Awsome, Spectacular, Timeless. It can't get better than this!!Going into the movie I didn't have much expectations because of the reason that the movie was hyped and also I didnt want to watch a movie of Comedy genre. But I dont generally miss movies these days so I decided to go and what better than to watch the movie 1st day itself.
3 Idiots is a movie about 3 friends and their life and experiences at the engineering college. The movie starts a bit slow but picks up pace after 1st 10 minutes. After that its an amazing experience till the very end. The 1st half is a total laugh riot. 2nd half is a bit slow as compared to 1st half but it goes very well with the story of movie.
Direction and dialogues are superb. The story is narrated in a very interesting way using flashback extensively. 2 dialogues by Sharman's mother and the speech in Hindi are worth mentioning. Gladly the songs are not forced and go with the pace of the movie.
The movie maintains a consistent pace throughout and at no point you feel bored or distracted. Much attention is paid on detailing and connecting the dots so any thing that may look unnecessary or forced at start has relevance later in the movie.
Acting by everyone in the movie is good. Some have done a great job while others have done an excellent job. But Aamir Khan has certainly stole the show here! You can't even imagine some other actor in that role. I dont know if its the best work by Aamir khan but it would be certainly among the top 3.
All in all an amazing and great movie. Completely original story and not even a hint is copied from any MOVIE. Rajkumar Hirani is a great director and he shows it once again. Movies like this are not made often so dont miss it at any cost!
RATING-
10/10
(I would have given more but the rating ends there! )
1st to put it straight I don’t watch much English movies so this won’t be exactly a review but just a general post about the movie. I had high hopes from Avatar ever since I heard about it and had pretty much decided that would watch the movie on the 1st day itself. Got the tickets for the movie Review on Thursday and was glad that Avatar didn’t disappoint me at all.
I wouldn’t even like to talk about the “science” part of the movie that whether its possible or not the whole thing about the Avatar program and all. Its a sci-fi movie and one should be pretty much happy to see the creative work of the story writer and director in that case. I expected it to be a great visual treat along with amazing action sequences and the movie was top notch in that! The movie grips you from the start and I never felt a single moment where I was bored or had lost interest in the movie. It was such great work that I was looking at my watch and was happy that this is a long movie which meant more entertainment.
Many people were not impressed because they say its the same old story and they have seen enough of Star wars, Alien v/s Predator etc. Now I haven’t seen any of those films so cant compare with them but even though it might be a similar story a great attention has been paid to detailing which is good as you don’t wonder later that something was forced or not explained in the movie.
Watch it for the exclusive beauty of Pandora. Watch the movie for a story that has comedy, action, Sci-fi, love and what not. Watch it for a story that keeps you glued to the screen till the very end. And if you have a cinema hall showing the movie in 3d in your city there’s nothing better than that.
AYODHYA: The indictment of Deoraha Baba — the yogi with followers from the elite to the hoi polloi — by the Liberhan commission report has set off a tsunami of protest from Ayodhya’s sadhus, not least because the seer isn’t alive to defend himself anymore. In fact, he died in June 1990, more than two years before the Ayodhya demolition. Two most powerful mahants of the temple town, the president of Ram Janma Bhoomi Trust, Nritya Gopal Das, and the head Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad, Mahant Gyan Das, have sought ‘‘public apology from Justice Liberhan or prepare to face the consequences of his evil doings’’.
For the record, while Gopal Das commands unflinching loyalty of more than 2,000 temples in Ayodhya and heads the body empowered to grant holy affiliation, Gyan Das is the leader of the highest recognised body of seers combining both Shaiv and Vaishnav sects. The parishad, among other things, charts out the agenda at the Kumbha congregations.
‘‘The indictment of Deoraha Baba is low mischief aimed at hurting Hindu sentiments,’’ Gopal Das said. ‘‘Baba was a spiritual guide to all: from a pauper to the most powerful. He was above narrow confines of caste and community. Each saint and guru in Ayodhya is deeply anguished at Liberhan’s folly and meetings are being held across the town to chalk out a retaliatory strategy,’’ he said. ‘‘Does Justice Liberhan know that the departed saint he slandered so casually in his useless report could quote from Quran, Guru Granth Saheb and Vedas with equal felicity? Or that the list of his callers included Zakir Hussain? Dragging his name into his report is a sin which must be atoned,’’ a visibly disturbed Gopal Das told TOI.
Link-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Baba-indicted-by-Liberhan-died-in-1990/articleshow/5290189.cms
If you have got brains leave them at home if you intend to watch this movie. I have seen movies like "Welcome" which are referred by many as Ridiculous but they doesnt come close to this! Having said that it does not mean that the movie is not funny.
