पेपर विकणारे हे बाबूराव थेट हिटलरला भेटले असतील, उलटी पर्वती असंख्य वेळा चालले असतील, वयाची नव्वदी ओलांडल्यावरही नव्वद जिलब्या रिचवू शकत असतील, यावर कुणाचा विश्वास बसणंच शक्य नव्हतं. पण, शतकाचे साक्षी असलेले अनेकजण त्यांच्या दुकानीच भेटत. अर्तक्यवाटाव्या, अशा अफाट गोष्टी करणारा हा अवलिया परवा वयाच्या १०३ व्या वषीर् मरण पावला.
http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-6938194,prtpage-1.cms
November 23, 2010
November 10, 2010
Mother Madness
Unless you've been living on another planet, you know that we have endured an orgy of motherphilia for at least the last two decades.
Movie stars proudly display their baby bumps, and the shiny magazines at the checkout counter never tire of describing the joys of celebrity parenthood.
Bearing and rearing children has come to be seen as life's greatest good. Never mind that there are now enough abandoned children on the planet to make breeding unnecessary.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704462704575590603553674296.html?KEYWORDS=erica+jong
Movie stars proudly display their baby bumps, and the shiny magazines at the checkout counter never tire of describing the joys of celebrity parenthood.
Bearing and rearing children has come to be seen as life's greatest good. Never mind that there are now enough abandoned children on the planet to make breeding unnecessary.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704462704575590603553674296.html?KEYWORDS=erica+jong
November 1, 2010
I could care less: A loathed phrase turns 50
Fifty years ago, this month, a reader wanted Ann Landers to settle a dispute with his girlfriend: “You know that common expression: ‘I couldn’t care less,’ ” he wrote. “Well, she says it’s ‘I COULD care less.’ ”
Ann voted with her reader — “the expression as I understand it is ‘I couldn’t care less’ ” — but she thought the question was trivial.
“To be honest,” she concluded, “this is a waste of valuable newspaper space and I couldn’t care less.”
She couldn’t have known it at the time, but her reader’s trivial question would be wasting newspaper space (and bandwidth, too) for decades, as it blossomed into one of the great language peeves of our time.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/10/24/i_could_care_less/?camp=obinsite
Ann voted with her reader — “the expression as I understand it is ‘I couldn’t care less’ ” — but she thought the question was trivial.
“To be honest,” she concluded, “this is a waste of valuable newspaper space and I couldn’t care less.”
She couldn’t have known it at the time, but her reader’s trivial question would be wasting newspaper space (and bandwidth, too) for decades, as it blossomed into one of the great language peeves of our time.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/10/24/i_could_care_less/?camp=obinsite
Bollywood music videos raise literacy in rural India
Nine years ago, India’s national television network decided to introduce karaoke-style subtitles to these programs — not in a foreign language, but in Hindi, the language the stars were singing in.
People in Khodi, and in the rest of the state, saw the captions as an opportunity to sing along with the songs.
They began paying attention to the moving strip of lyrics at the bottom of the screen.
Often, they would copy the words on paper, going back to them after the show was over.
And as they did, the reading level in Khodi slowly improved.
According to Hema Jadvani, a researcher who has been studying the effects of the subtitles on Khodi, newspaper reading in the village has gone up by more than 50 percent in the last decade.
Her research also shows that the village’s women, who can now read bus schedules themselves, are more mobile, and more children are opting to stay in school.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/09/19/watch_and_learn/
People in Khodi, and in the rest of the state, saw the captions as an opportunity to sing along with the songs.
They began paying attention to the moving strip of lyrics at the bottom of the screen.
Often, they would copy the words on paper, going back to them after the show was over.
And as they did, the reading level in Khodi slowly improved.
According to Hema Jadvani, a researcher who has been studying the effects of the subtitles on Khodi, newspaper reading in the village has gone up by more than 50 percent in the last decade.
Her research also shows that the village’s women, who can now read bus schedules themselves, are more mobile, and more children are opting to stay in school.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/09/19/watch_and_learn/
October 12, 2010
An Early Run for Riches
Joseph Hudicka needs to make about $999,500 more before he can claim the title of young millionaire, but he's still light-years ahead of his peers in terms of entrepreneurial success.
At the age of 8, Joseph has already joined the ranks of the tech elite: He has developed two applications for the iPhone.
Pretty good for a kid who doesn't even own a mobile phone.
Bolivian President
"I passed the ball, and suddenly I got hit, and not for the first time."
---- Evo Morales, Bolivian president, justifying himself after he was caught on camera kicking an opponent in the groin during a friendly match to inaugurate a renovated stadium in La Paz.
Time, October 18, 2010
---- Evo Morales, Bolivian president, justifying himself after he was caught on camera kicking an opponent in the groin during a friendly match to inaugurate a renovated stadium in La Paz.
Time, October 18, 2010
October 11, 2010
What confidence!
The first Millionnaire winner...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeqPJojGqxc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeqPJojGqxc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Bitter truth about honey in India
Indian companies sell honey contaminated with antibiotics within the country whereas export cleaner product, a new study has found.
Chronic exposure to antibiotics can cause antibiotic resistance and lead to blood related disorders, World Health Organisation has said, leading to its ban in food products in Europe and the US.
The Centre for Science and Environment, an NGO, has found different types of antibiotics, commonly used to check bacterial infection, in 12 brands of honey sold through counter including a brand each from Australia and Switzerland, where antibiotics in honey is banned. In all, these brands account for over 95 per cent of honey market in India.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Bitter-truth-about-honey/Article1-600675.aspx
Chronic exposure to antibiotics can cause antibiotic resistance and lead to blood related disorders, World Health Organisation has said, leading to its ban in food products in Europe and the US.
The Centre for Science and Environment, an NGO, has found different types of antibiotics, commonly used to check bacterial infection, in 12 brands of honey sold through counter including a brand each from Australia and Switzerland, where antibiotics in honey is banned. In all, these brands account for over 95 per cent of honey market in India.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Bitter-truth-about-honey/Article1-600675.aspx
October 7, 2010
बाळांना विहिरीत सोडण्याची प्रथा बंद
तान्ह्या बाळांना पाळण्यातून खोल विहिरीत सोडण्याची वर्षानुवर्षे सुरू असलेली प्रथा अखेर जिल्हाप्रशासन व ग्रामस्थांशी झालेल्या चर्चेनंतर बंद करण्याचा निर्णय झाला.
मात्र आता विहिरीशेजारीच लहानशी टाकी बांधून त्यातील तीन फूट पाण्यात 'पाण्याचा स्पर्श करण्यासाठी' बाळाला सोडण्याचा तोडगा ग्रामस्थांनी मान्य केला.
http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6706307.cms
मात्र आता विहिरीशेजारीच लहानशी टाकी बांधून त्यातील तीन फूट पाण्यात 'पाण्याचा स्पर्श करण्यासाठी' बाळाला सोडण्याचा तोडगा ग्रामस्थांनी मान्य केला.
http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6706307.cms
Rich Indians & charity
Rich Indians “are more into temple building and things like that,” said Samit Ghosh, the chief executive of Ujjivan Financial, a microlender based in Bangalore, “rather than putting their money into real programs, which will have real impact on poverty alleviation.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/global/06khosla.html?src=me&ref=general
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/global/06khosla.html?src=me&ref=general
At Ninety
A 10 km walk every morning, a steep mountain (Sinhgad-Pune, India) climbing session every Sunday, a trek in the Himalayas twice a year...
