The Ladakh Reflections - Day 8

(The Disket monastery perched up the hill)

(Views of Nubra, Shyok, Sumur and Karakorum from Disket monastery)

(The interiors of Disket monastery)

I woke up 7am and packed up whatever little i had bought and in another hours time i was below the apple trees having my breakfast. The homemade apricot jam tasted particularly good. The Welsh told that their 3am wake up to see the milky way across the clear night sky was a disappointment. I was glad i did not tell them to wake me up as well. Around 8:30 we left to cover what remains of the Nubra valley. We drove straight to Disket along the river of sand and then curving up the rock to Disket monastery on the hill top. The monastery was just on the edge of a deep gorge whose depth i could not see. The main prayer hall had many images of deity and most had their faces covered with cloth. The central deity was an terrifying image of Guhya Samajya with three heads positioned slanting to one another. The other deities in the hall look fierce and menacing, but could not make out much and neither was Nawang here to help me out. In the other praying room colorfully decorated with thangkas and long ribbons there was a central image of Maitreiya Buddha. From here one can get some breathtaking views of the confluence of Shyok river and Nubra river with the giant figure of Buddha atop a hill in the foreground. The vast stretch of sand plains is just awesome. From here we went to the huge image of Maitreiya Buddha which is under construction on the smaller hill beside. This is Ghasyme Stupa (spelling maybe wrong) being built from Bhutanese contribution. A strong smell of acrylic paint was in the air. From here, one could get superb view of the Disket monastery structures rising up the hill. On the left,there is probably a hidden stream as the dense foliage moving down the hill would indicate. In front of us lay the vast river bed and the Sumur which we visit next. Now this place has some significant geography for the interested. Shyok literally means the river of death. The other river in the confluence, river Nubra gets most of its flow from Saser Glacier and Siachen Glacier that is around 50km (approx.) upfront on the Nubra river. Behind the Nubra river lies the Saser Muztagh range that is part of the famous Karakorum range. The piece of triangle between these two rivers is called Saltoro Range and this range is where the current actual ground positions of Indian and Pakistani forces are frozen atop Siachen(on Saltoro Ridge to be exact). This range also hosts the point NJ9842 which is the last point on Line of Control beyond which the LoC remains demarcated.

(Nubra, Saltoro range from the Samstangling monastery)

(The Samstangling monastery)

(Interiors of Samstangling monastery)

We left Disket and drove 20km towards Khalsar amid the blowing sand. A milestone stated the height of the valley was around 10,000ft which was even less than that of Leh town. Probably that accounted for the lushness of the trees here. Crossing the sand river and actual river we were now on the other side of the vast valley. After a little while, the small and dusty road was heavily decorated with prayer flags and banners. As we slowly approached the Sumur monastery there seemed to be lot of activity around considering the remoteness of the place. There were crowds of children and people roaming around. Behind the trees an array of vehicles stood parked. A group of people looked down across the wall to the other side. I joined them to see what was going on. A sea of humanity all dressed up for the occasion were seated beneath the trees listening to the sermons being spoken. Someone told that a senior lama was gracing the occasion. We left them for the monastery. The monastery at Sumur is called Samstangling monastery and it is relatively new and tidy compared to the image one gets in the mind about the monasteries. On the courtyard preparation were going for the big feast. The main prayer hall was riot of colors with big thankas and ribbons hanging. The walls had big colorful image of the fiery Vajrapani and Yamantaka holding the wheel of life between his teeth. The other halls were similarly colorfully arranged. From the roof of the monastery, i took some serene shots of the valley ahead.