De dana dan is a movie about 2 friends- Nitin (Akshay Kumar) and Ram (Sunil shetty) and their need for money in order to get married to the love of their lives Anjali (Katrina kaif) and Manpreet (Sameera reddy). They plan to do a small kidnapping inorder to get rich which goes awkwardly wrong and the story takes it from there.
The first half of movie begins with introduction of characters which takes some time and therefore the movie is slow and boring specially in the 1st half. But the 2nd half is a complete laugh riot with all the confusion creeping in. There are many scenes where you cant stop laughing. Being a Priyadarshan movie all know that in climax all characters will show up and there will be total confusion and thus I was expecting more laughter in the final 15 min. The climax was ok but was nowhere near climax of Films like Hera pheri, Hungama or Malamal weekly.
The acting in the movie is OK.Though Akshay Kumar is the "Lead hero" he doesnt have much screen presence in the movie. Sunil shetty and Katrina kaif are fine. Sameera reddy cant act though her role in the movie is also minimal. Archana's acting looks forced. Chunky pandey, Tinnu anand and Shakti kapoor should have been avoided. Its high time Priyadarshan realizes that India is fed up of Shakti kapoor's style of comedy.The side characters does the job for this movie. Paresh rawal, Rajpal yadav, Asrani all have done a very good job. But Johny lever, Manoj joshi and Vikram gokhale steal the show!
ALL SONGS IN THE MOVIE ARE FORCED but apart from 1-2 others are quite good. The best of them are Rishte naate by Rahat fateh ali khan and Paisa by RDB.
FInally its definitely worth a watch if you are looking for some light hearted comedy.
RATING-
7/10
Here’s an extract from a list of the Worst Tech Predictions as compiled by T3 Magazine:
BRITAIN DOESN’T NEED TELEPHONES
Sir William Preece 1878
X-RAYS ARE A HOAX
Lord Kevlin 1883
THERE WILL NEVER BE A BIGGER PLANE (AND IT ONLY HELD 10 PEOPLE)
At the launch of Boeing 247 in 1933
TV WON’T LAST
Darryl Zanuck 1946
HOMES WILL BE CLEANED WITH NUCLEAR HOOVERS
Alex Lewyt 1950
LETTERS WILL BE DELIVERED BY ROCKET
Arthur Summerfield 1959
COMPUTERS AREN’T FOR HOME USE
Ken Olsen, founder DEC 1977
YOU’LL ONLY EVER NEED 640KB OF MEMORY
Bill Gates 1981
WE’LL KILL SPAM IN TWO YEARS
Bill Gates 2004
THE iPOD WILL BE KAPUT BY NEXT CHRISTMAS
Sir Alan Sugar 2005
Around the world millions of children are not getting a proper education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. In the first report in the BBC's Hunger to Learn series, Damian Grammaticas meets Babar Ali, whose remarkable education project is transforming the lives of hundreds of poor children.
At 16 years old, Babar Ali must be the youngest headmaster in the world. He's a teenager who is in charge of teaching hundreds of students in his family's backyard, where he runs classes for poor children from his village.
The story of this young man from Murshidabad in West Bengal is a remarkable tale of the desire to learn amid the direst poverty.
Babar Ali's day starts early. He wakes, pitches in with the household chores, then jumps on an auto-rickshaw which takes him part of the 10km (six mile) ride to the Raj Govinda school. The last couple of kilometres he has to walk.
The school is the best in this part of West Bengal. There are hundreds of students, boys and girls. The classrooms are neat, if bare. But there are desks, chairs, a blackboard, and the teachers are all dedicated and well-qualified.
As the class 12 roll-call is taken, Babar Ali is seated in the middle in the front row. He's a tall, slim, gangly teenager, studious and smart in his blue and white uniform. He takes his notes carefully. He is the model student.
Babar Ali is the first member of his family ever to get a proper education. "It's not easy for me to come to school because I live so far away," he says, "but the teachers are good and I love learning. And my parents believe I must get the best education possible that's why I am here."
Raj Govinda school is government-run so it is free, all Babar Ali has to pay for is his uniform, his books and the rickshaw ride to get there. But still that means his family has to find around 1,800 rupees a year ($40, £25) to send him to school. In this part of West Bengal that is a lot of money. Many poor families simply can't afford to send their children to school, even when it is free.
Chumki Hajra is one who has never been to school. She is 14 years old and lives in a tiny shack with her grandmother. Their home is simple A-frame supporting a thatched roof next to the rice paddies and coconut palms at the edge of the village. Inside the hut there is just room for a bed and a few possessions.
Every morning, instead of going to school, she scrubs the dishes and cleans the homes of her neighbours. She's done this ever since she was five. For her work she earns just 200 rupees a month ($5, £3). It's not much, but it's money her family desperately needs. And it means that she has to work as a servant everyday in the village.