...meet Mr Narayan Mahajan, 90, from Pune.
http://www.epapergallery.com/IntelligentPune/1Oct2010/Normal/page15.htm
...meet Mr Narayan Mahajan, 90, from Pune.
http://www.epapergallery.com/IntelligentPune/1Oct2010/Normal/page15.htm
October 6, 2010
The Best Jailhouse Transformation Ever
It was the precinct edition of "Extreme Makeover."
After a Post photographer snapped Rudy Giuliani's dowdy daughter in cuffs outside the cosmetics store she was accused of looting, she asked cops if she could put on a little makeup, sources said.
Four hours and a wardrobe change later, Caroline Giuliani stepped out of a Manhattan station house, her blond hair brushed out, her sleeves stylishly rolled up, ready for her New York cover shoot.
"It will probably go down in history as the best jailhouse transformation ever," said Khalilah Williams-Webb, a celebrity stylist who has outfitted such stars as hoopster Carmelo Anthony.
When cops outfitted her with locking bracelets at an Upper East Side Sephora store, she was wearing a purple T-shirt emblazoned with the letters NYU, for New York University.
But when she emerged from the 19th Precinct lockup with her mother, Donna Hanover, Caroline, a Harvard senior, was wearing a crimson sweatshirt from her Ivy League school with what appears to be a Harvard shirt underneath.
Sources said that after Caroline was processed, she went alone into a women's bathroom on the first floor with a bag that held the sweatshirt and her makeup. She came out 15 minutes later looking like a different person.
After a Post photographer snapped Rudy Giuliani's dowdy daughter in cuffs outside the cosmetics store she was accused of looting, she asked cops if she could put on a little makeup, sources said.
Four hours and a wardrobe change later, Caroline Giuliani stepped out of a Manhattan station house, her blond hair brushed out, her sleeves stylishly rolled up, ready for her New York cover shoot.
"It will probably go down in history as the best jailhouse transformation ever," said Khalilah Williams-Webb, a celebrity stylist who has outfitted such stars as hoopster Carmelo Anthony.
When cops outfitted her with locking bracelets at an Upper East Side Sephora store, she was wearing a purple T-shirt emblazoned with the letters NYU, for New York University.
But when she emerged from the 19th Precinct lockup with her mother, Donna Hanover, Caroline, a Harvard senior, was wearing a crimson sweatshirt from her Ivy League school with what appears to be a Harvard shirt underneath.
Sources said that after Caroline was processed, she went alone into a women's bathroom on the first floor with a bag that held the sweatshirt and her makeup. She came out 15 minutes later looking like a different person.
Last installment from Germany
On Oct 3, 2010, Germany paid the very last installment of the $ 33 billion debt levied by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles for starting WWI.
The fines crippled the German economy at that time.
Adolph Hitler refused to pay reparations during his rule.
Most of the money will be distributed among private individuals and pension funds.
Time, October 11, 2010
Why did they stop levying fines on arrogant countries for starting a war?
The fines crippled the German economy at that time.
Adolph Hitler refused to pay reparations during his rule.
Most of the money will be distributed among private individuals and pension funds.
Time, October 11, 2010
Why did they stop levying fines on arrogant countries for starting a war?
September 15, 2010
Corruption, Poverty, and Violence against Whistleblowers in India
We see in India - as in other currently developing countries - that as the economy grows, so do illicit flows.
This positive correlation exhibits the increased incentives to conduct illicit flows, mostly because more money is flowing within the system to steal away and constant greed is tapping into that pool.
http://www.gfip.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=339
This positive correlation exhibits the increased incentives to conduct illicit flows, mostly because more money is flowing within the system to steal away and constant greed is tapping into that pool.
http://www.gfip.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=339
September 9, 2010
Federer
Federer's bent for dullness and propriety at least allows us to appreciate his gifts without tabloid distractions.
Better, surely, that we can admire the poise and balance of a game that has no equal than dwell on the man's private life, which is, by all accounts, about as exciting as that of any nappy-changing Swiss dad who parts his hair in the middle.
Yet tennis, like the rest of modern sport, has always craved "personalities", and the genteel racket game has had its moments.
Martin Amis, writing in the New Yorker in 1994, made it clear he abhorred the vulgarity of John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors and, to a lesser extent, Andre Agassi.
Those extroverts (he preferred the word assholes) were, he said, the polar opposites of Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Arthur Ashe, whom he described as "dynamic and exemplary figures". Amis reckoned they "didn't need personality because they had character".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/aug/27/roger-federer-us-open
Better, surely, that we can admire the poise and balance of a game that has no equal than dwell on the man's private life, which is, by all accounts, about as exciting as that of any nappy-changing Swiss dad who parts his hair in the middle.
Yet tennis, like the rest of modern sport, has always craved "personalities", and the genteel racket game has had its moments.
Martin Amis, writing in the New Yorker in 1994, made it clear he abhorred the vulgarity of John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors and, to a lesser extent, Andre Agassi.
Those extroverts (he preferred the word assholes) were, he said, the polar opposites of Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Arthur Ashe, whom he described as "dynamic and exemplary figures". Amis reckoned they "didn't need personality because they had character".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/aug/27/roger-federer-us-open
Fending Off the Weeds With Newsprint
First the grass is mowed, then the newspaper pages are placed there (four seems about right). The pages are wetted, so the roots can burst through. Compost tops it off.
“Just make a hole in the newspaper big enough to plug in the plant,” he said. “But don’t excavate a wide hole, because you would be exposing more underlying soil where there are going to be weeds.”http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/garden/09garden.html
September 4, 2010
Why God Did Not Create the Universe
Why God Did Not Create the Universe
There is a sound scientific explanation for the making of our world—no gods required.
Ignorance of nature's ways led people in ancient times to postulate many myths in an effort to make sense of their world.
But eventually, people turned to philosophy, that is, to the use of reason—with a good dose of intuition—to decipher their universe.
Today we use reason, mathematics and experimental test—in other words, modern science
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467921609024244.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fxml%2Frss%2F3_7011+%28WSJ.com%3A+What%27s+News+US%29
There is a sound scientific explanation for the making of our world—no gods required.
Ignorance of nature's ways led people in ancient times to postulate many myths in an effort to make sense of their world.
But eventually, people turned to philosophy, that is, to the use of reason—with a good dose of intuition—to decipher their universe.
Today we use reason, mathematics and experimental test—in other words, modern science
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467921609024244.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fxml%2Frss%2F3_7011+%28WSJ.com%3A+What%27s+News+US%29
September 2, 2010
Panditji on weekends
Dakshina (donation) for Astrology services expected is $61/Hour. You can mail check in the name of "Pt. Xxx xxx towards the Dakshina to my home address "1234, xxx Drive, xxx, CA"
http://www.panditjiusa.com/about_panditji.htm
http://www.panditjiusa.com/about_panditji.htm
Men’s Cosmetics Becoming a Bull Market
“At one point I just started buying stuff for him because I don’t want him stealing mine,” Ms. Bain said.
