or their Hypocritical politicians rather, have invented a word 'collateral danger' to describe this situation. Do the Muslims have a similar word in Islamic terms?

In the same newspaper, Hatim's cousin said : "We are proud of Hatim". Why does the Indian Middle class experience a sense of pride by associating themselves to a superpower - the superpower being the United States now? Is it the status attached to the title 'U.S return'? Or is it a sense of shame they feel when they reveal to the outside world that they are from India??!!

The remark made by Hatim's cousin is reminiscent of the loyalist rhetoric of Indian Parents when their children died in the fields of Burma, serving "His MAJESTY" during the second world war. If his cousin is proud of Hatim's sacrifice for the U.S army, then there are thousands and thousands of Indians who have sacrificed their accents to please their foreign clients in well-lit cubicles of Call centres. What about the ones who desperately try to ape the values and the culture of their boss working abroad?

We are nothing but the reflection on the mirrors owned by people who classify themselves to be the citizens of a superpower. We are pleased to see them, rosy though the reflections may seem, but they are ephemeral as a dew drop on a dry leaf. The person changes, but the reflection still remains the same. For heaven's sake, stand up for yourself once!!

While Hatim's mother was giving these interviews, there was another woman in another part of the world, by name Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a 24 year old American soldier who too lost his life like many other fellow comrades for a cause that only besmirches their names for being associated with it, a cause even god can't justify! George 'War' Bush's 'war' crimes cannot go unaccounted for!! He is answerable not only to many Mothers in the United States who wonder : "Why did my son die?", but also to the countless around the world, more notably in Iraq and Afghanistan, upon whose lives his famous "Texan wisdom" has wreaked irreparable damage. ( Where are the WMD's, Where's Osama, Why is Taliban coming back even stronger now?? And more importantly, where are the answers?? )

Quoting the 2000 U.S census, there were some 450 India born people serving the U.S army. These numbers have increased significantly, and who knows, another Hatim may be enrolling himself as you are reading this article.

Let us delve into the fourth subtext. Half of the Indian students who go to the U.S to study never get back. One out of every 20 established doctor in the United States of America is an Indian. Even if some do get back, their loyalties, at least the majority, lie in the coffers of Uncle Sam. The way the U.S recruits people for the army is appalling. They have been notorious for 'Outsourcing' their military operations. In the 1960's, when engaged in a war against Vietnam, the U.S army, in a move to bring down the high casualty rates of its soldiers, recruited local Vietnamese soldiers to fight ( Sounds familiar!, doesn't it? ) The American Government termed this as 'Changing the colour of the Corpses', shocking, ain't it?

Are we mere puppets in the hands of a few wealthy nations? We, the very same people who carelessly litter our streets back home in India, are ready to shamelessly clean up the streets in America as sweepers! Our society stands on a foundation that derives it's strengths from hypocrisy, greed, individualism and a cut throat competition to go one-up on your neighbour at any costs. We then have the cheek to comment -

"Our country will never develop!"

Isn't that just opprobrious. It is the norms of our society that results in such baseless emigration. It's time we changed it. The erosion of ideological values in our country shape these motives. Hatim wasn't a victim of the Iraq war, but of our system.

- Pavan Pal Sharma

The author is a very good friend of mine at College, and I'm very happy to present my readers with the opportunity to read a very thought provoking write-up from him... A very articulate person, but unfortunately, he does not have a blog! ( And no intentions to start one either the last time I asked him )

AERO INDIA 2007 : Manouvres of a different Kind

2007-02-28T00:59:00.000+05:30

... Boeing, MiG, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Aviation - do these names ring a bell?

Well, they surely would, who wouldn't know these pioneers from the world of Aerospace Engineering??

The recently concluded Air show at the Yelahanka Air force station, Bangalore, showcased these aeronautical development giants at their best, and not to mention, our own Aerospace industry majors like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( H.A.L ), National Aerospace Laboratories ( N.A.L ), Defence and Research Development Organisation ( D.R.D.O ) and Aeronautical Development Agency ( A.D.A ).

