IPI Gas Pipeline

I was reading the newspaper today morning, when i noticed the article titled ‘UPA should avoid double standards’. My recent interest in world affairs, led me to reading the article from top to bottom. After going through the article, i started to browse the net regarding IPI, of which i have heard, but not in detail. Below are my findings which seem quite astounding.

IPI is the abbreviation of Iran Pakistan India gas pipeline. Everyone knows that the South Pars/North Dome field in Iran and Qatar is the largest gas field in the world. But i was surprised to note that the proposal of the project was established in the year 1989. It has been nearly 19 years since that, and yet things are seemingly at crossroads even now.

Year after year a new reason has been sounded by India leading to the delay of the project. In the current UPA regime, it was initially unrest in Balochistan, then it was the tense situation in Pakistan and now it is the 123 agreement.

India had been warned by US that, if it goes ahead with the IPI project, then it can kiss farewell to the 123 agreement. This was due to the tension between US and Iran. But US, of late has seemed to realize the growing strength of Iran in todays situation and is keen to make amends. In fact Mr. Bush is trying to reestablish a communication between the two countries. So if the US is willing to partner Iran, i think the latest hassle has been crossed. And before any new breed develops, it is time for the government to sign the deal.

The threat of the deal evaporating increases exponentially with time. China which is in a situation similar to India has offered to replace India in case of the deal falling out. European nations are turning towards Iran to provide fuel for their economy. So in todays changing politics, it will be all the better for India to go ahead with the plan which will supply Natural Gas to quench our ever growing economy.

I do hope i am right in my thought All these are based on a single article and a few minutes of browsing the net. I look forward to your comments, which will enlighten me.

Sarkar Raj

Starring : Amitabh Bachan, Abishek Bachan and Aishwarya Rai Bachan

Story line: A plot to change the succesor to the Sarkar,

Story:

The Sarkar(Amitabh Bachan) is old. Its time to hand the reins to his successor, his son, Shankar(Abishek Bachan). But another man(revealed later) has different ideas.

A proposal is brought in front of the Sarkar by a MNC employee(Aishwarya Rai Bachan) to open a power plant in a specific region of Maharashtra. But his involves the movement of nearly 40000 people. The Sarkar initially rejects it but is convinced by his son to approach his mentor to discuss the proposal.

What follows is the meeting with the mentor, interupted by a comotion caused by the mentor’s grandson, Somji. The mentor gives the go ahead for the proposal, and the investment is begun. Shankar tries to win over the people by stating the benifits of the proposal, but he faces a rival in Somji, who begins to attract masses against Shankar and Sarkar.

Three people with a common objective to dethrone the Sarkar are introduced, and as the story progresses, they plan to kidnap Somji, thinking that such a strategy would induce anti Shankar feelings. The kidnap is comitted which is followed by the killing of the Sarkar’s daughter in law. Shankar takes the loss personally and immediately fires his bodyguard.

The bodyguard, being very close to the family, discovers the place of Somji’s captor. A battle ensues in which Shankar rescues Somji, and they settle their differences. In the battle one of the three villians dies.

The other two villians take drastic measures and hire a hitman to kill Shankar. Just when love seems to hit the air between Shankar and the power plant employee, the hitman strikes. Shankar is assasinated.

Now enters the Sarkar in full action. He immdiately finds out the second villian, who divulges the identity of the third villian. Both of them are finished. But the story does not end here.

The Sarkar narates the reason behind so many characters in the movie to the MNC employee(Ash), who seems to have officially entered the family on Shankar’s death. The real king maker is revealed in the very end. He is the mentor.

The mentor’s plan is to replace the successor of the Sarkar from Shankar to Somji. The plan doest not by pass Sarkar’s eye, and in the end both are killed.

Remarks:

The story is quite good. The start is fantastic, the middle is great, but the film slows down towards the end. It could have been finished sooner than the 2.15 Hrs. Worth watching.

Asia Cup 2008

This month is really hectic in the sporting world, with Euro and Wimbledon topping world charts. But viewers of Asia Cup will be firm favorites for top honors this week in the subcontinent.

The Asia Cup was started in the year 1983, with the top three teams, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka fighting in a round robin league. Slowly other teams have entered the fray, and this year, the event hosts 6 teams. They include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE and Honk Kong. This millennium is witnessing its third Asia Cup, Pakistan having beaten Sri Lanka in 2000 and Sri Lanka having beaten India in 2004.

This year, M.S.Dhoni’s team seems to be the team to beat, irrespective of their loss to Pakistan in the recently concluded Tri Series in Bangladesh. They have beaten Australia down under, and after their T20 triumph, this team seems to be oozing with confidence.