Now she orders products online for him at Menaji.com, which bills itself as a “masculine” and “undetectable” line of cosmetics and skin-care products.
His favorites are an eye gel and stick concealer that target dark circles, and an anti-shine powder that comes (shhh!) in a compact.
“When you looked at him you wouldn’t think he’d have his own supply of men’s skin-care products in the cabinet,” said Ms. Bain, 40, a fashion buyer for Lane Bryant Outlets.
“He’s got a short, military haircut — and he’s very butch.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/fashion/02skin.html
Now she orders products online for him at Menaji.com, which bills itself as a “masculine” and “undetectable” line of cosmetics and skin-care products.
His favorites are an eye gel and stick concealer that target dark circles, and an anti-shine powder that comes (shhh!) in a compact.
“When you looked at him you wouldn’t think he’d have his own supply of men’s skin-care products in the cabinet,” said Ms. Bain, 40, a fashion buyer for Lane Bryant Outlets.
“He’s got a short, military haircut — and he’s very butch.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/fashion/02skin.html
Roger Ebert
It’s not that you can’t find a million things to discuss.
Mr. Ebert, 68, has reviewed movies for more than four decades.
He’s driven around with Robert Mitchum while the actor got stoned and lost on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
He once owned a 1957 Studebaker and still owns a Pulitzer Prize.
The thing is, he doesn’t eat and he doesn’t talk.
Or rather, he can’t eat and he can’t talk.
He hasn’t for four years, ever since cancer took his lower jaw, and three attempts to rebuild his face and his voice failed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/dining/01ebert.html?src=me&ref=general
Mr. Ebert, 68, has reviewed movies for more than four decades.
He’s driven around with Robert Mitchum while the actor got stoned and lost on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
He once owned a 1957 Studebaker and still owns a Pulitzer Prize.
The thing is, he doesn’t eat and he doesn’t talk.
Or rather, he can’t eat and he can’t talk.
He hasn’t for four years, ever since cancer took his lower jaw, and three attempts to rebuild his face and his voice failed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/dining/01ebert.html?src=me&ref=general
August 18, 2010
What New New Yorkers Need to Know
“1) Walk around your neighborhood until you get tired.” … “2) Treat yourself to a good local dinner that’s not delivery.” … “3) Take pictures.”
http://www.noisiestpassenger.com/
http://www.noisiestpassenger.com/
August 7, 2010
July 30, 2010
The ethics of being a adventurer when you’ve got kids at home
This year, 513 climbers have trooped to the summit of Everest, but it has also claimed four lives.
All told, more than a dozen have died in the high Himalayas.
Without the broader importance of men and women extending the boundaries for all mankind, the climbers of today ... seem to be performing a more selfish, or at least a more personal act.
Yet the families carry a burden just the same.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/weekinreview/25bowley.html?ref=weekinreview
All told, more than a dozen have died in the high Himalayas.
Without the broader importance of men and women extending the boundaries for all mankind, the climbers of today ... seem to be performing a more selfish, or at least a more personal act.
Yet the families carry a burden just the same.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/weekinreview/25bowley.html?ref=weekinreview
Monitoring Mom and Dad
IN the wee hours of July 14, Elizabeth Roach, a 70-year-old widow, got out of bed ...went to the kitchen, plugged in the coffee pot, showered and took her weight and blood pressure.
She opened her medicine cabinet at 12:21 and closed it at 12:22.
All this information — including her exact weight (126 pounds) and blood pressure reading (139/98) — was transmitted via the Internet to her 44-year-old son, Michael Murdock, who reviewed it from his home office in suburban Denver.
In the general scheme of life, parents are the ones who keep tabs on the children. But now, a raft of new technology is making it possible for adult children to monitor to a stunningly precise degree the daily movements and habits of their aging parents.
In the general scheme of life, parents are the ones who keep tabs on the children. But now, a raft of new technology is making it possible for adult children to monitor to a stunningly precise degree the daily movements and habits of their aging parents.
July 29, 2010
Should I be scared?
ABOUT NEW YORK: Picture This, and Risk Arrest
One afternoon, Duane P. Kerzic was arrested by the Amtrak police while taking pictures of a train pulling into Pennsylvania Station.
At first, the police asked him to delete the images from his camera, but he refused.
He ended up handcuffed to the wall of a holding cell while an officer wrote a ticket for trespassing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/nyregion/28about.html
One afternoon, Duane P. Kerzic was arrested by the Amtrak police while taking pictures of a train pulling into Pennsylvania Station.
At first, the police asked him to delete the images from his camera, but he refused.
He ended up handcuffed to the wall of a holding cell while an officer wrote a ticket for trespassing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/nyregion/28about.html
July 28, 2010
A Beloved Bollywood Extra Draws Indians
Vishal and Jagruti Purohit had traveled here from Mumbai, India, on their honeymoon, but they had a greater mission: to find the small village church that provided the backdrop for a scene in their favorite movie, a 1995 Bollywood blockbuster called “The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/world/europe/12swiss.html?_r=2
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/world/europe/12swiss.html?_r=2
July 27, 2010
LETTING GO
What should medicine do when it can’t save your life?
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all
July 24, 2010
Don’t Write Off Men Just Yet
“What if the modern, postindustrial economy is simply more congenial to women than to men?” Ms. Rosin asked.
She adds: “The postindustrial economy is indifferent to men’s size and strength.
The attributes that are most valuable today — social intelligence, open communication, the ability to sit still and focus — are, at a minimum, not predominately male.
In fact, the opposite may be true.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/opinion/22kristof.html?src=me&ref=general
She adds: “The postindustrial economy is indifferent to men’s size and strength.
The attributes that are most valuable today — social intelligence, open communication, the ability to sit still and focus — are, at a minimum, not predominately male.
In fact, the opposite may be true.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/opinion/22kristof.html?src=me&ref=general
July 23, 2010
Shoppers on a ‘Diet’ Tame the Urge to Buy
...“It’s taken about 10 to 20 years to build up the idea that nothing is good unless it is new,” ...
Ms. Brennan... spoke of a rack of clothes in the back of her closet that still had the tags on them, and clothes that she has not worn in 15 years but that she cannot stand to part with, and her 72 pairs of “active” shoes (meaning those that she actively wears, not the ones still in the boxes), and a closet full of clothes for her 3-year-old daughter, and, lest she forget, a wardrobe of clothes for her dog.
Ms. Brennan... spoke of a rack of clothes in the back of her closet that still had the tags on them, and clothes that she has not worn in 15 years but that she cannot stand to part with, and her 72 pairs of “active” shoes (meaning those that she actively wears, not the ones still in the boxes), and a closet full of clothes for her 3-year-old daughter, and, lest she forget, a wardrobe of clothes for her dog.