It took us a while finding our taxi in such multitude of parked vehicles. I am surprised to find such a strength in so remote a place.There could easily be upward of 500 vehicles lined across the road. We drove out of the valley toward Khalsar village which took us 40 minutes to reach. We stopped at a nondescript eatery for lunch. The lunch was modest and very simple. A big dog was seated just besides me constantly touching his wet nose on my jeans. Now it was a constant drive up to the pass. The wasteland unending and the icy heights unforgiving and the terrain ruthless. I wondered what it must have felt to fight at such icy heights in Kargil. I shuddered at the thought of it. If we kept speed we should be at our home for the 5:30 tea i thought. The drive beyond Khardung village was slow. A huge convoy of civilian trucks carrying diesel and kerosene was coming from the opposite direction. Every few minutes we had to stop of give way to these trucks. Probably the army is stockpiling its winter reserves. The driver told me that pass is open in winters but only for military trucks. I wondered what it would be out here in winters when even the summer travel is so treacherous. I salute the brave men of BRO and GREF that keep such vital roads open against such insurmountable odds of nature and winning against them day in and day out. The sun was bright and hence the snow melt expectantly strong. These millions of small streams flowing across the road will trickle down and merge with Indus and flow couple of thousand kilometers into Sindh. The slopes near the pass were much smoother due to the heavy snow over them. On the pass which was empty at this time of the day a group of backpackers offloaded their bicycles for the ride down. One girl though wearing a helmet was in a very unorthodox pajamas which maybe comfortable but highly unfit for cycling. I wonder if she thinks the ride down from here would be same as ride across British country side. I hope she has good time going down. I check out the souvenir shop in the middle of the pass. There were several framed articles about the history of the pass and detail about its construction by the army. An small legend described what some common terms meant. Siachen meant a place of roses. Somehow the irony was not lost, it was indeed a place of roses but only upon the graves of the fallen. The rest of the drive to Leh town was fast and uninteresting and at times it felt as if i was dozing. By 5:30pm i was at home.

I reached home and found that Nawang had to rush unexpectedly for Hanle as some crucial office work came. He left me a letter explaining this. I was glad that his work came up pretty much on the last days of my trip and he was there for me all the time. I had still not decided on what i am going to do the last day. Nawang is not here so maybe roam and shop around. I caught up with the highlights on the previous day's Germany v/s Argentina clash. After a hearty dinner with Sami and Namgyal I took leave for sleep.

The Ladakh Reflections - Day 9

My last day here has come. I had gotten used to the idea of not having to check my mails or my facebook account or for that matter the gyrations of my stock portfolio. Life sure is peaceful here, whether it is easy or fulfilling that is a different matter all together. Had Ladakhi bread for breakfast, which is pretty much like a roti except that it is much much thicker. In the summer sun, I scribbled some notes that would form the basis of these lengthy reflections.

Around noon i left for the market for one last session of photography and a round around the town. I climbed halfway up the hill to Namgyal-tsemo for some B&W shots of the temple above. A leisurely walk in the city besides the ice hockey ring currently a marshy swamp, besides the old dry fruit seller on the pavement, besides the young girls washing hotel bedsheets in the icy cold stream, besides the Kashmiri bread maker working for his bread, besides the narrow and empty lanes near the main mosque, besides the women selling turnips on the sidewalk, besides the now empty cheap tea stalls, besides the expectantly aapsu sitting in front of a meat shop. I stopped by couple of antique shops and though the stuff looked nice, it found the art pieces rather expensive. In one, the owner rotated the spatula around the rim of a dull em-blossomed thick bowl and it created a smooth and constant frequency. Couple of backpackers asked her to do the same on a separate bowl which created quite another frequency. It seemed interesting though. Right across the street i checked out the bookstore. I wanted to buy one, but found travel books prohibitive. I had spicy rajma and roti at the nearby Punjabi restaurant to silence my craving senses before going back to have one last good afternoon nap.