"My father is handicapped and can't work," Chumki tells me as she scrubs a pot. "We need the money. If I don't work, we can't survive as a family. So I have no choice but to do this job."
But Chumki is now getting an education, thanks to Babar Ali. The 16-year-old has made it his mission to help Chumki and hundreds of other poor children in his village. The minute his lessons are over at Raj Govinda school, Babar Ali doesn't stop to play, he heads off to share what he's learnt with other children from his village.
At four o'clock every afternoon after Babar Ali gets back to his family home a bell summons children to his house. They flood through the gate into the yard behind his house, where Babar Ali now acts as headmaster of his own, unofficial school.
Lined up in his back yard the children sing the national anthem. Standing on a podium, Babar Ali lectures them about discipline, then study begins.
Babar Ali gives lessons just the way he has heard them from his teachers. Some children are seated in the mud, others on rickety benches under a rough, homemade shelter. The family chickens scratch around nearby. In every corner of the yard are groups of children studying hard.
Babar Ali was just nine when he began teaching a few friends as a game. They were all eager to know what he learnt in school every morning and he liked playing at being their teacher.
Now his afternoon school has 800 students, all from poor families, all taught for free. Most of the girls come here after working, like Chumki, as domestic helps in the village, and the boys after they have finished their day's work labouring in the fields.
"In the beginning I was just play-acting, teaching my friends," Babar Ali says, "but then I realised these children will never learn to read and write if they don't have proper lessons. It's my duty to educate them, to help our country build a better future."
Including Babar Ali there are now 10 teachers at the school, all, like him are students at school or college, who give their time voluntarily. Babar Ali doesn't charge for anything, even books and food are given free, funded by donations. It means even the poorest can come here.
"Our area is economically deprived," he says. "Without this school many kids wouldn't get an education, they'd never even be literate."
Seated on a rough bench squeezed in with about a dozen other girls, Chumki Hajra is busy scribbling notes.
Her dedication to learning is incredible to see. Every day she works in homes in the village from six in the morning until half past two in the afternoon, then she heads to Babar Ali's school. At seven every evening she heads back to do more cleaning work.
Chumki's dream is to one day become a nurse, and Babar Ali's classes might just make it possible.
The school has been recognised by the local authorities, it has helped increase literacy rates in the area, and Babar Ali has won awards for his work.
The youngest children are just four or five, and they are all squeezed in to a tiny veranda. There are just a couple of bare electric bulbs to give light as lessons stretch into the evening, and only if there is electricity.
And then the monsoon rain begins. Huge drops fall as the children scurry for cover, slipping in the mud. They crowd under a piece of plastic sheeting. Babar Ali shouts an order. Lessons are cancelled for the afternoon otherwise everyone will be soaked. Having no classrooms means lessons are at the mercy of the elements.
The children climb onto the porch of a nearby shop as the rain pours down. Then they hurry home through the downpour. Tomorrow they'll be back though. Eight hundred poor children, unable to afford an education, but hungry for anything they can learn at Babar Ali's school.
A great article from BBC. Do check out the original thread to see the video of Babar's school, Interview of 1 of the student and Babar answering questions of students from various parts of world!! Truly remarkable!!
Link-
A VERY VERY INTERESTING READ. RECOMMENDED
Article-
http://search.rediff.com/news/2003/feb/01spec.htm
An autorickshaw driver who gives free rides to the blind, donates money to an old age home and is trying to raise funds for the treatment of a sandwich vendor. Sandeep Bachhe is an autorickshaw driver in Mumbai. More of him later, but first let me take you through his wonder autorickshaw. It has a television set tuned to good old Doordarshan -- which incidentally is celebrating 50 years of transmission in India. Then there is also a board with the day's price of gold, silver, dollar, pound and the yen.
Behind the driver's seat hangs another chart with phone numbers of hospitals, theatres, hotels and airlines. You can also pick up the day's papers and a couple of magazines in the rack behind him. 'Do not spit,' another notice admonishes you. There are pictures of Gods from all major religions. "All are welcome," he says with a smile.
Of course, you can't have it all, even Bacche's wonder auto has some limitations -- 'No toilet available,' says another sign and Sandeep, 35, explains, "Some college girls got in and told me, 'You have everything where is the toilet?' and so I put this sign up.
"The signboards continue, and there is one that says, 'Donate for old people' with his mobile number below. Sandeep gives whatever he can spare to an old age home. He also collects money from like minded auto drivers to distribute notebooks among slum children.
He points out four other auto drivers to me who had each given Rs 500 the week before to distribute books to needy children.Sandeep also gives free rides of up to Rs 50 to people who are blind and gives a 25 per cent discount to the physically challenged. He gets a physically disabled customer about once a month.
