Drishtikone
Here are some pictures from the Academy Awards tonight and the win by Slumdog Millionaire. Read more
Here are some pictures from the Academy Awards tonight and the win by Slumdog Millionaire. Read more
CONGRATS!!! Read more
Another story from India wins at Oscars - Smile Pinki! For the best short documentary. It is the story of a Uttar Pradesh village girl born with cleft lip, is the winner! Megan Mylan, the director, is very gracious in her acceptance speech. Pinki was there with her parents. What a trip! From rural UP to the red carpet in LA; the world truly is shrinking. Read more
AR Rehman wins the Music Direction Oscar.. and also for the best song - Gulzar and AR Rehman get the Oscar for Jai Ho!! KUDOS! Read more
It now seems - from a Google Earth image - that the US has been flying drones from Shamsi airbase in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan. It shows three predators there and The Times has confirmed that the location is indeed Shamsi airfiled (Bandari). US has been targeting Al Qaeda using these drones to hit on the suspected terrorists. Ostensibly, the Pakistani authorities would have been in the know of all this![1] Read more
Remember my earlier post where the Travel Agents in India had started boycotting the SIngapore Airlines? Well, it seems it has affected the Airlines substantially! The bookings for the airlines has dropped from Rs. 25 crores a day in November 2008 to Rs 10 crores currently in India. The commission has reduced from 9% to Zero. The over 2500 IATA travel agents have dropped SIA and now are planning to drop 12 more airlines that have adopted the zero commission rule. The question is obviously then how will people go somewhere if they need to? Read more
Satyam and its employees have had some real bad year. So its nice when some nice news appears from somewhere. Here is something that will definitely push their spirits up: Satyam has gotten contracts - over half of it from new ones - worth $250 mn. Some is new work and some are extensions. For example, there is a deal for $50 million - single order.. and then lots of small ones. It seems that the CEO AS Murthy and the new board with Kiran Karnik as the Chairman of the Board, things are doing much better. Do you think Satyam would bounce back? Read more
Sometimes its exciting to remember old days and see what used to make us happy back then... and bring the entire family and often the entire naighborhood together! Here is a nice collection of the serials that we all have enjoyed on Doordarshan and TV in general. What do you think of these? Which one was your favorite? Mine all time favorite was Chanakya. I think it was the first thing that made me think. The other good one was Tamas and then Buniyaad. Rest were ok, but not as good in quality as these were. However, when I watch a serial today - with all the traps of songs and new technology. The "action in triplicate" with the swoosh sounds - you know what I mean don't you? - have made a mockery of any creativity that was still left by. Oh, how I long for that old quality where people would do things out of their interest and love.. and even when they made money it was from a service which was useful and pleasing to one's eyes and ears! What do you think of today's serials? And which one has been your favorite? Read more
There is a liberal-left British journalist and writer - Johann Hari - who writes for Independent and Huffington Post. One article of his appeared in the Statesman in West Bengal - actually reproduced. It hurt the local Muslims so much that they attacked the newspaper office and the Editor of the paper was arrested.[2] What was his topic? UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights - which is the foundational statement on upholding freedom of speech. His argument was that these people are fighting against.. yes, against this statement to make sure that it is changed and not kept as is! [1] Chinese dictatorship calls it “Western”, Robert Mugabe calls it “colonialist”, and Dick Cheney calls it “outdated” There is another bunch of people who are against it - the Islamic countries. Why? They think that it freedom of speech should be within the confined within the religious sensitivities - THEIRS! So, they have issued Islamic Declaration of Human Rights - which essentially says that until you are WITHIN the confines of Shariah - and obey its rules.. you are ensured the "Freedom of Speech". Read more
OOOHHH! DEAR GOD! WHAT A MAGICAL-MYSTICAL MOMENT WHEN IT IS OUR GOLDEN DAWN. “ Our life for us human beings stops being a great mystery when suddenly our integral self is illuminated. No more veils that obstruct our view! No more excuses for not believing in an eternal happy life! No more fears, no more stupid shyness! No more afraid of the darkness! On the contrary, we start really enjoying darkness because in it there are beautiful illuminating spiritual beings! Read more
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