“My daughter doesn’t care what she wears, and I’m turning her into a monster,” Ms. Brennan said. “We’re ruining the next generation of girls with fashion.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/fashion/22SIXERS.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/fashion/22SIXERS.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage
July 22, 2010
A tattoed palm
Courtesy: the New York Times
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July 18, 2010
One Bride for 2 Brothers: A Custom Fades in India
Sukh Dayal Bhagsen, 60, is from the neighboring village of Tholang.
As a young man he joined his elder brother’s marriage to a woman named Prem Dasi.
It was never discussed, but always assumed, that he would do this when he reached marriageable age, he said.
“If you marry a different woman, then there are more chances of family disputes,” Mr. Bhagsen said. “Family property is divided, and problems arise.”
Three brothers married Ms. Dasi, who bore five Children.
www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/world/asia/17polyandry.html?src=me&ref=general
As a young man he joined his elder brother’s marriage to a woman named Prem Dasi.
It was never discussed, but always assumed, that he would do this when he reached marriageable age, he said.
“If you marry a different woman, then there are more chances of family disputes,” Mr. Bhagsen said. “Family property is divided, and problems arise.”
Three brothers married Ms. Dasi, who bore five Children.
www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/world/asia/17polyandry.html?src=me&ref=general
July 15, 2010
Dalai Lama
"Have you ever tried on a pair of trousers?"
When it's very, very cold. And particularly in 1969, when I escaped, I wore trousers, like laypeople dressed. So I have experience.
... In an interview, Time, June 14, 2010
When it's very, very cold. And particularly in 1969, when I escaped, I wore trousers, like laypeople dressed. So I have experience.
... In an interview, Time, June 14, 2010
July 14, 2010
House Fans and Mosquitoes
Studies have found that wind is an effective method against mosquitoes and other airborne pests.
The reason seems obvious: it prevents them from circling and landing on you, like a windstorm keeping a plane from its descent.
But that is not entirely the case.
A fan dilutes and disperses the carbon dioxide you exhale.
Carbon dioxide is one of the major chemicals that attract mosquitoes. T
he wind from a fan also cools you off. Sweat, lactic acid and body heat attract mosquitoes — factors that a fan can help minimize.
Accepting That Good Parents May Plant Bad Seeds
... maybe this young man was just not a nice person.
For years, mental health professionals were trained to see children as mere products of their environment who were intrinsically good until influenced otherwise; where there is chronic bad behavior, there must be a bad parent behind it.
But while I do not mean to let bad parents off the hook — sadly, there are all too many of them, from malignant to merely apathetic — the fact remains that perfectly decent parents can produce toxic children.
We marvel at the resilient child who survives the most toxic parents and home environment and goes on to a life of success.
Yet the converse — the notion that some children might be the bad seeds of more or less decent parents — is hard to take.
Not everyone is going to turn out to be brilliant — any more than everyone will turn out nice and loving.
And that is not necessarily because of parental failure or an impoverished environment.
It is because everyday character traits, like all human behavior, have hard-wired and genetic components that cannot be molded entirely by the best environment, let alone the best psychotherapists.
July 13, 2010
Strange mothering
... His mother, Pam Kohler, has urged her son to continue to flee and fretted publicly that she hoped he would be more careful about the planes he stole — preferably avoiding single-engine aircraft.
She has told reporters that she hoped he would flee to a country that does not allow for extradition to the United States.
July 12, 2010
iPhone apps: The hottest course on campus
In most college classes, you get yelled at if you play with your cellphone.
At the University of Maryland this semester, you're in trouble if you don't.
At the University of Maryland this semester, you're in trouble if you don't.
That's because the school now dedicates an entire computer science course to iPhone programming.
The University of Maryland is one of several schools teaching apps technology.
Stanford has had oversubscribed courses since last year.
Once upon a time, if you were a computer major, you learned to program mainframes and then PCs; you aspired to be the next Bill Gates, developing code that might revolutionize an industry.
Now a single-purpose app, like a silly program that fogs up the screen like a bathroom mirror, can net the author a fortune.
Such gold rush possibilities make iPhone development a very enticing academic offering.
American made ... Chinese owned
On the outskirts of Spartanburg, S.C., USA, is a brand-new factory: the state-of-the-art American Yuncheng Gravure Cylinder plant.
Unlike its neighbors in Spartanburg, Yuncheng is a Chinese company.
It has come to South Carolina because by Chinese standards, America is darn cheap.
It has come to South Carolina because by Chinese standards, America is darn cheap.
Yes, you read that right.
The land Yuncheng purchased in Spartanburg, at $350,000 for 6.5 acres, cost one-fourth the price of land back in Shanghai or Dongguan, a gritty city near Hong Kong where the company already runs three plants.
The land Yuncheng purchased in Spartanburg, at $350,000 for 6.5 acres, cost one-fourth the price of land back in Shanghai or Dongguan, a gritty city near Hong Kong where the company already runs three plants.
Electricity is cheaper too: Yungcheng pays up to 14¢ per kilowatt-hour in China at peak usage, and just 4¢ in South Carolina.
For hundreds of Chinese companies like Yuncheng, the U.S. has become a better, less expensive place to set up shop.
Today some 33 American states, ports, and municipalities have sent representatives like Ling to China to lure jobs once lost to China back to the U.S.: Besides affordable land and reliable power, states and cities are offering tax credits and other incentives to woo Chinese manufacturers.
Beijing, meanwhile, which has mandated that Chinese companies globalize by expanding to key markets around the world, is chipping in by offering to finance up to 30% of the initial investment costs.
July 10, 2010
Time & Joel Stein apologize for racist article on Edison
And, some reactions...
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kal-penn/the-hilarious-xenophobia_b_634264.html
- http://www.race-talk.org/?p=5025
- http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/06/post-17.html
- http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/06/29/indians-unamused-by-times-edison/
- http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/scocca/archive/2010/07/06/joel-stein-s-immigrant-problem.aspx
- http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/actor-kal-penn-forces-time-magazine-to-apologize-for-racist-article-201087
- http://twitter.com/thejoelstein
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/01/indians-shocked-offended_n_632483.html
- http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/07/kal_penn_gives.php
- http://twitter.com/ishaantharoor/status/17320570043
July 9, 2010
Cary in the Sky with Diamonds
THE ELECTRIC BEVERLY HILLS
Before Timothy Leary and the Beatles, LSD was largely unknown and unregulated.
But in the 1950s, as many as 100 Hollywood luminaries—Cary Grant and Esther Williams among them—began taking the drug as part of psychotherapy.
With LSD research beginning a comeback, the authors recount how two Beverly Hills doctors promoted a new “wonder drug,” at $100 a session, profoundly altering the lives of their glamorous patients, Balaban included.
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2010/08/drugs-in-hollywood-201008
Me and Mrs. Palin
When his (pregnant) girlfriend’s mom ran for vice president and he was thrust into the national spotlight, Levi Johnston found his life spinning out of control.
In an exclusive look back, the author tells editors at Vanity Fair about everyday life chez Palin—where the kids are in charge, Dad is threatening divorce, and Sarah the moose-hunting, stew-cooking hockey mom of legend is nowhere to be found.