(empty lanes of Leh town)

(The local women selling home grown vegetables on the sidewalk)

(The tea stalls serve informally as cheap rendezvous point)

(The dry fruit seller resting on the pavement)

(different shades of stupa, besides polo grounds)

(different shades of stupa, in front of Leh palace)

(human devotion rising to meet the Gods above)

Some more trivia and observation, The Ladakhi homes traditionally have been made from stones, wood and mud. Cement turns very cold and hence older houses used to avoid it. The mud roof is laid over rows of smaller thin willows supported underneath by thicker poplars running perpendicular. The kitchen is usually large and glassed and sun facing so as to warm up quickly in the sun. In fact kitchen is akin to drawing room and the guests are usually seated in the kitchen itself while hot kawa is poured from the thermos. In fact Nawang has two huge kitchens, the one on the top for winters and below for summers. The flooring is usually wood and covered with carpets and rugs to keep warm. The walls have colorful thangkas of Buddha and Tara. Mutton seems to be the preferred delicacy out here. Tourism is the only employment generator and the peak season is hardly four months (May-August). After that the frozen passes reduces the visitors to a trickle. The accommodations are priced okay, though traveling around in taxi is expensive. But when you consider that they have only four months to earn and suffice on that earning for the rest of the year, you don't fret about it. Everything big like construction or revamp has to be done during the summer months when the labor is available. All shuts down to a halt in winters. The trek guides, the taxi driver, the antique seller, the labor. It is the way life is out here. Electricity and water is regular. In winters there is no piped water as pipes would burst, instead it is distributed using tankers. Internet is very expensive & Beer is cheap. BSNL is only operator far & wide. Airtel is spotty at best.

Everywhere you go there are holy symbols around, the prayer flags, the stupas, the stones arranged one over another, the monks and the prayer wheel. Once you start recognizing the eight sacred signs, you see them every where. Painted on the walls, welded on the gates, em-blossomed on the grille, printed on the scarf. The Gods are everywhere here. This is their country.

I came again to the market in the evening with Sami & Aunty ji who are going to help me out with the apricots. I pondered over what to take and for whom and how many. I packed some apricots, some apricot nuts, couple of bottles of home made apricot jam and beautifully colored wall hanging made from layers of cloth sewn together depicting those eight holy signs. I think that would be enough.

This place has a lot going on for itself, besides being totally unique. If you are looking for spirituality, it is here. If for peace, it is here. Adventure sports, Yes. Culture, Yes. Even bore subjects like history and geography are interesting here, not to talk about the beauty. You probably would have guessed it by now. I probably will come down to Ladakh again, i promise that. When i don't know, but i will. There are couple of things (actually more than that) that i would like to do/see someday.
- A Ladakhi traditional festival (missed it this time, need to see the dances, the dresses, the colors and the masks).
- A expedition to Stok Kangri and a trek as well if possible.
- Lamaryu monastery midway between Leh and Kargil.

An early dinner with all and i was back in my room packing my bags. I felt like not going back into that madness and the heat. I wish i could take the sights and the sounds with me and the weather. I so wish. I am glad that i came here and i am glad i have a good friend here. Thanks to Nawang for all the good times that he showed me. Thank you my friend. I will always remember what a fabulous journey we together had under the big blue sky.

Reality Check

For all those who are shouting from every rooftop about the coming india-china parity, this should have some sinking feeling. the fastest rail service in india i.e. delhi-bhopal link runs on sustained speed of 100kmph (around 70 mph), around one third of what china is planning to execute. hmm.. that should sober them down.. but hey! look at the bright side, the americans too don't fare that well.

What A Bird!

Photo courtesy - NDTV

Among the millions of things that I track, Indian defence industry is one of the more important I must say and yesterday was a good day for fledgling indigenous armament industry. After waiting for four-five months, yesterday the first flight of the Indian gunship helicopter, Light Combat Helicopter took place, and am elated that it finally took off. I have been closely following any news on this project and LCA project for 2-3 years now and I am glad that the LCH program is off the air.. literally!! and the product is looking extremely nice in its first iteration itself. Tandem seating, helmet mounted sight and ability to fly in Siachen/Kargil heights. It's absence was felt in Kargil conflict, where modified M-17 gunships were sitting ducks, while huge M-24 could not operate at those icy heights. Well, what to say! what a bird! and kudos to everyone involved!