Full Article-
http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/sep/17/slide-show-1-extraordinary-indians-sandeep-bacche.htm
Website-
http://www.bloodyfingermail.com/message.php
Well to be frank this is pretty much useless information but may still be helpful to some.
http://www.internet4mobile.com/mobile_number_information.aspx
So What is Love Jihad?
Well to put it simply in Islam a Muslim man can marry a woman of another religion but its not possible vice-versa. This policy itself was made to increase "followers" of Islam. So now under Love Jihad muslims are encouraged by Radicals to TRAP girls of other religion in love and convert them into Islam! Its more popular in southern state of Kerala and has spread its wings to other states also. The new bollywood movie Qurbaan is also based on this!
Many times it happens that we keep on hearing to some "terms" or "incidences" on news and in general life or keep on reading it in newspapers or on internet but never know the meaning of it.
Searching on Internet reveals many vague results which are too long to read whereas you want only a quick detail on what exactly the "term" means or what exactly is the "incident" all about.
So from today I am starting a new label "Jargon Buster" where I will post about stuff or incident which I feel is too much in the news/talk these days but is still complicated or many dont know what "exactly" is the meaning of it.
So lets burst those Jargons!!
President Pratibha Patil is in London to receive a baton from Queen Elizabeth II on October 29. She has already received a tasteless joke from the duke of Windsor about Patels . And then the President is all ready to get the dubious distinction of the first-ever head of state of a Commonwealth country to receive the baton from the Queen Elizabeth. It’s a ‘baton’ that’s customarily given to the host country of the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth has 53 member states including Nauru, .. etc and none of them ever thought it prudent to be so obsessed with the colonial hangover that their head of the state would go and be a durbari in the former coloniser’s palace.
And our sportsmen like Kapil Dev gave a statement expressing a feel of pride for having found their names in the invite list to be in the queue and get introduced to a lady who hardly knows about their land except that her predecessors once ruled them with a barbarity that is reminiscent of the dark ages (her knowledge about us won’t be better than that of the duke of fatigue and follies who slipped over the Patels) and she never expressed any regret or remorse over what the British did to us.
Any surprises on the Indian spinelessness?
We are a nation that produced a large number of rai bahadurs and sirs and rao sahebs while ‘crazy deewane’ were becoming Bhagat Singhs and Rajgurus and Sukhdevs. There were a large section of our Indians who thought it prudent to keep a silence on Jalianwala Bagh, honour the butcher Dyer even after the gruesome incident. It’s another matter that we had those Casablancas too who preferred gallows to knighthood.
Pratibha Patil and Kapil Devs have joined the ranks of those who have no sense of history, leave aside a sense of pride in the sacrifices of revolutionaries who fought the British.
We are the world’s greatest living democracy, much larger and with a better civilisational background and track record of humanity than the British. Why should a head of a democracy present herself before a queen, a symbol of a decaying, old tradition, which has lost all relevance to the contemporary values of civil society? Shouldn’t they be raising questions that why the lady occupying Buckingham Palace must remain the head of the Commonwealth?
The most logical and contextually correct thing would be to have a head of a democratic sovereign as its chief and not a titular icon of a royalty that stinks with the blood of our revolutionaries and whose wealth is built on the loot of India?
FULL ARTICLE-
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/why-should-our-president-receive
Bothadbodan is a drought hit village in Yawatmal district in Maharashtra. Troubled villagers have not got any relief from Govt. People are depressed and some have already committed suicide. Rahul Gandhi visited this undeveloped Bothadbodan villege last year in July. Margaret Alva was with him.A local person named Suresh Chhattani showed him the villege. He was with Rahul Gandhi for almost 2 and half hours.
Rahul Gandhi promised to give land, cattle etc. to troubled villagers and gave his mobile number to Chhattani on piece of paper in his own handwriting. "If u have any problem, call me on this number. This is mobile number of my personal assistant Ravi Kapoor" He said.When asked what happened next, Chhattani told that he was promised 3 buffaloes but has not got anything.
When asked why didn't he call on the mobile, Chhattani replied " Saheb, I called so many times. See I even called today morning. Some Ravi Kapoor takes the call and tells me angrily..... yaha koi Rahul Gandhi nahi rahata, ab bar bar phone mat lagana. ( Nobody named Rahul Gandhi live here. And stop calling me again and again. ) When the reporter asked if he explained Ravi Kapoor who he was and what Rahul had promised, Chhattani replied in hopeless tone " Saheb, this Ravi Kapoor was also here that day....... with Rahul Gandhi. "
Source-
http://beta.esakal.com/2009/10/09000417/randhumali-election-rahul-gand.html
BANGALORE: The BJP-led Karnataka government is annoyed that though the state bore the brunt of the rain fury, it got only a paltry sum of Rs 52.26 crore as central aid on Wednesday. This is in stark contrast to the Rs 156.84 crore released for Andhra Pradesh, a state ruled by the Congress.A vexed chief minister B S Yeddyurappa called up President Pratibha Patil and sought her intervention in impressing upon the Centre to immediately release adequate funds. A week after the state submitted a memorandum seeking Rs 10,000 crore financial assistance for rehabilitation work in flood-hit districts of North Karnataka, the Centre released this measly sum from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF).
