The flinging of the shoe was not merely and expression of anger from an individual, it signified that the democratic system of modern India had broken down and that the citizens had lost faith in the fundamentals laid down by the very Constitution of India – Freedom of Expression & Speech. It’s shockingly ironical to have the keepers of this very fundamental right harbor a belligerent view of protest in a nation that has awarded its citizens freedom of expression through the Fourth estate. We have to note the exemplary work done by advocate H S Phoolka who has taken up the cause of fighting for aggrieved Sikhs of the 1984 riots using the apparatus offered by the Constitution of India. There is no lawlessness in this country or circumventing of Human Rights that requires a futile act of courage from a reporter who has the ability to enlighten the society through his writings. When did the shoe become mightier than the sword? one must ask Mr. Singh.

This episode has drawn a disappointing parallel to the supposed act of protest by a journalist in Iraq. One must be forewarned that Chidambaram is not a variant of the policies that were supported by Bush and despite the alphabetical alikeness, India could never be an Iraq. The Indian justice system would decide fairly what the outcome of the case would be.  Let’s remind ourselves that the same courts condemned and sentenced criminals like Manu Sharma (Jessica Lall Murder case) and Vikas Yadav (Nitish Katara murder trials) despite their high & mighty political affiliations and the media must be thanked in part for highlighting the shortcomings of the case and bringing the culprits to book. No doubt if proven guilty Tytler would be censured for his deplorable acts against humanity. For the present though the focus is on Jarnail Singh and his unconstitutional chivalry that needs to be debated & condemned across the society.

[tags]chidambaram, india, dainik jagran, jessica lall, nitish katara[/tags]

This is because the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has framed what is called the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 [Section (4) of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003] for the benefit of protecting non-smokers. This came into effect from October 2, 2008 and prohibits smokers from lighting up in public spaces such as restaurants, hotels, discotheques, bars and pubs, auditoriums, work places both public and private, government institutions, public conveyances, airports, libraries, educational bodies, cinema halls, hospitals, amusement centres, court buildings, coffee houses and stadia. A violation of this act is a punishable offence with fine upto Rs. 200. About hotels and restaurants that can accommodate 30 or more guests, it can be allowed to have a smoking area but there are riders as stipulated in the rules:

(e)”smoking ares or space” mentioned in the proviso to Section 4 of the Act shall mean a separately ventilated smoking room that:
i) is physically separated and surrounded by full height walls on all four sides;
ii) has an entrance with an automatically closing door normally kept in close position;
iii) has an air flow system, as specified in schedule I,
iv) has negative air pressure in comparison with the remainder of the building.

Furthermore, to ensure that the owners do not blindly comply to the order asking for a “separate area”, Section 4 (2) of the Act states:

A smoking area or space shall be used only for the purpose of smoking and no other service(s) shall be allowed.

Signs that indicate smoking is prohibited in the public spaces must be displayed prominently at all the areas designated as “public space” from here on. Schedule II of the rule states:

1. The board shall be of a minimum size of 60 cm by 30 cm of white background.
2. It shall contain a circle of no less than 15 cm outer diameter with a red perimeter of no less than 3 cm wide with a picture, in the centre, of a cigarette or beedi with black smoke and crossed by a red band.
3. the width of the red band across the cigarette shall equal the width of the red perimeter.
4. The board shall contain the warning “No Smoking Area – Smoking Here is an Offence”, in English or one Indian language, as applicable.

This should be read along with Rule 3(b) which also speaks about the display of the board:

The board as specified in schedule II is displayed prominently at the entrance of the public place, in case there are more than one entrance at each such entrance and conspicuous place(s) inside. In case if there are more than one floor, at each floor including the staircase and entrance to the lift/s at each floor.

This could effectively put an end to smoking at public places which tends become a nuisance more often than not. You can visit the Union Ministry of Health website and download the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 (PDF format) for your perusal if you’re a non-smoker wanting to join the revolution against smoking.

On that rainy night when I reached the ticket window of the bus stand the problem was in full view. The time-table on the board was painted in the local language i.e Marathi and could make no sense to my colleague. The ticket vendor provided a small slip which had to be filled prior to reserving a seat. Ditto again! the questions were all in Marathi and no substitute language — typically English was provided for better understanding of the general populace especially from outside the state. Later he confessed about his earlier visit at the counter and the inability of the vendor to speak in proper Hindi when he asked him some doubts. I rebuked his theory instantly. Mumbaikars can and do speak chaste Hindi and we all know this. Isn’t it?