The sixth edition of the biennial event, was organised by the FICCI and Farnborough International. It was an unprecedental success, with many Conglomerates throwing in their weights to add wings to their claims of Aerial Supremacy in the race for the supply of 126 Multi Role Combat Aircraft to the Indian Air Force.

It was a visual delight as even the companies from the U.S, Lockheed Martin and Boeing , the first and the second largest Defence contractors in the world in that order, were no longer banking on their brand name to get the job done with so many competitors in the fray.
What's more, they roped in high flyer Ratan Tata, who pulled off a piece-de-resistance by co-piloting both the F-16 as well as the FA-18 Super Hornet on the d-day!

I was lucky enough to witness this crowning moment on both the occasions. On the 9th of February 2007, I got a business pass from the bank where my father works , State Bank of Mysore, courtesy - Kauveri Engines. ( Incidentally, it's the very same Engine manufacturer whose engines power India's first Fighter Plane - the Light Combat Aircraft, and if what the reports say are true, then it is to power India's fifth Generation of Fighters - the Medium Combat Aircraft too. This aircraft is being developed by D.R.D.O ) The next day, I got even 'luckier' to enjoy the privilleges of a VVIP pass, thanks to the largesse of a very good friend and his benevolent uncle.
Okay, back to my candy floss memories of those two days :

The Russians, not to be outdone by their Cold War bete-noire, gave more reasons for why it is that India has reposed faith in them time and again ( 70% of the Indian Air Force fleet comprises of fighter jets, Transport planes and helicopters that originate ' from Russia, with love' )

The much awaited MiG-35, or the Mikoyan Gurevich 29OVT made its 'resounding' debut on the world stage at the Aero India 2007. Previously, only the prototype of the MiG-35 was flown at Farnborough International Show, and at Moscow in 2005. The fighter has surely earned its stripes, and complimenting it very ably were the MiG-29 and the Sukhoi-30MKI, both of which serve as the Indian Airforces' frontline aerial strike force. The MiG display - it was as if the metal bird was but mere extension of the pilot, pirouetting in the air, esconsing much more than just the collective gasps of the "foot-firmly-on-the-ground" sapiensis.

Then came the amazing SAAB JAS 39 Gripen. Developed by SAAB, ( Svenska Aero Plan Aktiebolaget ) it turned many heads, and also gave wings to their imaginations with their impressive "Wings of your nation" catchline. The fighter, which is in active service with the Swedish, Czech, and Hungarian Airforce, took the competition by storm with it's performance. The weapon carrying abiltity of this aircraft is one of the best-in-the-segment, and it's superior operational abilities will definitely put the IAF into a greater dilemma. Also on offer from the makers of the Gripen, SAAB, is "Comprehensive industrial co-operation", including Technology transfer.

Also on display was the excellent committment that enabled SAAB, in collaboration with BAE Systems, Ericsson and it's engine supplier Volvo, to move a step ahead of the rest. It introduced a revolutionary technology - the "Cockpit Simulator", which too was unvieled at Aero India 2007. Former IAF Air Chief Krishnaswamy became the first VIP to test this new innovation. Air Chief S.P Tyagi was one of the many people who visited the Gripen International's stall at the Aero Show. Air Commodore Matheshwaran became the first Indian to fly a Gripen ( He flew the two seater Gripen - D with Gripen test pilot Richard Ljunberg as his co-pilot )

The French Aviation firm - Dassault Aviation, whose Rafale is also in the contention for clinching the IAF deal, did not field any of it's fighters. The Mirage was on display though, and the French Marque still maintained a very strong presence in the event with many representatives making their case clear. I'm sure the non-participation of these planes wouldn't mean that the Company is out of the deal, the two squadrons of Dassault Mirage in the IAF has left the decision makers with a sweet taste in their mouths... Let's see how it pans out... What do you think about it?