He also offers some eye-opening scenes from the campaign trail and the birth of his and Bristol’s baby.
'मधू'ची मटार उसळ
टिळक रस्त्यावर एसपी कॉलेज पोस्ट ऑफिसजवळ मधूचा स्टॉल आहे. मधू प्रभाकर शानभाग, असं त्याचं नाव. कोकणी माणसाच्या हाताला किती चव असते, हे मधूकडे मिळणारे पदार्थ खाल्ल्यावर कळतं. आठवड्यातून दोन दिवस मधूकडं मटार उसळ मिळते, मंगळवारी आणि शुक्रवारी.
मधूच्या स्टॉलचं वैशिष्टय म्हणजे रोज बदलता मेन्यू. न्याहारीसाठी रोज एकच पदार्थ खाऊन कोणी कंटाळू नये, म्हणून त्यानं डोकं लढवून रोज बदलता मेन्यू ठेवलाय. सोमवार, गुरुवार आणि शनिवार इडली, उडीद वडा सांबार-चटणी, खिचडी काकडी, उपवास भेळ असा मेन्यू असतो. बुधवार आणि रविवार मिसळ आणि भजी तर मंगळवार आणि शुक्रवार आधी म्हटल्याप्रमाणं मटार उसळ, भजी आणि अननस शिरा. आठवडाभर पोहे मिळतातच. मधूकडे मिळणाऱया पोह्यांवर सॅम्पल किंबा सांबार टाकून दिलं जातं. त्यामुळं कांदा पोह्याला वेगळीच चव लागते. अननस शिरा ही देखील मधूची खासियत. पल्प न वापरता ताजा अननस वापरून हा शिरा केला जातो. साध्या तुपात केलेला हा मऊसूत शिरा खायला मधुर लागतो. उन्हाळ्याच्या दिवसांत आब्यांचा शिरा केला जातो.
http://72.78.249.124/esakal/20100705/5470340725089418295.htm
मधूच्या स्टॉलचं वैशिष्टय म्हणजे रोज बदलता मेन्यू. न्याहारीसाठी रोज एकच पदार्थ खाऊन कोणी कंटाळू नये, म्हणून त्यानं डोकं लढवून रोज बदलता मेन्यू ठेवलाय. सोमवार, गुरुवार आणि शनिवार इडली, उडीद वडा सांबार-चटणी, खिचडी काकडी, उपवास भेळ असा मेन्यू असतो. बुधवार आणि रविवार मिसळ आणि भजी तर मंगळवार आणि शुक्रवार आधी म्हटल्याप्रमाणं मटार उसळ, भजी आणि अननस शिरा. आठवडाभर पोहे मिळतातच. मधूकडे मिळणाऱया पोह्यांवर सॅम्पल किंबा सांबार टाकून दिलं जातं. त्यामुळं कांदा पोह्याला वेगळीच चव लागते. अननस शिरा ही देखील मधूची खासियत. पल्प न वापरता ताजा अननस वापरून हा शिरा केला जातो. साध्या तुपात केलेला हा मऊसूत शिरा खायला मधुर लागतो. उन्हाळ्याच्या दिवसांत आब्यांचा शिरा केला जातो.
http://72.78.249.124/esakal/20100705/5470340725089418295.htm
Only in (rural) India
वार्धक्याने चालू न शकणाऱ्या आईला (वय 106 वर्षे) विठ्ठलाच्या ओढीची आस लागल्याने शिरवळ (जि. सातारा) येथील शिवाजी जावळीकर यांनी खांद्यांवर बसवून गुरुवारी दिवे घाटातून सासवड येथे आणले.
गेली सहा वर्षे ते आईला वारी घडवत आहेत.
July 8, 2010
Parenting: The Case for Keeping Out
Mine is famously a generation of worrisome and worrying parents, fearful for our children's futures and so obsessed with safety that we soak them in antibacterial soaps from birth.
We seat-belt and helmet them, childproof and V-chip them, buy whole-grain cupcakes and hypoallergenic sheets and instruct them in stranger danger.
Except now we know that our obsessions may have made them more vulnerable, that a little dirt is a good thing, that kids may be developing more allergies because we've raised them too clean.
They get older and smarter and restless and start poking around in the wider world.
And now the challenge to us is both technological and philosophical.
In how many ways can we continue to watch over them?
July 6, 2010
Salt in Detroit
A giant salt mine tunnel
In 1906, a group of investors formed the Detroit Salt Co., which today manages some 5 miles of tunnels beneath the city.
Typically, miners work nearly 1,200 ft. beneath the city, in 10-hour shifts, using a machine called a continuous miner to scrape salt off the walls into bins.
The salt is hauled away for processing and sold to local governments for snow removal.
Salt isn't a high-profit industry.
But history and faith link it to good luck, something this city could always use.
Typically, miners work nearly 1,200 ft. beneath the city, in 10-hour shifts, using a machine called a continuous miner to scrape salt off the walls into bins.
The salt is hauled away for processing and sold to local governments for snow removal.
Salt isn't a high-profit industry.
But history and faith link it to good luck, something this city could always use.
At 11, Turning a Love of Animals Into a Job
"If I feed a cat once a day, and change the litter and do fresh water, it’s $8. If they want me to do it twice a day, the same thing, it’s $6 for each visit. For dogs, for a 15-minute walk, it’s $8."
Sean Dewhurst, 11, a New York City pet-sitter, will enter sixth grade in the fall, at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights.
He started a dog-walking and cat-sitting service last year in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he lives with his parents, his three siblings and his cat, Jackie Robinson. Sean has earned $750 so far.
June 28, 2010
Remember Jaspal Bhatti & his Corrupt Party?
“No one has to be afraid of the Best Party, because it is the best party. If it wasn’t, it would be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party. We would never work with a party like that.”
Iceland's Best Party, founded in December by a comedian, Jon Gnarr, to satirize his country’s political system, ran a campaign that was one big joke.
Last month, in the depressed aftermath of the country’s financial collapse, the Best Party emerged as the biggest winner in Reykjavik’s elections, with 34.7 percent of the vote.
And Jon Gnarr actually is the Mayor of Reykjavic.
With his party having won 6 of the City Council’s 15 seats, Mr. Gnarr needed a coalition partner, but ruled out any party whose members had not seen all five seasons of “The Wire.”
June 27, 2010
My Own Private India
June 21, 2010
Father's Day
My father, an Armenian, was born in a country that no longer exists, Austria-Hungary, in a way of life that no longer exists.