Floods in Karnataka affected about 15 lakh people involving 15 districts and about 5 lakh people in five districts of Andhra Pradesh. While the toll in Karnataka has already crossed the 200 mark, it’s less than 60 in Andhra. The total loss due to floods is pegged at Rs 16,500 crore while Andhra’s estimates are Rs 12,500 crore. The Centre is yet to depute a team to assess the damage.
All eyes are now on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he is expected to visit the flood-ravaged areas of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on Friday and make some big announcements.
It’s not the first time the central relief is perceived as step-motherly. Just about two months ago Karnataka sought Rs 2,000 crore for drought relief, but got only Rs 150 crore. The opposition and ruling BJP promptly started a blame game. While the BJP accused the UPA government at the Centre of giving step-motherly treatment to BJP-ruled Karnataka, opposition members alleged that the state government had failed to spend funds available under the CRF.
Also read-
http://vu-point.blogspot.com/2009/10/karnataka-cms-padayatra-mops-up-rs-500.html
Source-
Shocked by the nature's fury in Karnataka and the apathy shown by Central govt which gave just Rs 50 crore for flood relief Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa took it upon himself to collect money to provide relief to those affected. He was able to collect Rs 500 crore in just 48 hours for flood relief by taking a Padayatra.
I came across this website through Google ads. I have no relation to the case or the persons mentioned but I thought it wouldnt cost me anything to make a blog post about it and it may help someone. So please have a look at the website- http://rescueaditya.org/ and see if you know the child or the mother!!
Part 1- Why has history forgotten this giant?Kuldip Nayar was Lal Bahadur Shastri's press advisor from 1960 to 1964 and travelled with him extensively. He provides an insight into the former prime minister's life.
Shastri and the Congress-
Shastri has been forgotten by the nation. He has been pushed into the background. I have no doubt that there was a Congress conspiracy to underplay Shastri after his death.
The Congress is the party that should have put him to the fore but I remember visiting a Congress meeting where Shastri's portrait was not even displayed with respect.
He simply didn't fit in. Mrs Gandhi was strongly against the Congress old guard. When he died there was a strong resistance against his cremation in the area where Gandhi and Nehru had been laid to rest. Most Congressmen wanted his body taken to Allahabad. When Mrs Lalita Shastri said she would go public only then did the Congressmen relent.
They even protested against inscribing the slogan -- Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan on his samadhi. Then again, only when Mrs Shastri threatened to go on a hunger strike was it was allowed.
After leaving the Press Information Bureau I became a reporter. Wherever I went to meet Congress leaders, I was labelled as 'Shastri ka aadmi' [Shastri's man].
Now, a committee has been set up by the Congress-led government to celebrate his birth centenary but it seems like an afterthought. I think after the death of Shastri, the Congress did not know where to fit him. When Mrs Gandhi succeeded him, the Congress didn't know where to put his legacy in the scheme of things then.
Shastri stands for austerity.
Shastri stands for simplicity and consensus.
Shastri represents an ideology that was right of Centre but not left of Centre. After all, he is the man who said we need the five-year plan but let us have a one year holiday from plan.
I remember vividly a small incident that brought out the stark difference between the two (Shastri and Indira Gandhi) leaders.
During Shastri's tenure his home in Janpath was upgraded quite a bit to suit the status of a PM.
After his death, while searching for a suitable home Mrs Gandhi went to see Shastri's home. She entered the home, had a round inside and said, "middle class!"
The making of Shastri-
Shastri was selected by veteran Congress leaders K Kamaraj, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and S Nijalingappa to lead the nation. Moments after Nehru's death I asked him who should become PM, he said it should be the unanimous decision of the Congress.
He gave two names in order. First, Jayaprakash Narayan and second, Indira Gandhi. He told me he wanted a unanimous decision over the selection. "But if there is a contest (which Morarji Desai contemplated) then I can defeat Morarji Desai but not Indira Gandhi," he told me.
Probably he was right. However, the question didn't arise because Kamaraj was asked to talk to members informally. Shastri was made PM but Morarjibhai never accepted the decision.
After Shastri became PM he had to face the war with Pakistan. When the Chamb border was attacked Shastri was asked to take a tough decision whether to cross the international border. The army chief said it would be difficult to hold on for long at Chamb. Shastri gave the order saying -- before they can capture Chamb you should capture Lahore.