Our own Light Combat Aircraft ( L.C.A ), or Tejas, which is scheduled for an Initial Operational Clearance in 2008, showcased Home Grown technologies that will shape the future of indigenous Multi - Role / Swing - Role Combat aircrafts. The L.C.A prototype, ( 20 L.C.A's are in operational service with the IAF currently ) in development since 1983, proved conclusively that India had indeed arrived on the Global stage with it's amazing agility.

But it wasn't all about Fighter jets slugging it out for attention. There were many spectacular displays, the the Dhruv team ( Advanced Light Helicopter ) were a picture of perfection, making their every swerve and move count for their fallen colleague, who died in an a crash during an excercise in the run-up to the event on February 2, 2007 . Their performance was breathtaking, at the same time reminiding us of the perils that these pilots face each and every time they fly ( I know, there would be discordant notes, for the sheer joy of flying would be enough to make these hazards worth it )
The Suryakiran team, as always, was an edifice of sheer brilliance and heart-stopping manouvres, they signed off in style, painting the skies in hues of the Indian Tri-Color.

Many more flyers that deserved all the plaudits that came its way include Chinook, and Boeing C-17 Globemaster. Manufacturers like Learjet were going all out to capture the attention of Corporate houses Infosys, Wipro... just to name a few... India has become a vital market for these Aircraft manufacturers, and the Aero 2007 was a manifestation of this growing recognition for the untapped potential. For the record, there are hardly any private jets in India, but we will see a paradigm shift in the very near future.

But coming back to the Million, sorry, multi-billion dollar question that the Defence deal surely is, a lot, is to be said :

While the U.S offers of F-16 and FA-18 Super Hornet are surely an offer 'which we simply cannot refuse', it's to die for! [ Even if you do survive this deal, the US will make sure you choke on a plate of Kellogg's Cornflakes - Sorry, this was just to highlight the strings that often come attached with their service, not to mention the arm-twisting too!! ]
India has never bought fighter planes from the US before because of frosty relations in the past. Better relations now could help Boeing's business in the future.

"This contract from the Indian air force is the biggest procurement of military equipment from India in years, and for years to come,"

Chris Chadwick, Vice President of the F/A-18 programme at Boeing

I cannot but be amazed at the ability of the US to shove fighter jets that have for long been out-of-operational service from its airforce, to other countries at a price that is slightly bloated. FA-18 Super Hornet comes with a $35 Million price tag attached, and the F-16 at a more modest $20 Million per unit.

In stark contrast, the Russian offer would be more viable. The initial investment in upgradation of infrastructure too, would be minimal, as IAF has the capability to accomodate many more MiG-29's, as well as the State-of-the-art MiG-35's. India had signed a $250 Million defence deal with Russia in late 2005 to manufacture 120 Klimov RD-33 engines ( These engines power the MiG-29 fighters ) and also develop the latest "Vector Thrust" Engines that power the Mikoyan Gurevich-35. Speaking on the sidelines of the Air show, the Russians were very confident of their chances :

"We hope that our planes do well. These MIG 35s are the most advanced, we believe, in the world. The competition is tough. There are many who are hoping they will win but we believe we will do well."

The MiG-35, according to estimates, costs $70 Million.

The French Rafale stakes its claim on the pie at $90 Million per unit.

The SAAB Gripen, built to serve the Swedish airforce till 2040, this intelligent Combat aircraft is built to be adaptable to the changing threats and operational requirements of any modern airforce. Many Gripen features are implemented in softwares, so that effectively means growth and modifications are much easier to design and implement. It is also the only plane in the fray that is in full operational service. And what's more, it would be a perfect force mix with the Su-30 MKi fleet of the IAF. This street-smart flyer comes at $40 Million apiece.

But for a start, our own tail-less, delta winged LCA is set for a Final Operational Clearance by 2010, and according to the reports, a unit of this exceptional fighter is pegged at $35 Million.

INDIA is where the action is...

The photos published here are the properties of the respective companies, I also have to thank a few friends of mine who agreed to share a few of their snaps on my blog.