1984 v/s Brave New World

I am these days reading Huxley's "Brave New World", I found that there are unmistakable similarities with Orwell's 1984, in the sense of stark and futuristic London, where there is an all powerful and all knowing authority and everyone else is just a empty face walking down the street or working in the offices. But yet the two books are so so different in the way they showcase this alienation.. while 1984 had all its frugality, the Brave New World instead was full of unbridled excesses.. while 1984 was about rewriting the truth.. in Brave New World there was no truth, it's all make belief. in 1984 it is oppression that makes people forgo rights, in other it is pleasure that makes them do it. in 1984 there is an all engrossing pessimism, the other has a overwhelming consumerist nihilism.

This is from Wikipedia about the differences between these two seminal work of dystopian literature.

[...]
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture. In 1984, people are controlled by inflicting pain.In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.
[...]

Just so that you know, 1984 is my favorite book.

Alan Moore : The Watchmen (Summary)

I have been reading the comic novel "The Watchmen" after watching the movie, which for all practical purposes I found to be an utter waste of time. The novel on the other hand has been quite a revelation not only with its storyline and the novelty of the idea but also the context. And the context here defines the story. It is seventies and tension is high between US and Soviet Union and both on trigger alert for nuclear weapon. In this all engrossing pessimism, the book captures the story of costumed super heroes out there to save the world, but in the end they manage to save the peace, only to lose themselves in the utter grotesque of violence and madness and insanity. The mood is set in New York, with all its malice of the congested city life where no one looks out for one another and crime. These heroes, fighting to save the city from crime, but themselves are a disoriented bunch. Never before, have we seen super heroes fail, or go mad or become a hired mercenary, but this novel captures the baser instincts of lust, of power and propensity for violence and makes a case against vigilantism. Also remarkable is the imagery and the subtle meaning of symbols that have been used multiple times, like the doomsday clock. Also the storyline is non-linear and jumps to different space, time, context and even stories. In the end, the heroes lose without having to fight the villains as there were none, the context and their inner dreads being their enemy.

Interwoven with the main story, is another totally different and gory tale about a pirate ship and and a survivor who in his lust for revenge, is blinded by the all consuming hate. Nietzsche was right with his observation "He who fights with monsters should be careful least he thereby becomes a monster. When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you." - One who starts knowing things about matters that are very different from what he is, he takes back a piece of it with himself and that piece changes him. so goddamn true.

Just so that know, "The Watchmen" is the the only comic novel that is included in the Time.com list of 100 best novels of 20th century.

Iraq War : Seven Years

Today marks the completion of seven years of US second invasion of Iraq. It was today in 2003 that American Abrams rolled into the Iraq, and lot of water has flown down Tigris by now. So an obvious question is was Iraq worth seven years of American blood, dollars and time (not belittling the contribution of the "Coalition of the Willing"). The answer is not that easy as you may think so. To see the picture in totality, you need a bigger construct. American ambition (call it Bush' ambition, it doesn't matter) in middle east was shaped by that fateful morning in mid-town Manhattan. After that US wore a tinted glasses with cross hairs where everything seemed to be a moving target & a potential threat. Iraq seemed to be an obvious target. There was history for it as well. Plus the CIA did a really good job(?) in flunking up intelligence of illicit uranium linked to Iraq. It was not that only Bush wanted war, when marines entered Baghdad, Bush's approval rating were record high, denoting widespread approval of his job in Iraq. At that time, the war seemed to be worth fighting for, even if there was collateral damage for America.