The family was in the nobility, living on an estate of thousands of acres — and then came World War II.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/opinion/20kristof.html
The family was in the nobility, living on an estate of thousands of acres — and then came World War II.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/opinion/20kristof.html
June 14, 2010
Classified ads again
1. Less about real estate, more about the agent himself
2. Precise use of words...Puneite's command over Marathi...खमक्या, नोकरीतला रुबाब!
June 13, 2010
The King and Us
When I first told my son Ferran that the 17-year-old king of Tibet would be staying with our family for a week, he raised a 14-year-old eyebrow and said, “I hope he’s not expecting me to serve him.” My 17-year-old son, Alex, was more generous. “I think I should give the king my bed,” he said, wondering aloud if the king, who had been living in a Tibetan refugee settlement in India, would require security.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/nyregion/13king.html?ref=nyregion
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/nyregion/13king.html?ref=nyregion
OCR तंत्राच्या प्रतीक्षेत मराठी
जगात ३० कोटी लोकांना ओसीआरची प्रतिक्षा
OCR म्हणजे ऑप्टिकल कॅरॅक्टर रेकग्नीशन
संस्कृत, मराठी आणि हिंदी या भाषांतील सर्व अक्षरे (काही अपवाद वगळता) बहुतांशी सारखी आहेत.
मराठीतला ओसीआर अडकून पडला आणि हिंदीसाठी किंवा देवनागरीसाठी मात्र तो तयार झाला तरी तांत्रिक उसनवारी करून मराठीतलं ओसीआरचं काम होणं शक्य आहे.
मात्र मराठी आणि हिंदी दोन्हींसाठी किंवा एकूण देवनागरीसाठी वापरण्यास सोयीचे व स्वीकारार्ह असे ओसीआर सॉफ्टवेअर आज तरी शोधूनही सापडत नाही. मात्र आजही त्यातल्या बिनचूकपणाच्या मर्यादांमुळे त्याचा वापर वाढलेला दिसत नाही.
आजच्या घडीला अमेरिकेत न्युयॉर्कच्या बफेलो विद्यापीठात देवनागरी ओसीआरसाठी सातत्याने संशोधन करणारे एक स्वतंत्र केंद्र (Center of Excellence for Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR) आहे. त्याची माहिती जिज्ञासूंना http://www.cedar.buffalo.edu/script/Doverview.html या संकेतस्थळावरून घेता येईल.
भारताबाहेर देवनागरी ओसीआरसाठी काम करणाऱ्या बफेलो विद्यापीठासारख्या इतरही काही संस्था व व्यक्ती आहेत.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100305/my-marathi03.htm
OCR म्हणजे ऑप्टिकल कॅरॅक्टर रेकग्नीशन
संस्कृत, मराठी आणि हिंदी या भाषांतील सर्व अक्षरे (काही अपवाद वगळता) बहुतांशी सारखी आहेत.
मराठीतला ओसीआर अडकून पडला आणि हिंदीसाठी किंवा देवनागरीसाठी मात्र तो तयार झाला तरी तांत्रिक उसनवारी करून मराठीतलं ओसीआरचं काम होणं शक्य आहे.
मात्र मराठी आणि हिंदी दोन्हींसाठी किंवा एकूण देवनागरीसाठी वापरण्यास सोयीचे व स्वीकारार्ह असे ओसीआर सॉफ्टवेअर आज तरी शोधूनही सापडत नाही. मात्र आजही त्यातल्या बिनचूकपणाच्या मर्यादांमुळे त्याचा वापर वाढलेला दिसत नाही.
आजच्या घडीला अमेरिकेत न्युयॉर्कच्या बफेलो विद्यापीठात देवनागरी ओसीआरसाठी सातत्याने संशोधन करणारे एक स्वतंत्र केंद्र (Center of Excellence for Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR) आहे. त्याची माहिती जिज्ञासूंना http://www.cedar.buffalo.edu/script/Doverview.html या संकेतस्थळावरून घेता येईल.
भारताबाहेर देवनागरी ओसीआरसाठी काम करणाऱ्या बफेलो विद्यापीठासारख्या इतरही काही संस्था व व्यक्ती आहेत.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100305/my-marathi03.htm
८७ वर्षांचा एव्हरग्रीन देव आनंद
द्वारकानाथ संझगिरी
देव आनंद ह्या माणसाला चांगलं काही मिळालं की मला आनंद होतो.
त्याला गेल्या कित्येक वर्षांत व्यावसायिक यश मिळालं नाही. हे त्याचं कारण असू शकेल.
त्यामुळे ज्या माणसाने मला आयुष्यभर आनंद वाटला, त्याला आनंद झाला की मला आनंद होतो.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100507/cover.htm
शिरीष कणेकर
आमची अख्खी पिढीच देव आनंदची छुपी फॅन होती. मनातल्या मनात देव आनंद बनून आम्ही नूतनवर प्रेम केलं होतं. ‘हैं अपना दिल तो आवारा’ असं ट्रेनमध्ये वहिदा रहेमानला उद्देशून म्हणालो होतो. पडद्यावरच्या नायिकांशी प्रणयाराधन करण्याचं स्वप्न आम्ही रंगवू शकलो. कारण देव आनंदमध्ये आम्ही स्वत:ला पाहात होतो. त्यानं आमच्या स्वप्नांना पंख दिले. मनाला उभारी दिली. जगण्याला आसक्ती दिली.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100507/metkut.htm
देव आनंद ह्या माणसाला चांगलं काही मिळालं की मला आनंद होतो.
त्याला गेल्या कित्येक वर्षांत व्यावसायिक यश मिळालं नाही. हे त्याचं कारण असू शकेल.
त्यामुळे ज्या माणसाने मला आयुष्यभर आनंद वाटला, त्याला आनंद झाला की मला आनंद होतो.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100507/cover.htm
शिरीष कणेकर
आमची अख्खी पिढीच देव आनंदची छुपी फॅन होती. मनातल्या मनात देव आनंद बनून आम्ही नूतनवर प्रेम केलं होतं. ‘हैं अपना दिल तो आवारा’ असं ट्रेनमध्ये वहिदा रहेमानला उद्देशून म्हणालो होतो. पडद्यावरच्या नायिकांशी प्रणयाराधन करण्याचं स्वप्न आम्ही रंगवू शकलो. कारण देव आनंदमध्ये आम्ही स्वत:ला पाहात होतो. त्यानं आमच्या स्वप्नांना पंख दिले. मनाला उभारी दिली. जगण्याला आसक्ती दिली.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100507/metkut.htm
लोणार सरोवर
लोणार सरोवर जागतिक वारसा म्हणून घोषित व्हावा यासाठी महाराष्ट्र शासनाने आर्थिक तरतुदींसह घोषणा केली आहे.
लोणार सरोवराच्या परिसरात वनस्पती, पुरातत्व, जैवविज्ञान, पर्यावरण, भौगोलिक, खगोलशास्त्रीय आणि सांस्कृतिक स्वरूपाची कितीतरी आश्चर्ये आपल्याला खुणावतात. हजारो वर्षांची उपेक्षा पचविणाऱ्या या सरोवराचं नाव चंद्रावर असलेल्या अवशेषांशी असलेल्या साधम्र्यामुळे अचानक जगासमोर आलंय.
पण लोणार सरोवर नक्की कोठे आहे , आणि त्याला अचानक जागतिक वारशाचा दर्जा देण्याची शिफारस करण्याचे प्रयोजन काय हेही कित्येकांना माहीत नाही.
काही निवडक खगोलप्रेमींना जरी लोणार हे वितानतीर्थ वाटत असले तरी सामान्यांपर्यंत लोणारची महती पोहोचलेली नाही.