Liked the articles? Subscribe to my blog to be the first to know about every new article posted on my blog via RSS... Don't know what RSS is? No worries! Read more - what the heck is RSS??

CHINDIA : The Economic Juggernaut

2007-01-31T12:55:00.000+05:30

The year gone by was what trade analysts appropriately term 'Year of Acquisitions' as many Indian Companies made successful bids for acquiring the business operations of it's rivals. The India-born Laxmi Nivas Mittal of Mittal Steels set the tone for others to follow suit ( Ahem! Skirt if that pleases you!! ) with his acquisition of Luxembourg based Arcelor. This trend shows no signs of abating this year too, as the bidding hots up for Corus with Indian Conglomerate, Tata throwing it's hat in the ring. The scene back home too was equally refulgent with IT and BPO sector holding sway. Making the world sit up and take notice of a country which was once deemed to be “The Land of Eternal Cow dung”, “The land of Snake Charmers” and so on. I'd run out of pages if I keep writing about their perceptions of India.

The upsurge of Asia in general, India and China in particular has, no doubt, fluttered many a wings and caused worry lines to appear...
It was all too obviously evident at the World Economic Forum in Davos as India and China grabbed the limelight right from the start. The delegates from various countries debated, with mixed feelings of both anticipation and apprehension, about the growing economic clout of the Asian giants.
The who's who from the world of Economics stated – albeit in a cryptic way, the feelings of suspicion and sense of threat which both the nations arouse in many Western Policy makers, politicians and entrepreneurs alike.

The forum opened with a keynote speech from the German Premier, Angela Merkel, where she offered her views about the theme of this annual forum – Shifting Power Equation – by emphasizing the 'enormous changes' that are being undertaken on a war footing in China and India. She was vocal about the emergence of the two countries as a global player in many fields which were once the monopoly of a select few countries.

“One third of the world's population are no longer observers of what's happening on the world stage, but actually players”, she said. “What we have is a completely new balance of power in the world today”.

This view was shared by many members at Davos, but was equivocally challenged by the members of the large Indian and Chinese contingent.
Mr. Zhu Min, the vice-president of the Bank of China was dismissive of the Western claims by stating that power shifting was a very vague concept.
Mr Zhu further reiterated by saying that a lot of talk about the rise of Asia in general is founded on the basic misunderstanding that manufacturing growth equates to economic power.

Indian Industrialist Sunil Mittal, who is also one of the co-chairs at the event, warned that the western propensity to mistrust rather than embrace Asian strengths carried very high risks.
Mr. Mittal eulogized the global pool of talent with 620 million people of Working age as India's greatest asset.

“The world needs to adopt to this talent, to adopt to this global pool because it's responsible, it comes out of a democratic field and from a very peaceful and diverse nation”, he said.

For a country whose founding fathers had once considered this very humongous populace as it's bane, this is a very big change in the outlook, and a good change too as we have realized that it is our human resource that has kept us in a good stead.
China too, like India, is reaping the benefits of the proactive decisions initiated by its erstwhile premiers. With rapid urbanization and almost unbelievable growth rate, the Chinese economy is showing no signs of recession and is a force to reckon with in today's world.

So the neighboring economies are on collision course, and neither can afford to overlook the other's strengths and capabilities. In such a scenario, the best way forward would be to move as a single entity, an economic powerhouse whose might surpasses that of any other. The officialdom from either sides of the border are making the right noises, well, at least we are hearing it that way! The recent visits and the signing of many pacts to improve bilateral trade is a sign of greater things to come. The opening of Nathu-La pass is also a feel good factor.

In an increasingly uni-polarized world, many fledgling economies have to depend only on a certain U.S of A for investments and financial sops ( And be constantly subject to arm-twisting too! ), but in the eventuality of 'CHINDIA', the world will certainly have more options...
Of course, there will always be some ideological differences, but we must always work towards improving our relationship. After all, it's a win-win situation for both the nations.