The problem started when America rammed into the driver's seat & not knowing how to drive. There were colossal failures in dealing with former Baathist & disbanded Iraqi armed forces. Plan B was not a choice then, because there was not even Plan A. All America had were newly painted humvees that they rolled that into the capital thinking they will be welcomed & indeed they were welcomed initially. But as the days passed by, a visible chaos in urban settlements, the disbanded Sunni majority armed forces become a freelancing mercenary carving out their areas of influence. When these areas began to intersect with Shiite areas of fiefdom, what followed was a carnage, where America took it on the chin & Al Queda (AQ) had all the prime footage. Then the coalition 'surge' followed which has brought a little semblance of sanity to Baghdad & other urban areas. I must give it to Bush that he has achieved some success in restoring order to those killing suburbs of Baghdad like Sadr City. Even I was sceptical if the surge would work especially in the desert expanse of Al Anbar, but it worked partly due to more boots on ground, Sunni tribe joining the fight against AQ, and alienation of Sunni masses with AQ besides Shiite factions backing down. Since the summer of 2007, the violence has been on the downward trend and the number of American soldiers have dropped to there lowest numbers since 2003 with complete with drawl by 2011. The elections had just been completed and they seems to be by and large peaceful, giving hope that this freckled country can still find its feet and prosper. But the Iraqi landscape is still deeply fragmented & this draw down of forces could hold ominous potent. Firstly the ability of AQ to still do mischief through a shock-and-awe campaign. Secondly the critical question of Kurdish areas and the fate of Kirkuk. Thirdly the criminalization of the Iraqi society. Forth, Iran. Fifth is the schism between Shiite factions. Sixth, is alienation of Sunni's with the Shiite led government.

Still all are are hopeful that the worst is over for Iraq and challenges going forward are not going to be as existential as they were before. I am hooting for optimism this time, after failing miserably on my misgivings on the effectiveness of the "surge".

WTF Picture Of The Day

Come to think of it, this is all tax payers money. my money, your money and our money. and recall ten days ago, the same people said that they don't have money in government coffers to pay for the victims of the stampede in the temple. now you get the picture, where that all money went. what to say, it's all sad.

[...]
Each ring of this garland has 45 notes of 1000 denomination, i.e 45,000 rupees. Each centimetre has got five such rings. 5 x 45,000 is Rs 2,25,000. This garland is 10 meters long i.e. 1000 cm. So 2,25,000 x 1000 becomes Rs 22,50,00000.
[...]

That is hell lot of money, i am sure they will have this dismantled before the enforcement authority get a hand on it. even if the numbers are inflated by a factor of 10, it is still a lot of dough. what is sickening is couple of things, in fact three things.

firstly, why is taxpayers money being used for such utter and shameless self-fulfilment. secondly, why this government can't even do even little bit for hapless citizens even after say it spends eighty percent on itself. It still can spend twenty percent on those great unwashed masses, is it too much to ask. and thirdly why does this government always have to hark back on injustices done to her community in the past to justify their shamelessness. isn't what they are doing now injustice to millions. I am filled with disgust.

Day Dreaming

This is the second poem that I have written, this is an allegory with tribute to symbolism and fantasy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

this is a story of a boy who used to walk everyday aimlessly on the stony shore
amid screaming seagulls one day, he finds a lovely shell that he could ever explore

with this shell in his clumsy hand, he climbs down the rabbit hole in his backyard
escaping from the giant locust who eyes the elegant sea shell, he runs feeling scared

down in the bright underground, he sees on the wall a pegasus sitting cross-legged
to the boy's surprise, humpty dumpty was his name, the pegasus hesitantly divulged

the boy tells he wants to go to eden, to the place where he gets to keep his shell
the white pegasus offered to give him a ride till there, in return of a little help

the beast wants leaves from the tree of eternal life, to heal his broken feather
the boy agrees to his simple wish, all he wants is the sea shell and he together

the boy is playing with his shell, on the way they met pinocchio sitting tight
they ask for the way, he babbles while his nose gets longer that gives them a fright

they ran & wander along the red sea, coming across the crying queen of hearts
she points us towards a red big balloon floating, and cries - o my king of hearts

