Musings - Abhay S. Kushwaha » India

A Polling Booth for 10 Voters

Abhay S — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:30:13 +0000

The best example that underlines India’s commitment to Democracy is what’s happening in the elections that are about to commence in Jammu & Kashmir with nearly 6,500,000 voters eligible to cast their vote.

India is setting up a polling booth in Ladhakh for just 10 people!

Yes, there are only 10 registered voters in this booth (No. 10) at Sunudo in Nobra frontier region, making it the smallest polling station in these elections, perhaps even the smallest ever in an Indian election.

This TOI story on polling preparations in J&K has some other interesting statistics.

A Brief Comment on Rahul Gandhi

Abhay S — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:40:21 +0000

Rahul Gandhi seems to be maturing into a fine politician.

I started giving a little more than a passing attention to reports on him after I read a story about him putting sycophants in Congress in their place. Compared to the near militant politics that is currently prevalent in most parts of the country by young, aspiring politicians, I have found his views and style to be far more restrained, mature, and generally sensible.

The fact that he is touring India in unannounced, almost secretive trips to understand her people better and is undoubtedly a future Prime Minister only bodes well for the general masses.

What prompted me into writing this? Rahul’s answer to why Afzal’s sentence hasn’t been carried out yet. He almost manages to sound like a regular guy.

Happy 76th Birthday Indian Air Force

Abhay S — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:58:41 +0000

Today, Indian Air Force turned 76.

Back in 1932, it was today that 6 young men (Subroto Mukerjee, HC Sirkar, AB Awan, Bhupendra Singh, Amerjeet Singh, and ‘Tich’ Tandon) were commissioned into the service after having trained at RAF College in Cranwell. With 19 ‘hawai sepoys’ and 4 Westland Wapiti IIA biplanes operating out of Drigh Road in Karachi, they flew on their maiden flight on April 1, 1933 (a day chosen by British to coincide with RAF’s birth).

It is now the fourth largest air force in the world.

The Darjeeling Limited

Abhay S — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:22:50 +0000

Forgot who sent me here but there’s no way I am going to miss this movie.

An emotional comedy about three brothers re-forging family bonds. The eldest, played by Wilson, hopes to reconnect with his two younger siblings by taking them on a train trip across the vibrant and sensual landscape of India.

The trailer is delicious.

Panchkula Carnival ‘07

Abhay S — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:30:16 +0000

My city is organising a carnival tomorrow (via. TOI Report). With a parade. Wow!

I love this line from the TOI report:

Anyone can avail the facility to see the events of the day.

Precious.

Army Gets Supersonic Cruise Missile

Abhay S — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:44:46 +0000

India today became the first country in the world to get a supersonic surface-to-surface cruise missile, BrahMos, officially inducted into active service (IE Report). The President handed over a replica of the missile at a function in Delhi to Army Chief General J J Singh to mark the commencement of delivery (President’s address & photos). The actual delivery will start next month, a whole year ahead of schedule. BrahMos is a joint venture between India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have created the BrahMos Aerospace company to commercially sell their missiles. GlobalSecurity.org has a good article on BrahMos.

Rigveda Added to UN’s Heritage List

Abhay S — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:52:33 +0000

Rigveda has been added to UN’s Memory of the World Register (IE Report). It’s available online in both Devnagri & the translated text from 1896.

Counterfeit Banknote

Abhay S — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:19:01 +0000

Today I got a call from one of the banks where I had deposited money that a Rs. 1,000 banknote was counterfeit and that I should come over. The note was impounded and I was simply issued a receipt that the note was a fake.

I went to the bank that had issued me the note and the account manager there said she’ll try to do something about it. I got a call later in the evening from the teller as well. From what I could tell, because I had failed to detect the note to be a fake on receiving the cash, and since it was not part of a bundle (but rather part of loose notes I had taken), there was no way of telling that the note actually came from the bank. In other words, they might not do anything about it. Ouch! I’ll know for sure tomorrow.

Do you know how to tell a note is counterfeit?

Indian Cricket Team’s New Coach

Abhay S — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 04:39:42 +0000

Isn’t it going to be ironical if the new Indian cricket team’s coach is called Whatmore?.

Creative Commons Launches in India

Abhay S — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:46:16 +0000

Creative Commons has launched its India chapter, allowing localised versions of Creative Commons licenses to be available for Indians.

Best of luck guys!