Deepanjan Nag's Magnum Opus

India has launched its 1st mission to Mars. The launch was a success. I hope the long trip to Mars stays on course. It won’t be easy. Most missions to the red planet have ended in failure. All the best, Mangalyaan!

This is huge. I remember his debut and a journalist asking him just before the tour if he was nervous. He answered, “Not at all!” There was something about him from the very beginning that said he was destined to be a legend. He truly was the greatest cricketer of our era. Sad to see him go. All the best, Sachin.

India Ink: Hot Jazz and the Cold War in 1950s Mumbai My comment: Fascinating stuff! When talking about how the Americans tried to influence the world with Jazz, one cannot afford to miss the legendary Willis Conover. People in many parts of the world knew Jazz only because of him. Indeed he was the greatest Jazz arsenal America ever had. American hegemony owes a lot to this man. This article brings back fond memories of growing up listening to Jazz Hour on the Voice of America. The radio had a hold on us like nothing else. The experience has yet to be rivalled.

It’s 27 years since Indira Gandhi was assassinated. I have fuzzy recollections of a confused self amused at the sudden communal tension that surrounded us, even in the otherwise peaceful neighborhood of Telco Colony. I understood that Mrs.Gandhi was assassinated by two of her own body-guards. What I didn’t understand was how could all the Sikhs be held responsible for it. As I grew older and my understanding of worldly ways increased, I began to see how the blame fell squarely on an entire community. Sick though the realization was, it was a fact hard to reconcile with…and it remains so to this day. Mrs.Gandhi had a domineering influence on the Indian media. Open the newspaper and you would almost certainly see a photo of hers hogging the front page, her stylish image instilling pride in us. Mrs.Gandhi was definitely charismatic, and one of the most recognized leaders in the world of her day. This in spite of leading only a 3rd world country lost in the deluge of irrelevance. I remembe...

I wish this institute existed when I was a school-goer. Would have loved to be a part of it.

A simple snap that says it all.

I hear the opening ceremony was fabulous!

It seems I can still stir some emotions while writing...scant though it has been of late. Out of 150 comments till date to a news article on Yahoo! News, mine received the maximum Thumbs Up! I'm raring to go. It'll happen real soon now!

I thought I was crazy about Indian Railways…until I came across IRFCA . This site is maintained by hardcore fanatics who upload tons of stunning photos each day to keep me as happy as a baby!

This isn’t about Santosh being told early morning that there was a courier for him at the door.The poor chap dragged himself out of bed only to learn that Mani had just bamboozled him! This is about Abhishek sending a well-meant email to some of his friends informing them of ATM cards being accepted at ATMs of all banks without incurring a charge – starting April 1st. Well, this is according to an RBI directive issued last year meant for implementation from today. It was all over the news then…and it’s all over the news yet again. It’s obvious that some people would still miss out on this information, which is perfectly understandable. What’s not so understandable is why are some people dismissive of new ideas without even checking the facts first. These established fools are so secure in their ignorance that they could even proudly hit REPLY TO ALL and retort that it’s only an April-1st prank. Even GMail was launched on April 1, remember? Unfortunately for this quintessential fo...

The slumbering higher education department of Karnataka has woken up with a jolt to the noble cause of inculcating patriotic sentiments in the college-going students and teachers of the city and neighboring districts. To this end, it has issued a circular directing mandatory attendance of all students and faculty of colleges in and around Bangalore at Palace Grounds today to attend an anti-terrorism rally! Those failing to attend have been promised strict action. Call it a democracy of coercion! Around 25,000 are expected to attend.  The degree to which traffic across the city will be thrown out-of-gear is unfathomable. I’m even getting SMSes from Bangalore Police to avoid certain roads. What the hell were the organizers thinking? What will be achieved by those attending the rally braving the scorching heat? A few wannabe terrorists will suddenly be cleansed of sinister intent and choose to become great apostles of peace? Motivational talks by rotten politicians will launch a tho...

Going by the fireworks and holiday for companies like IBM, Wipro and Infosys, it’s today. Going by what some folks are saying, Mozilla and holiday for some other companies, it’s tomorrow. Going by the holiday in our company, it’s day after tomorrow. Our office was virtually vacant today. Traffic too was minimal.

India had the world’s highest GDP for 1500 of the last 2000 years.

Independence is a good thing, especially if it’s from an imperial power. I always looked forward to 15th Aug - for a holiday and toffees from school when I was a kid, and for only a holiday now. I don’t mind being an Indian. Given a choice, however, I would never choose India.

I used to call this the torture chamber. I gradually came to realise that it was the chamber of death instead. I was not even allowed to stay in hospital for long though the doctors felt it was necessary in order to stabilise my blood pressure. But orders are orders and the government did not want to be inconvenienced by me in any way whatsoever. The government did not want the media to know I had been hospitalised. I did not have my mobile phone with me and the doctors at the government hospital - AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) - were instructed to discharge me after a certain period of time. Curiously though, the decision was not left to the doctors as to what this certain period of time was to be. The last time I was admitted to this hospital a few weeks ago I was suddenly discharged as a result of governmental pressure. I am sure this was linked to a report in the Times of India, which stated I had been hospitalised. At this undisclosed location I am neither al...

We survived over 14 hours at a stretch without electricity yesterday. This is Bangalore, India's high-tech city.

Submarine cables in the Mediterranean have been damaged and this has adversely affected India the most. Work in the office came to a standstill today and though I was busy venting my frustration, I was rejoicing within! Reminds me of my childhood when a power-cut at night would send ripples of ecstasy through me, though I wore a very contradictory visage! I haven't changed much in all these years.

Sanjay Dutt yet again bought freedom when he was granted bail by the Supreme Court. I'm left wondering if the IPC is a commodity that can be tampered with over-the-counter by expending some wealth.   Should there be even a semblance of doubt that the law isn't blind to name and fame? I'm appalled when I see the outpour of sympathy among Indian masses for this larger-than-life figure - just because his on-screen heroics have fired up the imagination of our idol-worshipping (pun intended) people. Pure regressive thinking!