they all rode towards the flying king, catching it just before the dark forest
the queen united with her queer king, thanks us and enquires about our quest

they tell her about the pursuit, she wands her stick and a black faun appears
she says it will guide us, but somehow the faun in place of eyes had only tears

on way forward they meet a princess, who offered them grail in return for the shell
the boy held it close to his heart, which made her disappear as it broke the spell

at last they all reached garden of eden, the boy climbed the fabled eternal tree
as soon as the peagasus had the leaves, the white beast morphed into a nymph free

the beauty asked what he wished, the boy cried asking to be with his shell forever
she altered the shell to a sea maiden, and granted they will be separated never

the boy held the beautiful sea maiden's hand close to his heart, and asked her name
"hope" she quivers, they gently kiss with the full moon shining in back of the frame

Summer Rain In A Doon Village

I am trying my hand in poetry these days and here is one for the start. This is about the summer rains before the harvest season begins in Dehra Dun. The sights and sounds are all from doon. It is called "Summer Rain"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

somewhere in clouds above, there is intrigue in the air,
the summer sun has taken refuge, hidden in it's lair.

the lands are parched, the winds are dry and dusty,
with his cracked hands, the farmer look above lusty.

dancing with the winds, the salsify tries to keep the tune,
there is electricity in the air, in this animate noon.

the heavens shudder, nearby strikes a blot from the gray,
signifying power & fear, but somehow only my dogs gets sway.

the shiny and mighty eucalyptus, swaying to kiss the earth,
and in this chaos, a million toona seeds escape with the mirth.

in this madness, the tree-stuck kites flutter wildly and toss,
wishing to be rescued, before rains crucify them to the cross.

from my window i see, the fallen wheat crop in fields below,
as if the heavens tried crop circles, with its mighty blow.

the beetles & the bees are long gone, for their work is done,
their labor nearing fruition, which started in early spring sun

the kids are elated in the street, as if they completed high school,
maybe the power lines are down, that's why all these kids misrule.

outside the money-plant is shiny now, and dahlia is pepped up again,
all seem invigorated, i can from my watering job some days abstain.

i tell my sedated dogs, that all this will get over soon,
probably they also like this small relief, from the summer June.

i wait hurriedly, for all this blitzkrieg to be over fast,
for in my mind, is only to collect the fallen raw mango loot.

the rains were intense & muddy,as brown as if the First Curse,
ask the Maker, this is just the beginning of the first verse.

it smelt strangely pleasant,some say as if first rains on burnt lands,
i say it smells like redemption & hope, i say it smells like desire.

perched high up in the air, i wish i was a rainmaker,
bringing life to everything below, acre by acre.

The Seventh Month Roundup

This is the first post in seven months, I never meant to take this big a break from blogger ever, but then can you plan everything? any ways, for now the blog is alive. Since the last write-up in sometime October, there has been some pretty dramatic events that have happened that I used to blog about regularly. More detailed insights will be coming in the later posts that delve into them in detail.

- first, is the spectacular and the gigantic unwinding of the massive securities leveraging that has been built over the years in derivatives market. The net result has been that world financial markets has become one big vacuum that was sucking all real money to cover up losses in betting on notional money markets causing the money supply to dry and lead the world into recession. The visible result is that American corporate landscape has changed, and changed for ever. post-Detroit, post-Big Banks, the shine is off of corporate America.

- second, is the increasing grip of Taliban that is gnawing at the periphery in the neighbouring Pakistan. Add to this the 29-11 outrage, I think the day of reckoning has come for Islamabad. If you have lost control of places within 100 miles of capital (Swat, Buner), then I don't know what else is Pakistani military leadership is waiting for. I mean, can it go more dire, it does not take 100% support to conquer 100% of country. Only 10% can intimidate the rest 90% in submission. Indian Kashmir seems to be pretty much next on the cross hairs.