जागतिक दर्जाचा हा नैसर्गिक ठेवा आपल्या महाराष्ट्रात बुलढाणा जिल्ह्यत आहे, पण खुद्द बुलढाणा आणि लोणार सरोवरातल्या परिसरात राहणाऱ्या बहुसंख्य लोकांना आजही त्याचे महत्त्व माहीत नाही.
५० हजार वर्षांपूर्वीचा हा अमूर्त जागतिक आश्चर्याचा ठेवा उपेक्षा सोसूनही विश्वाला खुणावतो आहे.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100528/vidnyan.htm
लोणार सरोवराच्या परिसरात वनस्पती, पुरातत्व, जैवविज्ञान, पर्यावरण, भौगोलिक, खगोलशास्त्रीय आणि सांस्कृतिक स्वरूपाची कितीतरी आश्चर्ये आपल्याला खुणावतात. हजारो वर्षांची उपेक्षा पचविणाऱ्या या सरोवराचं नाव चंद्रावर असलेल्या अवशेषांशी असलेल्या साधम्र्यामुळे अचानक जगासमोर आलंय.
पण लोणार सरोवर नक्की कोठे आहे , आणि त्याला अचानक जागतिक वारशाचा दर्जा देण्याची शिफारस करण्याचे प्रयोजन काय हेही कित्येकांना माहीत नाही.
काही निवडक खगोलप्रेमींना जरी लोणार हे वितानतीर्थ वाटत असले तरी सामान्यांपर्यंत लोणारची महती पोहोचलेली नाही.
जागतिक दर्जाचा हा नैसर्गिक ठेवा आपल्या महाराष्ट्रात बुलढाणा जिल्ह्यत आहे, पण खुद्द बुलढाणा आणि लोणार सरोवरातल्या परिसरात राहणाऱ्या बहुसंख्य लोकांना आजही त्याचे महत्त्व माहीत नाही.
५० हजार वर्षांपूर्वीचा हा अमूर्त जागतिक आश्चर्याचा ठेवा उपेक्षा सोसूनही विश्वाला खुणावतो आहे.
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20100528/vidnyan.htm
सभ्य स्त्री-पुरुषहो
पुण्यातील आचार्य अत्रे सभागृहाचे उद्घाटन प्रसंगी, संयोजकांकडे चिठ्ठय़ा धाडून, प्रेक्षकांमध्ये बसलेल्या श्री. पु. ल. देशपांडे यांना बोलण्याचा आग्रह केला.
ऐनवेळी पुलंनी केलेले हे भाषण ध्वनिमुद्रित करण्यात आले होते.
हे अप्रकाशित राहिलेले भाषण पुलंच्या दहाव्या स्मृतिदिनानिमित्त (१२ जून ) दै. लोकसत्ताने छापले आहे.
"मी एकदा म्हटलं होतं की, अत्र्यांना त्यांच्या मास्तरांनी ‘बे एके बे’ हा पाढा न शिकवता ‘दोन हजार एके दोन हजार’, ‘दोन हजार दुणे चार हजार’ हाच पाढा शिकवला असावा. आम्हाला म्युनिसिपालिटीच्या शाळेतल्या मास्तरांना दोन म्हणतानासुद्धा आपण जास्त सांगतोय, असं वाटतं. अत्र्यांना कोण ते सासवडचे गुरुजी मिळाले कुणास ठाऊक?"
http://www.loksatta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77194:2010-06-11-10-22-10&catid=104:2009-08-05-07-53-42&Itemid=117
ऐनवेळी पुलंनी केलेले हे भाषण ध्वनिमुद्रित करण्यात आले होते.
हे अप्रकाशित राहिलेले भाषण पुलंच्या दहाव्या स्मृतिदिनानिमित्त (१२ जून ) दै. लोकसत्ताने छापले आहे.
"मी एकदा म्हटलं होतं की, अत्र्यांना त्यांच्या मास्तरांनी ‘बे एके बे’ हा पाढा न शिकवता ‘दोन हजार एके दोन हजार’, ‘दोन हजार दुणे चार हजार’ हाच पाढा शिकवला असावा. आम्हाला म्युनिसिपालिटीच्या शाळेतल्या मास्तरांना दोन म्हणतानासुद्धा आपण जास्त सांगतोय, असं वाटतं. अत्र्यांना कोण ते सासवडचे गुरुजी मिळाले कुणास ठाऊक?"
http://www.loksatta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77194:2010-06-11-10-22-10&catid=104:2009-08-05-07-53-42&Itemid=117
Every Breath A Stranglehold
Bhopal’s night of December 2, 1984, recounted by a foreteller
I was then a resident of old Bhopal, just a couple of kilometres from the Union Carbide plant.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265777
I was then a resident of old Bhopal, just a couple of kilometres from the Union Carbide plant.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265777
Shivaji Park, Mumbai
Who moved my ground?
That is the question Maharashtra politicos are asking about their favourite haunt in Mumbai—the 28-acre Shivaji Park.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265496
That is the question Maharashtra politicos are asking about their favourite haunt in Mumbai—the 28-acre Shivaji Park.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265496
Random sampling of cops in news
1. . Women cops slap a two-wheeler riding girl on Jangli Maharaj road, Pune, charging that she had jumped the signal.
Times of India, 11 June, 10.
2.New Delhi: A 30-year-old woman has alleged that cops at a west Delhi police post forced her to strip in the presence of her 12-year-old son and demanded that she had sex with her own minor son, all because the boy had been accused of stealing money from a car.
“After confining us to one room, one of the constables took my husband and younger son out of the room and locked it from inside.
When my elder son and I denied the charge, a constable allegedly asked the woman to strip.
When my elder son and I denied the charge, a constable allegedly asked the woman to strip.
“When I refused, the constable started beating me with his lathi and forced me to take my clothes off,” said Mayuri. One of the cops asked me to have sex with my son.
Both of us started crying and I begged them to let us go. Then one of the constables asked me to have sex with him instead.
We begged for our life. Finally, after about one or two hours, they released us,” she said.
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIPU/2010/06/10&PageLabel=11&EntityId=Ar01102&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIPU/2010/06/10&PageLabel=11&EntityId=Ar01102&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T
June 12, 2010
A single norm for India’s many ‘panchangs’?
The Karveer peeth Shankaracharya was getting requests from Maharashtrians abroad, asking if they could solemnise weddings during chaturmaas, the four monsoon months when muhurats aren’t given.
It’s time to revisit the unofficial ban on muhurats during this period.
The chaturmaas concept was relevant in agrarian societies without modern systems of transport and communication.
People had to tend to their fields, they could not travel by foot from one village to another in rain for weddings...these reasons aren’t valid now.
We need to iron out such concepts and revisit almanac-making for our times.
Muhurats for weddings and other auspicious occasions may be fixed during the so-called inauspicious monsoon months, and certain all-India festivals may fall on the same date in a year, instead of regional variations that now confuse people.
Necessity, in this case, is the mother of reinvention.
