I AND MY WORDS

The hoopla that Mamata Bannerjee and her coterie has created today over the Railway Budget 2012 is clearly targeted towards her West Bengal audience. The kind of drama and sulking happening now clearly points to one of the three points: Mamata is cornering UPA-II to concede a package for West Bengal of about INR 8000 crores that she has been demanding for the past one year, else she continues to embarrass the government. This shall be used as an excuse to pull out of the UPA-II so as to save her vote share from eroding by continued alliance with the Congress There is a possibility of formation of the imaginary third front as is being projected by media moguls and so called rooters of a non Congress non BJP 'secular' alternative. So much drama for nothing. This is ridiculous. One cannot continue to blackmail the government at the cost of destabilizing the country. For once I stand by the current government. Why do the employees of Indian Railways do not seem to be the aam aa...

There has been a lot of discussion in the Indian media and political circles. It all started with the convergence of a few state leaders Like Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Bannerjee against the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC). Tongues have been set wagging with the invites sent out by Shiromani Akali Dal's swearing in ceremony. By sending out invites to Mamata, Jayalalitha and many others (read here ), Sukhbir Singh Badal has set the cat amongst the pundit and political circles, with the talk of the revival of a United Front like formation all over again dominating headlines. Within all this euphoria, people tend to forget a few basic facts which need to be cleared up. First of all, let us look at the potential Third Front. There is no way that a Third Front can come together, as a lot of parties that are imaginary constituents of the same are bitter political rivals to each other in the respective states. A classic case is the Trinamool Congress and CPI(M), who are mortal en...

I have this friend Sweta (read Sweta and NOT Shweta, else she will kill you). She hails from Goa, which is not just fun and frolic land as all tourists think it is, but it is a land of great local food, which symbolizes experimentation at its best. One has to sample just the fish and prawn curries to understand what I am trying to say (unfortunately, no restaurant targeting tourists serves that kind of food). Main course apart, I have this recipe of Chocolate Fudge Cake that Sweta was gracious enough to share. Its an interesting one, especially for all the little trade secrets that she gave out (for which I am grateful to her). So people take down the recipe and share your experience.   Parts List 125 g unsalted butter at room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2/3 cup dark cocoa 2 tsp vinegar 1 cup milk 1.75 cup maida 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarb 1 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla essence Procedure 1. beat butter until creamy. then add sugar and beat until light. then egg yolks ...

यूं चुप चुप तुम मुझको देखते रहे मैं खामोश तुम्हे बस तकता रहा सन्नाटे के आगोश में यूं ही वक़्त बीतता रहा सवाल कई पर जवाब एक ही दिल में जो और ज़हन में भी तिनके जितना छोटा ये पल लगे इक अरसा बीतता रहा     

Well I was at an event today (I will not say where) and I was hearing these two Australians talk about the carbon tax debate that has split Australia right down the middle. It was a fascinating discussion as I overheard them, as they kept saying that it was about a terrible goof-up and a media fiasco of the Australian federal government that led to this mess in the country. To hear people discuss the impact of green issues on national politics was both an assuring as well as a scary prospect. It was assuring to see how Australia's national debate has been revolving around green issues. This is not to belittle other issues, but countries with such unique environment as Australia should certainly be discussing environmental issues with increasing realization that all issues of development come back and link to the issues of the environment. Moreover, what impressed me even more was the fact that some of those very eager to see the tax to be brought in were entrepreneurs who see it a...

And while I stood waiting, the world walked past me And I got left behind While everyone ran around and chased their dreams My dreams got blurred in my own teary eyes While I kept looking around me, trying to make sense of my life The world moved away, its giant strides crushing, unkind And I looked across, straining my neck To see what was left of the world's grind It was a lonesome scene, standing alone While the world walked past me, leaving me behind

Some time since I put in a recipe. For all those who love to eat chutneys and sauces on the side, and who also love yoghurt, this is a great idea. Muji Chetein ( muli chutney in Hindi or radish chutney) is a common side chutney popular amongst Kashmiri Pandit.   What you need are the following: 1 white radish - grated 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp caraway seeds (shahjeera) 3/4 tsp salt 400 gm yoghurt 1/2 tsp sugar Simply mix in the ingredients and serve spoonfuls with rice or chapatis . It goes well even with paranthas and makki di rotis . Believe me, its worth a while.