- thirdly, the Indian election, for not what was elected, but for what was rejected. regionalism is out, so is caste driven, religion driven politics. This election will be the first after 1989-mandal infused environs, where caste based politics was put on the back burner and development has been brought to fore. Equally inspiring is the revival of national parties and break from regionalism. Also the lack of communists can make sure that economic reforms can move forward especially in banking, pension and labour markets.

- lastly, the US election, that brought President Obama to the White House, what matters is not the party, but the style of functioning that he bring to office. The world needs some serious leadership in areas like renewable energy, financial regulation, curbing protectionism barriers, stem cell research, global warming and rising tide of militant Islam. I hope this president brings new approaches to these intricate issues, as we are already starting eight years late.

The World In Pictures

This is how the american middle class (not the John McCain five million types) looks like. Bitter, bewildered and helpless.

(*picture taken from trip to thousand islands last week)


This is how the US financial market looks like. Hell of a way for Bush to complete his eight years in office. Hell of a way to go.

(*picture taken from trip to thousand islands last week)


well, ain't dreaming world peace or hunger-free world. I guess I am a little more selfish for those things now. I would like an island home like the one above and the bliss that accompanies with its lonely abandon even if it borders on ignorance.

(*picture taken from trip to thousand islands last week)

Indian Polity And Hypocrisy

Who needs foes when the political class is so bent on destroying the very idea of India, the latest outrage being that of Tata being forced out of West Bengal by the Mamta Banerjee and her antics. If she wants to go back to the stone age, then she can but why is she taking everybody along, why should rest of us be prisoner to her whims and fancies. It can very well be that those 400 acres in question are very very fertile, and maybe there is an outside chance that appropriate compensation was not given (though I doubt if Tata would ever do that), but any reason doesn't warrant what happened there. Either you can have a 1000 small farmers tilling that small patch of land and maybe just scraping through or you have a world class car plant that could easily employ thousands in direct and maybe tens of thousands in indirect jobs, besides the taxes it would generate for the government. Is it that hard to fathom or is that hard to sell to the masses. I agree that the whole SEZ policy is a one big hogwash, but then this so called "dance of democracy" is a more bigger hogwash.

Another phony out their is Arundhati Roy (the fairer sex is on my cross hairs today, believe me they had it coming long time..), okay so she want freedom for Kashmir, aha.. I agree that we haven't been doing our best in Kashmir but independence, lets see, we grant everyone what they want we start from top, then Punjab, then maybe Maharastra, then Tamils, the North East and more. Okay, so we have fulfilled everybody wishes, but hold on, have me ? So now people want countries the size of districts, then maybe city-nations and then maybe what if I want my home to be my sovereign fiefdom. They say that man is a social animal but it is anything but social, it appears social and homogeneous as long as it sees a bigger motive and when the motive is no longer there, internal fractures occur. Be it a country or be it a big family. It is not order that gives something a shape (maybe a water in a vase), it is the shape that gives a semblance of order. And if you have internal crooks like our ruling elite & bedfellows like our neighbours, it makes two to tango. If Arundhati is so interested in freedom, maybe she can go to Wazirstan or Dafur, and see if she can speak like this there .See what's happening in Kashmir lately, some acres of land is being given to have better tourist facilities, what's the hidden agenda in it, what are the so called nefarious designs. You know, we have pandered some people so badly that anything being requested from them, seems to be an existential injustice to them. But if some people have a special weakness for someone else agenda, then maybe God help them. One interesting part in all this maze is how come Pakistan has this much brand equity, that still people are willing to join them. Even after what is happening in Waziristan, Swat and Baluchistan. Is the bonds of religion so strong that it refuses to see that black is black & white is white! I also want to be these jholla-wala civil society members intellectual types. Love the shoot and scoot lifestyle and the easy money that comes with it. Such statements gives you lot of footage on the guest speaker circuit. Can I say something about the injustices that were done in say Tibet or maybe Red Indians in US just to begin with.