- Sanketh Adiga

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Concocting Trouble : High Octane Mileage out of an Issue non-existant

2007-01-28T20:13:00.000+05:30

"Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you"

On Friday, the 19th of January 2007, the bustling yet peaceful city of Bangalore saw a bustle like no other as wide scale arson and myriad instances of grievous injury were reported. As usual, the injured were more often than not people who had no clue whatsoever as to what the racket was all about. What's a 'peaceful' demonstration without a few torched buses? Setting buses and other vehicles on fire has become the favourite past-time of these Vandals ( Incidentally, these goons are either slum-dwellers or hail from other so called 'economically backward' sections of the society, who never pay any taxes - thanks to the Vote bank Politics. The government just falls short of licking their ass clean, but now that I've forwarded the idea, you can expect that too! ) This is vain talk, because it's common people like you and I who have to bear these expenses, Grin and bear folks!

Oh yes, I forgot about the issue at hand : It was a rally organised by the "People's Front" ( Hardly! ) to protest against the execution of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ( Wow! That was December 30 2006, wasn't it? ) And the irony is, even Saddam's aides - Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandr, were knocking on hell's gate by the time these people could gather the wits to lodge a protest. The predominantly Muslim crowd was led by local politician Jaffer Sharief, who is also the founder of People's front.

It was a date with trouble that day, as the mob went on a frenzy, ransacking, and not to mention - looting, houses and business establishments, pelting stones on Vehicles... An effigy of the president of America, George 'War' Bush, was burnt to quell their anguish at the 'imperialistic' attitude of the U.S.A. But the burning spree didn't end here as the crowd also set a few banners of of a religious convention that was to take place in the city on Sunday, Jan 21 2007.
Many of our own brethren die every single day in strife-torn Kashmir, the ULFA sponsored militancy in Assam has claimed many a lives, hunger and poverty are taking it's toll on many infants in the under-developed countries in Africa. Where were these people then? Sorry for even asking, after all, they were busy sticking up for a butcher who persecuted Shiites in Iraq, killing over 200,000.

The Virat Hindu Mahasabha was scheduled to be another 'peaceful' convention, where people congregated to to foul mouth a few, and the people at the receiving end of their invectives are invariably people from other religions. But to salvage their 'hurt' egos and dogmatic ethos, the hard-liners switched into restoration mode - a damage control mode, damaging many a building and setting alight a few more hapless buses with the effrontery of a billionaire.
Well, I guess that was all to it. But thee are things we don't know, things that don't meet the eye...

What did their flexing of muscles achieve? It's plain stupidity, it did nothing other than compounding the average Bangalorean's cup of woes. The Police machinery too could do precious little to bring the situation under control. Some of the blame should squarely rest on these law enforcers for their short sightedness, after all, it didn't take a soothsayer to predict a communal backlash on Sunday.

Such incidents do not augur well with the suave, cosmopolitan image of Bangalore. It's just not the injured who are bleeding, the city is limping due to the burgeoning infrastructural deficits. Agreed, the tourniquets are in place, but these wounds will take time to heal. Such unhealthy environment wouldn't inspire even an ounce of confidence in the investors, would it?

My rants won't go on forever, things must end on a happy note they say!
The initiative taken by the government to ban Religious/Communal rallies is a reassuring move. Although the bill manifests itself as an outright public opinion, I would be surprised if the bill went through without much hassles, given that people in power will be rendered jobless by such an eventuality ( Public? Who are they?? ) But I fervently hope for the best, it is about time we remind our politicians that they aren't painters to be 'Saffronising' issues, or any other tinge for that matter!

"India has two million gods, and worships them all. In Religion, all other countries are paupers, India is the only Millionaire"

- Mark Twain

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Our country since time immemorial has prided itself for sheltering people from across all faiths. But the machinations that is evident during these times of turmoil calls for all these people who staunchly uphold their faith by raising a hue and cry at the drop of a hat, to start practising the very holy tenets they are flouting! But the Twain shall never meet...