After the war was over, I asked Indira Gandhi if Nehru would have allowed the crossing of the international border. Mrs Gandhi said, 'Whatever the generals would have advised him he would have followed."
But I wonder.
A slight man made of steel-
After the war, Shastri's name was all over. Before the war many people laughed at him for his softness but not after the war. He came out as a tough hero.
His toughness was evident at Tashkent. When Russian Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin wanted Shastri to sign the agreement for peace with General Ayub Khan of Pakistan after the 1965 war, Shastri insisted on adding the assurance, "never again will weapons be used to sort out problems between India and Pakistan."
Ayub was maintaining a vague stance by quoting UN resolutions. "Then you will have to find another PM," said Shastri during the arguments. In the final agreement General Ayub Khan had not mentioned those words but Shastri continued to press for it.
Ayub finally wrote it at the very last moment. General Ayub's handwritten assurance is still preserved in the Indian archives. Shastri was a slight person but with a strong mind.
Also read: Kuldip Nayar on the Tashkent summit
Shastri can't be revived-
If the Congress wants to celebrate Shastri, it will have to re-emphasis the honesty of Shastri. He stood for the small men of India.
But the Congress has changed completely. Since Mrs Gandhi said that corruption is a world phenomenon, Congressmen are not losing sleep over it. Neither can I imagine Shastri imposing the Emergency.
All those Congressmen seen active during the Emergency are part of this government. Ambika Soni is a confidante of Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, Kamal Nath all were part of the establishment then.
How can these leaders bring in the values of Shastri?
The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty culture has also played a role in minimising Shastri's legacy. When Shastri was made a minister without portfolio in the Nehru's Cabinet, he was uncomfortable. Once in a huff he told me, "I shall quit and retire to Allahabad."
While cajoling him not to entertain an such idea I said, "Nehru has you in his mind."
Shastri said, "Unke dimag main to unki putri hai. (He has his daughter in his mind as successor.)"
As soon as Shastri died the dynasty culture returned to the Congress. Shastri's message of life was that if he could become PM anybody could because he was a common man. As the Bible says the meekest shall inherit the earth, he proved it.
In 1942 (during the Quit India Movement), when he was in a jail, his daughter was ill and he was released on parole. But he could not save her life because doctors had recommended costly drugs.
Shastri never made money. In 1963, on the day when he was dropped under the Kamaraj plan I went to meet him. He was sitting in his home without a light.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" I asked. He said, "From today all expenses will be borne by me." He told me as a MP and minister he didn't earn enough to save for his rainy day.
On that evening, I told him to turn a columnist to earn some money. So he wrote a column on Lala Lajpat Rai. That was the first syndicated column in India.
I syndicated it to four newspapers and collected Rs 500 from each. Quite a hefty sum!
The second column was on Nehru but before he could write more he was recalled to the Cabinet.
I don't see the revival of the values Shastri stood for.
A day before his first press conference after becoming PM I asked him what will be your message tomorrow?
He said: "I'll tell them that during my tenure there will not be any increase in food price and as PM of India I would ask members of the Planning Commission to have one more column in their charts to show me how many jobs will be created after spending thousands of crores of rupees."
He was a man concerned about the common man of India. Can these values return to this country?
I don't think so.
As told to Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt
Source-
http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/07spec1.htm
2 days ago India celebrated the birthday of Mahatama Gandhi on 2nd october which is observed as national holiday. Its sad and depressing that more than half of India's population dont know that 2nd october is also the birthday of Lal Bahadur Shastri- 2nd and arguably the best PM of India! So why has history forgotten this giant? Some people know the reason and hope many will soon know it. I had planned to write this post on 2nd October but could not do that because of some work. Anyways here is a great article as tribute from my side on Lal Bahadur Shastri from Rediff. Do read it once and you surely would not regret!
=========================
Seven miles from Kashi in Uttar Pradesh is Mughalsarai. A hundred years ago, Lal Bahadur, India's second prime minister, was born there on October 2, 1904, the same day as India's greatest statesman Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born 35 years before Shastriji.
Though his parents Sharada Prasad and Ramdulari Devi were Srivastavas, Shastri dropped his caste identity in his early years. In 1921, inspired by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gandhi, he cut short his studies to join India's freedom movement.
Later he joined the Kashi Vidyapeeth and earned the epithet 'Shastri' by obtaining a degree on philosophy.
He won the hearts of Indians when he showed exemplary courage in taking quick decisions as prime minister June 1964 to January 1966) during the India-Pakistan war in 1965. His leadership in war was an answer to that most often asked question at that time: 'After Nehru, who?'