Hindu almanacs, popularly called panchangs across the country, are headed for fundamental changes, with the baby steps taken by a reformist group in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
In time to come, there may be uniformity or at least agreement on certain almanac notings among the 40-odd almanac-makers in the country.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265668
In time to come, there may be uniformity or at least agreement on certain almanac notings among the 40-odd almanac-makers in the country.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265668
June 11, 2010
June 10, 2010
"जर इथं कुठं माझी विवेकबुद्धी हजर असेल, तर तिनं कृपया माईकजवळ यावं..."
अवधूत परळकरांची ओळ, कविता महाजनांच्या 'भिन्न' पुस्तकाच्या सुरुवातीला, एका स्वतंत्र पानावर उद्धृत.
June 9, 2010
सर्व लाईन व्य़स्त आहेत
माझी आई इचकरंजीजवळच्या लाट नावाच्या खेडय़ात राहते.
तिचा नवीन पासपोर्ट बनवायचा होता.
तिचा फॉर्म वगैरे भरून माझ्या भावाने पासपोर्ट कार्यालयात जमा केला.
माझ्या आईला लिहिता-वाचता येत नाही. शिवाय तिचे वय अठ्ठय़ाहत्तरच्या आसपास आहे.
तिचे रेशनकार्डावर नाव आहे. तिचे मतदारयादीत नाव आहे, तिचे परिचयपत्रही आहे. नियमाप्रमाणे तिची पोलीस तपासणी होणे पासपोर्टसाठी गरजेचे आहे.
माझ्या गावापासून जवळचे पोलीस स्टेशन आठ-दहा किलोमीटरवर आहे. पोलिसांनी अर्जदाराच्या घरी जाऊन ओळख पटवून आपला अहवाल पाठवायचा असतो. अनेकदा चौकशी करूनही काम होत नव्हते.
मी भावाला विचारले. तो म्हणाला, ‘दोन साक्षीदारांसह आईने पोलीस स्टेशनमध्ये जाणे गरजेचे आहे, तसा ‘आदेश’ आहे.’
माझी आई यापूर्वी माझ्याकडे जपानला आली होती, रशियाला आली होती. आता तिने मालदीवला यावे अशी माझी इच्छा आहे.
लिहिता-वाचता न येणाऱ्या आईचा मुलगा देशाचा उच्चायुक्त होतो यात मला माझ्या पराक्रमापेक्षा भारतीय लोकशाही यंत्रणेचा आणि या यंत्रणेतील सामान्यातील सामान्याला मिळणाऱ्या संधीच्या समानतेचा विजय आहे असे वाटते.
माझ्या आईच्या पासपोर्टवरती तिच्या डाव्या हाताचा अंगठा आहे तर माझ्या वाटय़ाला राजनीतिज्ञांसाठी असणारा लाल रंगाचा डिप्लोमॅटिक पासपोर्ट आहे...
...सामान्य माणसाला त्याचे जीवन सुरळीतपणे चालवण्यासाठी काही सरकारी कार्यालयात जावेच लागते.
ग्रामपंचायत, नगरपालिका, पोलीस स्टेशन, न्यायालय, जिल्हाधिकारी कार्यालय, पाणी किंवा वीज बिलाची कार्यालये वगैरे.
या कार्यालयांमध्ये आत जाताना आणि तिथून बाहेर येताना व्यक्तीची जी मन:स्थिती आणि चेहऱ्यावरचे भाव असतात त्यावरून लोकशाही किती व्यवस्थित कार्यरत आहे, ती लोकाभिमुख आहे की नाही, जनतेच्या मनात शासनाबद्दल कोणत्या भावना आहेत या सर्वाचे अनुमान काढता येते.
सरकारी कार्यालयातून ये-जा करणारी माणसे आजही बहुधा चिंताक्रांत, दडपलेली, पिचलेली, भयभीत संकटग्रस्त अशी दिसतात ही वस्तुस्थिती आहे.
http://www.loksatta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75145:2010-06-05-14-34-03&catid=55:2009-07-20-04-00-45&Itemid=13
तिचा नवीन पासपोर्ट बनवायचा होता.
तिचा फॉर्म वगैरे भरून माझ्या भावाने पासपोर्ट कार्यालयात जमा केला.
माझ्या आईला लिहिता-वाचता येत नाही. शिवाय तिचे वय अठ्ठय़ाहत्तरच्या आसपास आहे.
तिचे रेशनकार्डावर नाव आहे. तिचे मतदारयादीत नाव आहे, तिचे परिचयपत्रही आहे. नियमाप्रमाणे तिची पोलीस तपासणी होणे पासपोर्टसाठी गरजेचे आहे.
माझ्या गावापासून जवळचे पोलीस स्टेशन आठ-दहा किलोमीटरवर आहे. पोलिसांनी अर्जदाराच्या घरी जाऊन ओळख पटवून आपला अहवाल पाठवायचा असतो. अनेकदा चौकशी करूनही काम होत नव्हते.
मी भावाला विचारले. तो म्हणाला, ‘दोन साक्षीदारांसह आईने पोलीस स्टेशनमध्ये जाणे गरजेचे आहे, तसा ‘आदेश’ आहे.’
माझी आई यापूर्वी माझ्याकडे जपानला आली होती, रशियाला आली होती. आता तिने मालदीवला यावे अशी माझी इच्छा आहे.
लिहिता-वाचता न येणाऱ्या आईचा मुलगा देशाचा उच्चायुक्त होतो यात मला माझ्या पराक्रमापेक्षा भारतीय लोकशाही यंत्रणेचा आणि या यंत्रणेतील सामान्यातील सामान्याला मिळणाऱ्या संधीच्या समानतेचा विजय आहे असे वाटते.
माझ्या आईच्या पासपोर्टवरती तिच्या डाव्या हाताचा अंगठा आहे तर माझ्या वाटय़ाला राजनीतिज्ञांसाठी असणारा लाल रंगाचा डिप्लोमॅटिक पासपोर्ट आहे...
...सामान्य माणसाला त्याचे जीवन सुरळीतपणे चालवण्यासाठी काही सरकारी कार्यालयात जावेच लागते.
ग्रामपंचायत, नगरपालिका, पोलीस स्टेशन, न्यायालय, जिल्हाधिकारी कार्यालय, पाणी किंवा वीज बिलाची कार्यालये वगैरे.
या कार्यालयांमध्ये आत जाताना आणि तिथून बाहेर येताना व्यक्तीची जी मन:स्थिती आणि चेहऱ्यावरचे भाव असतात त्यावरून लोकशाही किती व्यवस्थित कार्यरत आहे, ती लोकाभिमुख आहे की नाही, जनतेच्या मनात शासनाबद्दल कोणत्या भावना आहेत या सर्वाचे अनुमान काढता येते.
सरकारी कार्यालयातून ये-जा करणारी माणसे आजही बहुधा चिंताक्रांत, दडपलेली, पिचलेली, भयभीत संकटग्रस्त अशी दिसतात ही वस्तुस्थिती आहे.
http://www.loksatta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75145:2010-06-05-14-34-03&catid=55:2009-07-20-04-00-45&Itemid=13
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