India has been paired with Honk Kong, and more importantly Pakistan. Both teams are expected to go through to the Super Four stage, which has again been set as a round robin league. The other group consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and UAE, with the first two likely to progress. The top two teams from the Super Four will fight it out for the cup on July 6.
I hope India will win inspite of stiff resistance from Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Mere Baap Pehle Aap

Starring : Akshaye Khanna, Genilia , Paresh Rawal and Shobana. Oh ya and Om Puri

Story Line: A son tried to unite his widowed father with his true love

Story: The son(Akshaye Khanna) is an eligible bachelor, who seems to have a lot of love for his widowed father(Paresh Rawal). Soon we learn that, he has been quite naughty in his college days, driving a girl(Genilia) out of college. The girl wants revenge, and some silly scenes later, the girl realizes the enormity of her mistakes, reveals herself to the son, and thus starts a friendship.

The father’s friend(Om Puri) is also an eligible bachelor, whose role has been to create humorous situations . But they hardly move our lips. As the story progresses, we find that the love girl resides with her close friend’s mom(Shobana), who is a music teacher. This is followed by the revealation of the information that the father used to love the teacher. But he couldn’t marry her because of family constraints.

The son and his love find the facts and set about plans to reunite the couple. They succeed in doing so after every normal film drama. And after this they realize that their own friendship has turned into love.

So when the stage looks set for the finale with a double wedding, enters the father of the bride(Naseeruddin Shah). He prolongs the film by another half hour stating that either the son or his father can marry, not both. The loving son that he is, he reunites his father, forsaking his own love. Looking at the devotion of the son, the father of the bride agrees to a double wedding.

The End

Rating

Story : 6/10

Acting: 4/10

Remarks:

I really think that Genilia should consider another career. She is totally lost in this world, both in Tamil and in Hindi. Om Puri’s character is completely unnecessary(Plus that guy cannot do comedy). The audience could have saved half hour without the intervention of Naseeruddin Shah.

India – SuperPower 2020?

I have started to read the newspaper every day for quite some time, ie other than the sports page. Having always kept myself informed of the current President, Prime Minister, the ruling party and also a bit of other political things, i assumed myself to be updated. Only after having studied the press clippings have i realized my mistake.

For example, i didn’t even know of India’s position as a rising power. Until i read the papers. This activity has lead to a few doubts arising in my mind. Is India really as powerful as our politicians and media project it to be. Can it lay a serious challenge for world supremacy by the year 2020. Can we indeed become a developed nation as Dr. Abdul Kalam dreams by then.

My personal feeling is that, our gentle neighbor to the north, China poses a more significant threat to the US. Furthermore, the mutual enmity between the US and Russia might lead to Russia teaming up with China. As i understand, at present, India faces a huge dilemma. Should it align with the US, to whom it has been yielding under pressure for quite a while now. Or should it align with China and Russia, who as a team can wield a bat as heavy as Sachin used before his tennis elbow problem. I am not talking about a World War. Rather i am talking about diplomatic stances which is like the only path to survival.

I am rather new at commenting on such topics, but i do invite your comments as to India’s current position as a growing powerhouse.

F1 2008

The Formula 1 season is nearly halfway through, time has come to bet on the driver’s championship, and it takes no more than a quick glance at the results to note that this year has been the most competitive one in a very long time. The post Schumacher era had experienced a thrilling season finale last year which has been followed by a sensational mid season standing. Never have 3 teams including four drivers been billed as possible contenders for the divers championships.

The gap between current leader Felipe Massa and the fourth placed British sensation Lewis Hamilton is a mere 10 points. Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber has been the surprise package this season. Considering their achievements so far, it can be safe to say that Ferrari once again look like the team to beat. They have won 5 of the 8 races, the other 3 going to Lewis Hamilton(2) and Robert Kubica(1). Heikki Kovalainen has been disappointing this season , partly due to his bad luck. He has only a singe podium finish, and his 4th place finish yesterday at Magny-Cours might be his much needed revival.

At this stage, when most teams would have chosen their numero uno, it is the toughest to predict for the Ferraris. Both the drivers are in a favorable situation to win the championship. This continuing dominance might be good news for the team championships, but is a disaster in the driver’s championship. You will only need to look back at the Mclaren duo of the last season to understand what i am referring to. For the second placed team BMW Sauber, it is clearly Robert Kubica, while for the Mclaren, it has to be Hamilton.