But his untimely death on January 10, 1966 in Tashkent, in suspicious circumstances, deprived him the chance for history to sit in judgement.
In a haphazardly taken decision, the central government has formed a committee to celebrate Shastri's life and work in the year of his centenary.
In an ongoing series rediff.com salutes the 'gentle giant' who led India through the critical years after succeeding Nehru.
Has the nation forgotten Shastri? Is Shastri, who epitomised honesty and sincerity in public life, relevant today?
Anil Shastri, one of the late prime minister's six children and member of the Congress party, recounts memories of his father in a conversation with Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt.
On the Congress treatment of Shastri-
I don't think India has forgotten Lal Bahadur Shastri. Whatever he did is remembered even today. I must say since Sonia Gandhi has taken charge Shastriji's portraits are displayed in all the annual sessions of the party.
Many people have observed that there was a conspiracy to underplay Shastri's legacy within the Congress. This serious charge is untrue for the simple reason that due to his untimely death his contribution to the nation was confined to those 18 to 19 months when he was PM.
Nehru ruled the country for 17 years, Indira Gandhi for 16 years and Rajiv Gandhi for 5 years. Obviously the Nehru-Gandhi contribution is unparalleled because nobody got this opportunity. And remember Shastriji considered him as a protégé of Pandit Nehru. He was never outside the sphere of the Nehru ideology which is the Congress ideology.
Our nation is going to celebrate his birth centenary throughout the year. The committee is formed under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Even in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, celebrations have been organised on a big scale. E Ahmed, minister of state for external affairs, was in Tashkent to participate in the celebrations.
Shastriji who represented a certain value system is more relevant today than before because a majority of us today have no value systems. I feel difficult to contest elections. I feel a little out of place but for my lineage I have survived in politics.
His father-
I still miss him although I was just 16 years old when he died. If he would have lived 10 more years he would have done much more for the country.
He was down to earth. A real son of the soil. His grounding was from the grassroots level. He was a practical man too. He strongly believed the laws of the land should be changed because the British formed them to rule over India.
He did make an attempt by constituting the administrative reforms commission and made Morarji Desai its chairman. But after he died the idea was shelved.
The most cherished memory I have is the verses of Guru Nanak, which were displayed on his table. As Nehru kept Robert Frost's lines -- 'Miles to go before I sleep', on his desk, my father kept Nanak's quotes in Gurmukhi.
When translated into English they mean -- 'O Nanak! Be tiny like the grass, for other plants will whither away, but grass will remain ever green.'
When under the PL 480 programme, America was going to send inferior quality of wheat to India, he opposed it. He asked the nation to go hungry once a day than accept poor quality food from US.
Before making this announcement he asked my mother not to cook evening meals. He himself followed what he recommended.
The 1965 war with Pakistan-
He appeared very modest but was a man of steel. He had the ability to take quick decisions. It was demonstrated on August 31, 1965. On that day he came home for an early dinner. One of his secretaries told him that the three chiefs of the defence services had come to see him. He immediately left for his office next door at 10, Janpath.
The three chiefs visited him to inform him that the Pakistan army had crossed the international border with 100 battle tanks in the Chamb sector of Jammu. They told him that in a short span of time the Pakistan army would cut off Kashmir from the rest of India.
Without losing time he asked for the opening of a new front including Lahore. Retaliate with full force, he said. What I remember is that the historic meeting lasted less than five minutes. Arjan Singh, the then chief of the air force was present. He is the only surviving member from that meeting.
He told them, "Be prepared for war." He called Defence Minister Y B Chavan and informed him of the decision. He responded positively and expressed his support. He didn't wait for international reactions. The next day, newspapers reported that the Indian army was marching towards Lahore. It was a big morale booster for the country.
During those tense days, in his address to the nation from Red Fort on Independence day, he said: "Hathiyaron ka jawab hathiyaron se denge. (Force will be met with force.) Hamara desh rahega to hamara tiranga rahega. (Our flag will survive only if our country does)"
On Shastri and the Nehru-Gandhi family-
Pandit Nehru was very found of him. Shastriji was around 15 years younger but he trusted him fully.
In 1956, when a train accident killed 144 passengers near Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu, Shastriji resigned. Panditji refused to accept the resignation but he prevailed upon Panditji to accept it.
On the following day in Parliament, Nehru said no one could wish for a better comrade than Lal Bahadur. A man of the highest integrity and devoted to ideas is called Lal Bahadur, said Nehru.
Once he was sent to Kashmir by Nehru to help resolve the theft in the Hazaratbal shrine. Nehru asked him whether he had enough woollens for the trip.
"Are you aware Kashmir must be having snowfall at this time?" asked Nehru.
Shastri showed him the jacket he was wearing and Nehru immediately gave his own mink overcoat.