Afghanistan : Great Game Or Great Conundrum

So we are now taking significant collateral damage in Afghanistan as well, I wonder what choices we have, because there appears to be a method in these regular attacks now. Either 'they' wants to intimidate us into either leaving Afghanistan or maybe reinforcing our presence there (by being part of ISAF and sending combat troops, which I don't think is that bad an idea). I am using they because I doubt if militant forces indeed are being driven from Quetta or Islamabad. The myriad factions that stretch from Quetta up to the Wakhan corridor have no homogeneous identity or chain of command per-se. This is peculiar, because the symptom is same for all these factions but the panacea is all different. Consider this belt of resistance as a part of bigger militant Islam, but the solution can be found by dealing at each tribe level & each federal agency level, something that was done very successfully in Al Anbar in Iraq, instead of fire-bombing it.

Back to India's unease, there is hardly any take-aways from this situation, I guess these are the birth pangs for a rising regional power in the making. The power projection and the influence do have there short comings. The best we can do is to stay put and maybe increase our security posse to safeguard Indian citizens who are in the line of fire. As for Pakistan's direct or indirect involvement in this attack, it doesn't really matter. I think the grave has been dug for Pakistan (so even if its not a grave, believe me it will be a deep pit), and they would be lucky to not have a independent jihadi state encroaching at their periphery.

Some Mumbling.. Some Rambling

The July is here, so soon I mean. it was February that I moved here & already six months are down now. The years seem to pass by so quick that some day not far in time, I may be sitting wondering if I have lived all these long years or did I pass them in sleep, seriously time seems to be flying past these days. Watched Hitchcock 'notorious' today, kept his 'the birds' for tomorrow. In other stuff today, deleted my Facebook account and opened a twitter account, I found twitter more useful then Facebook or say Orkut, but then both are catering to different markets. personal preference though.

The appraisals are going to be out next week I suppose, something to watch out for, lets see how bad the hike is. but it is definitely going to be below the rate of inflation & believe me that government's inflation rate is itself depressed( intentionally or unintentionally ). Indian economy has it going good for last 4-5 years & a couple of rainy days shouldn't be a problem at least for the nouveau riches.. poor be damned, who cares.. the government seems to have solved the nuclear tangle at last, and its good to see at least some amount of spine in the leadership, though I am not optimistic that this government would go much far, but anyway something is better than nothing.

Meanwhile July 4 passed & oil has not touched $150 as Jim Cramer was shouting on mad money, but it doesn't matter, 146 is as good as 150. 150 is just symbolic, the pain at pump started long way back. Somehow I feel Americans don't get it, wonder how can a (supposed !) intelligent country is being fooled not only oil producing countries, but by government and there own emotions. Where do you get a precious commodity for 2 bucks a gallon, a commodity that takes millions of years to create and a commodity that can drive say 4 people in a nice car for 180 miles, why the hell you should get that thing for 2 bucks, when even the water costs more. The supply is not a problem, the demand IS.

Commodity inflation is the big topic these days, and if you listen American media, this often hackneyed word about increased demand from India-China is now becoming a deluge now. take oil, India-China. take wheat, India-China. take anything, India-China. I wonder if India-China really increased there demand so much that the world's factories and farms and oil rigs have failed to keep pace. I just feel that it was okay as long as India-China were producing for the rest of the world, but as soon as we become consuming nations, the rest of the world started feeling the pinch. Take a often quoted sector refinery, which America has not built one for last 30 years. Why?  because they don't want to have pollution in their backyard, so guess what, they have other countries make them & send the finished product to US. This is hypocrisy big time. I guess US in sometime future will claim that it has curtailed its carbon emission. And how, it will send all the polluting industries to cheaper nations and import finished products, so no emissions you see. This is all a façade to not change, to save 'their way of life'. (not sure what it means)