At the other end of the grid, Team Force India has been a failure to say the very least. Vijay Mallya must input a considerable amount of money into his R&D program for the car to be race contenders in 2010, when the Indian GP is likely to take place. His hope of being mid field runners at he end of the season is nowhere near being realized. He will have to go in for fresh blood next year. I know you will argue about the drive by Adrian Sutil in Monaco, but it was largely a race strategy combined with an extraordinary amount of luck which made them go so far.

Personally, i hope Kimi wins this year. I have my gmail id named after him(have been his fan since he came into F1 nearly 5 years ago!) and i also hope that he will cast aside his plans of retirement. Otherwise i hope Massa to win, because of his very determination to succeed after a dismal start to the season. Experts were talking of a possible Massa replacement at the end of this season. He has certainly made them to eat their words.

Wimbledon

The month of June is half way past and only one question can arise in the tennis world. Will Roger Federer win his sixth consecutive Wimbledon championships. If not, will it be the unstoppable master of clay, Rafael Nadal, who will finish of the job which he left undone last year. Or yet again, will it be Novak Djokovic, who will repeat his performance of Australia.

Many similarities can be drawn between Federer and Schumacher. They both are great champions in their respective fields who have demolished the opposition on their day. But after his fifth year of reign at the top, FIA officials changed rules to put an end to Schumacher’s dominance. And the reason they stated was that they wanted the audience number to escalate again.

Why did the amount of viewers decrease watching the Schumacher era, while the numbers seem to be increasing in the Federer era. This can have only one answer. Opposition. More particularly, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. One has beaten the master in Australia, which the other has tormented the master in France. And both are still young, enthusiastic and fast learners. Nadal proved this last week when he won the Artois Championships, the first Spaniard to win a grass title in a long time. Djokovic did come agonizingly close to beating Nadal that day, but just didn’t have the killer instinct to finish the match.

Both players have sent out their messages. Federer retaliated with a win in the Weber Open, without breaking serve for only the second time in his career. Will Federer’s 55th title be enough preparation to demolish his opponents, or will it be the year, that the greatest player ever, will be made to bite the dust(or should i say grass).

6th July holds an answer for us(Rain Notwithstanding!).

Reverse Sweep

I was browsing through espnstar.com, when i noticed a review of the cricket match between England and New Zealand. I have been engrossed with the happenings of Euro 2008, that i had in fact forgotten to tune into the ‘boring 50 over’ cricket channel. But leaving that aside, this match would not have stirred any interest but for the fact that Kevin Pietersen hit his sixth century. To be more precise, he reverse swept two sixes on his way to his century.

The most important aspect to note about his shot, apart from it being mouth watering, is the change in grip before he plays the ball. In the normal stance, the right hand is the bottom hand. In this particular shot, he transforms his left hand into the bottom hand, after the bowler releases the ball. So, in the blink of an eye, he is a left handed batsman.

I have not read the rules of cricket, but i have heard famous commentators long enough to realize that, this is a breach of the ethical rules of the game
. How can a right handed batsman change into a left handed batsman, when it is not possible for a right arm bowler to bowl with his left arm without prior notification. Doesn’t this do great injustice to the bowlers, who, as can be clearly seen, are being dominated in recent tournaments such as T20.

I personally suggest that this shot should be prohibited from the game of cricket. Else bowlers should be given leeway to change their bowling arm or their guard without prior notification, so as to bring a sense of balance into the game. Perhaps this might make the game more interesting.

American Bad Ass

The WWE has always been a business oriented organization. It would never have come so far had it not been for Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Yokozuna, Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and of course the Undertaker, for whom i am writing this whole article. So Vincent Mc Mahon does know to play his trump cards well. At least thats what i felt till now.

NO MORE UNDERTAKER. Never again will the dead man walk again. Never again will the Graveyard Symphony sound aloud. Can this be true. Has Mr. McMahon been really stupid to sign out the Phenom, or is this another of his brilliant moves to instigate interest from the viewers. Only time will tell.

If the Undertaker is no more, then there is no future left in the WWE. He is after all a house hold name. Even those who haven’t interest or have not watched WWE due to parental control know this guy. All the superstars are leaving either due to old age or for more lucrative offers. This has led to this show being run by a dozen cheap chaps for whom there is no other path. I feel that if the Undertaker is gone for good, the WWE should close down.

If this is not true, and is another of McMahon’s brilliant schemes, then the most important annual question in the entire business year of WWE will arise again. Who will end the streak at Wrestlemania.

Will it remain 16-0 or be 17-0 in April 2009. Or will a man arise to beat the legend. For all i care, the Dead Man will walk again. Long live the Phenom.