An uncle of mine having keen interest in Marathi literature & having flair for writing is looking out for publishers to publish his works. Born & brought up in Chennai (TN) & settled in Maharashtra, he has equal flair writing in Tamil language as well. His passion since 1972, he has to his credit 150 poems, topics on current affairs, etc. A few of his works were published by Maharashtra government & many articles/reviews published in news dailies viz; Samna & Tarun Bharat. Some of his works have been rewarded & appreciated by renowned & respectable Marathi authors viz; Smt. Vijaya Wad & Shri H.M.Marathe.
A senior level officer, he retired from State Bank of India in 2007.
Interested may please write to: venkat@pursuitwfs.com or call: +9866102112.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Didn't Pak score a point over us?
This week the cricket crazy nation was glued to their television sets & every other mode of communication platform, no not for the news on the ongoing World T20 but for the most awaited judgement of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage. Earlier it was the judgement day (May 3) & finally the sentencing which happened today (May 6), which saw the Indian news channels vie to break every information coming out of the court rooms & devoting the entire day debating the issue. While the nation is probably happy over the sentencing of the only surviving assassin caught alive & brought to justice, I refuse to believe the nation is overwhelmed by the outcome. The case which concentrated primarily on Ajam Kasab, probably ends the first phase of the year & half long trial.
Rewinding – the pics & scenes of 26/11 is still fresh in our memories, especially the one of Kasab holding AK 47 in his hands & eyes protruding out in both anger & success! While Kasab deserved whatever has been announced for him, what about others? Have they not challenged the Indian nation and proved through their operation that targeting India was very easy? The meticulously planned operation could not have succeeded without any support from “within”. The investigators & the prosecution, might be thumping their chests today on every television channel about the victory but it leaves a large question on the role of many. The Indian people would like to know from the Government on the action to bring to justice the rest & also the steps taken to prevent any such incidents in future.
• The 10 guys from across the border enter via sea. What was the Navy doing? Are they not responsible? Why not charge them for dereliction of duty?
• They alight in Mumbai in Dingys’ with all the ammunition. Where were the Police? Why not book them too for dereliction of duty?
• How did they smuggle so many ammunition into a iconic place viz; the Taj Hotel? What was the Intelligence doing? Why no action against them?
• They hold a country of over billion people ransom for 3-4 days, kill over 165 innocent people and the then Minister had the audacity to term it as “small incident” & comes back again to hold a responsible position after having dismissed “by people”. Is the nation short of people? Why not ask him to retire from politics or prevent him from holding any office of importance?
• What about the “white man”, who probably was also one of the masterminds along with those enjoying in Pakistan? While we are “dramatically hostile” towards Pak to hand some of the accused to us, what about Headley? Why are we not being stern with the US?
There are many more people & institutions responsible for the “act of war” & mass murder in the 26/11 carnage which originated from across the border. Does this not go to show that it’s very easy to create havoc in India & get away with it?
Whether the entire episode was executed by state actors or non-state actors from across the border, I, for one feel that Pakistan did score a point over us!
Rewinding – the pics & scenes of 26/11 is still fresh in our memories, especially the one of Kasab holding AK 47 in his hands & eyes protruding out in both anger & success! While Kasab deserved whatever has been announced for him, what about others? Have they not challenged the Indian nation and proved through their operation that targeting India was very easy? The meticulously planned operation could not have succeeded without any support from “within”. The investigators & the prosecution, might be thumping their chests today on every television channel about the victory but it leaves a large question on the role of many. The Indian people would like to know from the Government on the action to bring to justice the rest & also the steps taken to prevent any such incidents in future.
• The 10 guys from across the border enter via sea. What was the Navy doing? Are they not responsible? Why not charge them for dereliction of duty?
• They alight in Mumbai in Dingys’ with all the ammunition. Where were the Police? Why not book them too for dereliction of duty?
• How did they smuggle so many ammunition into a iconic place viz; the Taj Hotel? What was the Intelligence doing? Why no action against them?
• They hold a country of over billion people ransom for 3-4 days, kill over 165 innocent people and the then Minister had the audacity to term it as “small incident” & comes back again to hold a responsible position after having dismissed “by people”. Is the nation short of people? Why not ask him to retire from politics or prevent him from holding any office of importance?
• What about the “white man”, who probably was also one of the masterminds along with those enjoying in Pakistan? While we are “dramatically hostile” towards Pak to hand some of the accused to us, what about Headley? Why are we not being stern with the US?
There are many more people & institutions responsible for the “act of war” & mass murder in the 26/11 carnage which originated from across the border. Does this not go to show that it’s very easy to create havoc in India & get away with it?