- Sanketh Adiga

The Witch-hunt of the 21st Century : But who'll Bell the Cat?

2006-12-06T18:56:00.000+05:30

Seems like our country's judicial system, after all, isn't going to the dogs! In what can be construed as a turning point in our Country, the Life Imprisonment handed out to a political big-wig like Shibu Soren as retribution for all his deeds, or misdeeds rather, is a welcome sign.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ( JMM ) Supremo is finally in the docks, nearly 12 years after being charged with the Murder of his private secretary, Shashi Nath Jha. The CBI investigation pinned him down for this gruesome act, but mind you, Shibu Soren is no stranger to these things.
Controversies have tailed him like his shadow ever since he entered the Political Scene. The tribal leader was charged with the killing of 68 people, including 10 Muslims, and inciting mobs, in a bid to drive away people whom he perceived to be 'Outsiders' in the Muslim dominated Chirudih village in 1975. The leader has been as slippery as a fish on this front, he has avoided conviction in this case so far by using his Political Clout, the arrest warrants have been just a formality. An arrest warrant was issued against him in 2004 in the 30 year old case when he was the Coal Minister in the Manmohan Singh's Union Cabinet. The leader went into hibernation to avoid arrest, but later, on the Prime Minister's request, he finally resigned from the his position in the Ministry. The Warrant served no purpose, as Soren managed to secure a bail ( The Law is after all applicable only to the Hoi Polloi ).
What's more, he even managed to get re-inducted into the Cabinet in the November of the Same year.

Mr. Shashi Nath Jha, who served as Secretasry to Mr. Soren, was reportedly killed as he knew about the the Bribe Payment to 4 JMM MP's. He was abducted from New Delhi and was taken to Ranchi, where he was killed. After frantic calls from family members, an investigation was finally started by the Delhi Police, which was as conclusive as a Weather Forecast!
The Case finally landed up with the CBI and reached a culmination on November 28, 2006, with an Additional Sessions Court in New Delhi convcted Shibu Soren and four others for their part in the abduction and killing of Mr. Jha. The court has also slapped a fine of Rs.5 lakh on the Accused.

The recent high profile cases, be it Priyadarshini Mattoo case or the 1993 Bombay Serial Blasts Case, have seen the conviction of the the Culprits ( The flip side is : Sanju baba was let off on goodwill generated from his recent movies, I think, which is bad! ). The Judgment Day has finally dawned, or atleast there are some indications of it.

“A Patriot is a person who is ready to protect the Country against it's Government”

The Statement mirrors the fact that Politicians indeed are vile Creatures, and anyone who dares to raise a finger would be stepping into a Medusa's Lair.
I await with bated breath, like many others, to see how the events unfold. It's time they got a taste of the Penal system here. But the question, as always, is, Who'll give them a taste of it?

Thanks for reading, please post your comments. Good day to you.

- “Sank has not yet Sunk in spite of the Storm” Adiga.

Marginalisation of Indian Culture

2006-12-05T22:33:00.000+05:30

The Westernization of Indian Culture

The bone of contention ain't a topic which would have two riparian states bickering, but is serious enough to spark a highly intellectual debate throughout the nation.

The glitzy malls, the gossipy Page-3 parties - with its garrulous celebrities, the pub culture have become a sight as common as omni-present pot holes in the Bangalore roads.

In a carpe diem, Utopian existence, the multiplex hopping - shopping Bourgeois are revelling in the limelight of a 'Globalised India'. But where does this all this hoopla leave the Children of the lesser Gods?
The beguiling future is offering the moon, and the implications of disseminating the urge to consume among people with little or no station in life to do so would be catastrophic.