My father was short in stature so he told Nehru the coat was quite long. But Nehru said woollen overcoats were always longer. That no one would know it was a borrowed one.
On his return from Kashmir when father went to him to return the overcoat, Nehru asked him to keep it. The next day newspapers reported: Nehru's Mantle Falls on Shastri.
Shastriji and Indiraji also enjoyed a close relationship. She had the highest personal regard for him. After Nehru's death in 1964, the Congress chose him as a consensus candidate. He did make an attempt to persuade Indira Gandhi to take over as prime minister. He went to see her and asked her to become prime minister.
She put her foot down and said no. "You become PM and I'll totally support you," she said. When he was PM he would drop by at 1, Safdarjung Road (Indira Gandhi's home) without intimation just to chat with her.
Part 2- The politician who made no money
Source-
http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/06spec1.htm
At a time when the government is practicing austerity, eyebrows have been raised on the composition of President Pratibha Patil’s ongoing entourage during her visit to Saurashtra. According to media reports, more than 100 persons are part of the entourage and this has started exerting strain on the Gujarat government.The State Government is in a bind and does not know who will foot the bill for avalanche of relatives from Maharashtra who have come in and will stay on till Sunday.
Almost all the Government guest houses and all other suitable accommodation are full and overflowing with the VVIPs, including many from the Patil clan. The five day visit -- the longest that any President has stayed in Gujarat -- includes visits to Somnath, Porbandar, Gir and Dwarka.The President's itinerary includes visits to temples, enjoying wildlife and paying obeisance at places linked to Mahatma Gandhi.
Media reports said that the Rashtrapati Bhavan had informed the Gujarat government that, 47 persons were to land in Ahmedabad on September 30. This apart, 45 persons were to join her from Jalgaon and another 25 persons from Bhusaval. Most of them travelled by train to join the President. Air-conditioned buses and cars were booked locally for them to be taken to different places.
The media quoted an official as saying: "There is lack of clarity who will pay for their arrangement. The state protocol department was told to make arrangements, which it did promptly. So far, everything is running on credit. The President's officials are not telling us whether they will be paying for private individuals."
But the Gujarat government has refrained from any comments keeping the high office of the President in mind. Chief Minister Narendra Modi accompanied the President for most of the visit. An official release said it was Gujarat's honour that the President was spending five days in the state.
Source-
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3270267
Ever since NASA captured this picture (on the right) there has been a wide debate on Ram setu. Much of it started when the central govt decided to launch the controversial Sethusamudaram project which is an ecological disaster in itself ( that would require another post to explain ;) ). So the debate would not end until the ASI gets the permission to conduct carbon dating test on the bridge. Anyways whats fascinating is the finding of "Ram pathar" at various places which keep on floating in water. Below is the picture of 1 such stone. I have enough reasons to believe that it is not some trick as I myself has seen one of this on my way to Manali. They all look similar like ordinary stones. When you hold them they are of same weight like other stones but when you put them in water they float mysteriously!! Have a look at the picture-
The few reports of the Thai jihad that reach the western press are almost invariably purely textual descriptions of the violence; only rarely are photos to be found in media reports, and almost none of those photos show what's really going on: beheadings, corpse desecrations, torture, bombings, and more.
An anonymous correspondent (based in Malaysia) recently sent to zombietime a series of extremely explicit photographs depicting some of the violence being committed by Islamic terrorists in southern Thailand. Extensive online searches through various news archives failed to turn up the precise origins of these photos, nor of any photos even vaguely similar. Because of this, the images are newsworthy, and I decided to make these photographs available online as a sort of "evidence archive" of what has been happening in southern Thailand recently.
WARNING: The images below are EXTREMELY graphic and are not for the faint of heart, young children, or anyone offended by violent images. If you feel you are not prepared to view totally UNCENSORED, EXPLICIT, AND UPSETTING images of violence and death, DO NOT continue viewing this page. You have been warned. When I say this I am Damn serious about this one.
This is a true-to-life story of a father who never hesitated to join his son's marathon races just to show his utmost support and love to him. The video is indeed very touching and moving! Must-watch.Below--Video of Sick Father Joining Son in Marathon
Inspirational Story (Watch the Video Below after Reading)
A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'. The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.
They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.
One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too. For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometers) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometers) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometers) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .
Father and son went on to complete the race together.
However despite the overwhelming odds, Paul Smith never gave up and he started creating art using the typewriter. He accomplished that by merely using the characters ” @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ ” on the typewriter. This takes him 2 to 3 weeks to finish a single piece of art. Now, you have no excuse giving up…
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No hidden costs! No extra effor required! Just click a button and donate food to 1 person a day. I have checked the website and it looks to be completely legit. So dont think- START CLICKING (but only once everyday).