Of late we have gotten carried away with the language bit to such an extent that we have begun to overlook on the user-friendliness and its subsequent implications. For instance, many from the political circles have been demanding Marathi language license plates for cars registered in Maharashtra. What they don’t realise is the difficulty of comprehending the Devanagari script over the Roman typography in a typical hit-and-run scenario. We do not have a standard font and size specification anyway for the plates which should be on top of the agenda. A fresh demand has been made to the shopkeepers to switch to Marathi signboards before August 28 failing which…we all know the consequences. Some weeks ago the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation decided to carry out their administrative work only in Marathi. Soon those intellectuals like my friend who have come to seek employment in the flourishing corporate sector of Mumbai will be found groping for clues when it comes to carrying out bare necessary duties. A few questions begging for some answers – will the introduction of Marathi improve the life of the common man? for a city which is considered the Gateway to India, will it help the outsider/migrant to communicate fluently his/her wants and needs to the local administration? in our effort to win support for the marathi manoos (marathi man) and save the culture and the tradition are we compromising on the global character of the city?

Sadly Mumbai is no longer the friendly cosmopolitan city which it used to be – welcoming everybody irrespective of caste, creed or nationality. Our state leaders have lost the vision and have made this city a pariah. Long Live Mumbai!

Other than Jayasuriya, Shaun Pollock and Dwayne Bravo are the two well-known match winners in the side who have failed to keep up with their reputation. We also have Dilhara Fernando who surprisingly has not been included in the playing XI uptil now — we have been relying more on the unimpressive Ashish Nehra. Including Dilhara would mean leaving a batsman out of the side since one can only play 4 foreigners in the final XI and Shaun Pollock has the ability to turn matches as a handy all-rounder and cannot be ignored. The promising young lads making their T20 debut like Saurabh Tiwary and Ajinkya Rahane will likely need time to accustom with the international standards of this faster version of the game. The question that begs an answer is whether Mumbai Indians which was bought for a huge sum (by Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries Limited) lagged behind in bidding for the right mix of professional players who could perform and inspire others to take up the mantle of winning. Whether we lack the right combination of talent or an inspiring leadership role model — only time can put all these questions aside and rest all the doubts forever.

We play the Kolkata Knight Riders next who went down to the Chennai Super Kings in their first loss of the season. They will be looking to hit back confidently against a depleted Mumbai Indians. At present, we seem to be lacking the grit and the initiative to push for a result in our favor. However, it’s imperative that we start winning now – 8 out of our remaining 10 matches to be precise to make ourselves worthy of qualifying for the semis and start worrying about the net run rate in case we are tied in the standings list. Time is running out for the Mumbai Indians. The road ahead seems to be tough and strewn with impossibilities.

Mumbai Indians – What’s in a name.
The name “Mumbai Indians” is devoid of any creativity, is dull and very uninspiring. It seems like a last ditch choice after an unsuccessful brainstorming session. If you note, every team in the IPL has chosen to highlight their regional or cultural taste (Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals) or let their name depict the underlaying character of their team or company (Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers). On the contrary the title ‘Mumbai Indians’ interprets to be representative of a national side when in reality it is not “national”. The team has a good combination of both International and Indian players. It sounds odd then to have foreigners playing under the title of ‘Indians’ for Mumbai and therefore difficult to comprehend the rationale behind the name.

The title should have exemplified the dreams of the million strong citizens whose city is a participant in this regional league. The name could have been adjectives that highlight the diverse regional culture and ethnicity — the two strong points of this city. Mumbai is also a contrasting city which is modern, cosmopolitan, trendy, world class, et al apart from being traditional. A neutral name could have played a big role in charging up the morale of a team comprising mixed cultures and languages and boosted the excitement of the fans as well. Talking of which, in a tournament that involves rival metro cities from across India — Bangalore, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai, etc., any fan supporting the Mumbai IPL team would consider himself to be a proud Mumbaikar first. We surely deserved a better designation along with a win.

Post the car launch there are discussions on the effect on the environment and the stress that it will put on India’s infrastructure, etc. On one hand I am happy that the Tata’s have launched a product which specific to a particular segment of the society. On the other, I shudder to think about when the car would flood the roads of Mumbai and the high possibility of a traffic snafu that it will generate. For this moment though, I am waiting to see the car run on the road pretty soon.

» Visit the Tata Nano Website

At one point in time of the match, India seemed to be losing the plot. In the last over though, the pakis needed just 5 runs of the last 3 balls and I had already given up hope. Just then I stared in complete disbelief at my TV screen when Misbah-ul-Haq hit that uneventful shot right into the waiting hands of Sreesanth, when he could have just played a straight bat shot. The commentators went ga-ga over his ” sound cricketing mind” but the Indians held their nerves to pulloff an incredible win. Everytime I went inside my room in complete disbelief, a wicket would fall for the Pakis. Considering this odd coincidence, I have decided to NOT watch cricket when India’s playing, to ensure that they win everytime. Here’s a summary of India’s road to the final victory.