The thoroughfare malls and pubs have given us an outlet to splurge and indulge ourselves in. The swanky glass houses ( Read Offices )that have mushroomed everywhere, thanks to the IT and BPO boom, are a sight to behold. The landscape is captivating even by western Standards. Buta walk in a park or an avenue is all that's required to realise the jarring overtones in a a soulful rendition of a serenade. ( For there's litter everywhere, I must say, a succour to weary eyes! )

Yes, Indian culture is being marginalised by Western culture, but in a wrong way.
The 'Westernisation' of our country is eliciting brickbats and Catcalls from various quarters. The hue and cry is unnecessary, because the finer aspects of ' The men from the Antipodes ' are worth emulating.

But unfortunately, only elements of the 'Popular Culture' like late night parties, Casinos, send our people into an overdrive. We make it a point to bend it their way ( a la Beckham, a la Angelina Jolie et al ) to an extent of idolatry.

" I have a dream, a song to sing... " - What does this remind you of? ABBA?

In a world where cut throat competition begins from Kindergarten and the concept of having 'Made it BIG' defined by Western Soap operas, the Youth of today are in a fairytale land of their own. Ambitions soar and Castles are built in the air, but when failure makes its apocalyptic presence, most of them are unable to cope with it.The illusions of a recalcitrant castle receives attrition, the high flier's wings are clipped and their dreams nipped in the bud, to be down, and in many cases - OUT!

But there's more to Western Culture than Binge, Rave and Madison avenue Style marketing...

II THE MR. NICE FACE OF WESTERN CULTURE - FINER ASPECTS

A) CIVIC SENSE :
The civic sense not to litter public places is the first and foremost of the basic tenets that ought to be imbibed from the west. ( The spic and span boulevards speak for themselves )

B) WORK CULTURE :
The robust work environment is highly productive and brings the best out of every individual. The people are respected for whatever job they do,however menial the job; measly it's pay.

Au contraire, there's no dignity of labour here and certain jobs are deemed to be a disgrace. The income disparity is glaring to say the least.

C) TIME AND TIDE WAITS FOR NONE :
The punctuality of our people can make even a tortoise seem on time. We often hear instances of the 'High and Mighty' turning up late for an event. We don't value other's time to be precious.

But such instances are nearly unheard of in the West, and in an unlikely event of late coming, they apologise profusely for the inconvenience caused.

Time is a commodity to be used judiciously.

D) TEAM SPIRIT - A SINE QUA NON :
The Concorde in the Western society can be attributed to their synchronised way of functioning. They believe in their work and have an altruistic conviction.

Quite expectedly, the people here have too many a vested interest to work well as a unit. Why was it so easy for the English to conquer India? It was only because they are a nation, we are not.

The public - private marriage of convenience is a source of constant Acrimony, with the estranged parties leaving no stone unturned in their bid to calumniate the other's name and repute.

E) DEMOCRACY :
India is the largest democracy in the world. But our Democratic setup is still fledgling. We are simply following the legacy of our erstwhile colonial masters by maintaining a centralised administrative system, which is further divided into many branches. But what purpose do these things serve when our roots are shaky and in a dilapidated condition.

In the western purview, democracy is in an elated state, where even the functioning of a government school is decided by School governors, who hold the Gubernatorial post only after garnering the confidence of the Parents.

Whereas in India, the nepotistic rulers ( Read Politicians ) flex their muscles to get their near and dear ones in a comfy, plum job ( The heads of various Government agencies are decided upon by the Ruling party )

III CONCLUSION

The India of the past was a laconic example and an epitome of refined culture. Our administrative abilities have been very well documented for me to make more than a fleeting mention of it. But we were, for many a century, being fed with a cock and bull story of our cultural inferiority that we fail, even to this day, to recognise the good ol' wine being resold in an ornate new bottle. Roger that, Folks! ( INDIAN HERBAL LORE BEING AN EXAMPLE )

I hope I have stirred a hornet's nest here, because only an open debate on this topic can unmask the masked truth about our heritage.

But, good points from any Culture are welcome. So, let us pull down the Dykes to make way for a seamless, civilised world, where ' LOVE DOES NOT STOP AT THE BORDERS '.

- Sanketh R Adiga