First, it looked like India would be bowled out within 15 overs as they were tottering at 36/4 after Mohammed Asif picked up four Indian wickets. However, the Indians managed 141 in their 20 overs thanks to some hard hitting by Robin Uthappa who scored 50. Then defending their modest score, the Indians were gaining some ground early before Agarkar gave away 17 runs in his penultimate over and the match went down to the wire with 1 run required of just 1 ball. Sreesanth then bowled the last over of the match superbly to end the Pakistan innings at 141/7 in their 20 overs and the match was tied — a first for any Twenty20 International. A ‘Bowl out’ method — much similar to the penalty shootouts in Hockey and Soccer — was applied for an outcome despite both teams already qualifying for the Super8s from Group D.

The rules were simple — each team nominates 5 bowlers to bowl at the stumps. The team with the majority hits wins. Sehwag, Bhajji and Uthappa made no mistake to help India win 3-0 and keep its winning record against in world playoffs against Pakistan intact. The young Indian side maintained a characteristically cool head till the last ball which helped them snatch victory from the Pakistanis. The sad reality of going into a big tournament without a regular coach hasn’t come to hassle the Indians and the way they performed yesterday it seems there’s no requirement for one at the moment if they keep winning consistently. Great performance surely and I hope they bring back the world cup and with it the glorious days of Indian cricket.

The real jail isn’t going to be easy for an actor of reel life. He’ll appeal in the Supreme Court and cross his fingers tight for a reprieve from the judgement. With over 100 crore INR running on him, even the film fraternity would want him out quickly. Let’s hope and pray things turn out well and we are able to see another sequel of Munnabhai.

On that evening of 7/11, I was homeward bound on the 6:14 Borivli fast local which got stranded between Lower Parel and Elphinstone Road railway stations for unknown reasons. Just then I received a cell call from my colleague in office, informing me about the serial blasts which I could barely believe. The only option left was to get home somehow, so I walked up to Elphinstone Road station on the tracks and then onto the road when it started raining heavily. There were no buses or other conveyance which could afford to take me to my destination and then I found 2 guys in a cab who lended a helping hand on that fateful night. We then picked up 2 more persons on our way; one of them an elderly woman and started off to our landing-place. It was only after 6 gruelling hours that I reached home — I was the last person to get off the cab after paying him a handsome fare. Unfortunately my entire account for that day was wiped out in the database crash that occured last year. I would like to thank Sameer and his friend, who helped me out with the taxi service on 7/11 last year.

I see little practical changes on the ground in terms of securing our city from another attack. Somehow one gets a feeling that internal security is not on the priority list of this government. The action items after the blast — A few CCTVs hang above our heads, a few constables relaxing on stations and most foolishly; luggage racks being removed from train compartments for some reason, causing utter discomfort to the waiting passengers. There are families of the departed who are still grieving the loss. It feels sad to see the sorry state of affairs in our city but Mumbai lives on with us, scarred and scared.

What does Postini do?
Postini’s services helps businesses to encrypt and monitor on-line information which include e-mails, instant messaging and other web communications. It also helps enforce corporate policies from a single hosted location. A leader in its field, Postini serves more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million users and was one of the first partners for Google Apps.

How does this acquisition help Google?
The acquisition will strengthen Google’s array of services called the Google Apps Premier Edition that includes Gmail, Calendar, GoogleTalk, Docs & Spreadsheets, and Personal Start Page and offer greater on-line security to its customers.

How much did it cost Google to acquire Postini?
This is its third biggest acquisition after DoubleClick and YouTube. Google has paid $625 million in cash to acquire Postini as per the official press release on its website.

Why is it considered a breakthrough deal for Google?
Google is eyeing a chunk of the $12 billion market of business applications which is dominated by not only Microsoft’s Office applications but also IBM Lotus and some compatible tools from Apple [read here]. According to this press release, hosted services like Google Apps and Postini will enable organizations to perform business effectively without the expense and hassle of traditional on-premise tools (like Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.).

Reference Links:
› Google Press Release on the Postini Acquisition
› Googleblog post by Dave Girouard, Vice President & GM, Google Enterprise
› Businessweek.com article on the take-over
› A list of FAQs from the Postini website on the Google acquisition
› List of Google acquisitions on Wikipedia