Whether the entire episode was executed by state actors or non-state actors from across the border, I, for one feel that Pakistan did score a point over us!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Relentless Pursuit.....Pays off !!
As any other Indian, Cricket has been a passion for me. I had played the game while in college days & then for couple of clubs & the organization I was working for in the State cricket leagues. However, it being only a passion and not a professional sport for me, passion for other things caught up. Wildlife, nature & adventure always fascinated me & whenever there was an opportunity, I grabbed it & explored to enjoy it. I have been frequenting couple of spots down south in the recent past esp., the Nagarhole Elephant Sanctuary & Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
During the last fortnight, I was fortunate to catch up with an ex-colleague & a dear friend of mine. He has been a professional cricketer during his playing days & was also in the state team. We had played together for the organization we worked & were proud winners of the first corporate cricket tournament in Hyderabad. While he was passionate & vigorously competitive in his playing days, I never knew he was a wildlife enthusiast as well. Our common interest apart from Cricket, lead to us planning a visit to the Tiger Reserve he has been frequenting for quite some years now. So, we along with 12 other young wild & nature lovers (few first timers & few multi-timers) set sail for a 4 day get-away. The Central India has a few wildlife sanctuaries & amongst them the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) situated in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra in the Vidarbha region is a unique habitat of wildlife. The TATR which was declared a National Park got its name Tadoba after the local Gond warrior named “Taru” who died fighting a Tiger & the temple dedicated to him. Andhari is a river flowing through the sanctuary (although not a drop of water was visible in this hot & dry belt). The total area of the park & sanctuary is said to be about 625 sq kms. The major part of dry forest is teak & bamboo thickets. Very quite, with only the frequent fall of dry leaves, alerting of the sambars occasionally of the danger in sight, chirping of the birds, pecking of wood by the majestic woodpeckers, lou lou (sounds created by peacock) heard, the best time to visit is supposed to be between February-June, which is usually burning, with temperatures rising in the peak to about 45+ degrees celsius.
Tigers, the most magnificent of all the cats (unfortunately on the verge of extinction) is found in some parts of India. The TATR has fairly a sizeable number of them (45) considering the size of the reserve. This dry & thick reserve is home to others as well & amongst them, Bison, Sambars, Spotted Deers, Peacocks, Langoors, were prominently seen. Trailing the pug marks, which was visible almost every stretch that we explored lead us to nowhere. However, it was quite evident that the reserve was home to many of the cats & probably explained us to not loose hope & keep exploring. As in every other thing, you needed a bit of luck, blessings & ofcourse the talent to study & analyse the movement of these beautiful beasts. The well-managed park provides guide, who are fairly well aware of the habitat of these animals with every safari. These guys were helpful in studying the movements through the marks left by them on their stroll. While, the first one was spotted after almost 32 hours albeit at a long distance, these wonderful shy creatures made us wait relentlessly. Although time was running out (we had just couple of hours to pack our bags & head back home) & disappointment writ all over our faces, we were hopeful with our prayers. The hope & assurance of our guide that they would be out to quench their thirst in the hot temperatures in the region led us to lay a bait & we quietly with all our cameras, camcorders fixed to shoot pictures, hid ourselves in our vehicles, which resulted in us spotting not one or two but three of them in close range, less than 50 metres. Well, they say, patience pays off, isn’t it? True! After a relentless pursuit of nearly 56 hours, the disappointment disappeared by a long (nearly 30 min.) glimpse. What majestic creatures these are but sad that they are poached by some selfish & greedy inhuman maniacs. Like we have laws for us to express freely, live freely, these creatures which are essential for our environment & future generations too have the right to live freely, fearlessly in their own environment. Don’t they? Hope the government wakes up & makes stricter laws & enforce stricter punishments to the breakers, be it poor or from the elite society.
I’m thankful to the new friends who made this journey special & in particular I want to appreciate & thank Zeeshan Ahmed who has been helpful in capturing some lovely moments on the cam while I have been busy handling the camcord.
While I have planned & reserved my next visit. Are you a nature & wildlife enthusiast keen to visit this reserve? Please write in to: venkat@pursuitwfs.com or Karthik.enumulla@gmail.com.
Check out pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18721&id=1784882844&saved
During the last fortnight, I was fortunate to catch up with an ex-colleague & a dear friend of mine. He has been a professional cricketer during his playing days & was also in the state team. We had played together for the organization we worked & were proud winners of the first corporate cricket tournament in Hyderabad. While he was passionate & vigorously competitive in his playing days, I never knew he was a wildlife enthusiast as well. Our common interest apart from Cricket, lead to us planning a visit to the Tiger Reserve he has been frequenting for quite some years now. So, we along with 12 other young wild & nature lovers (few first timers & few multi-timers) set sail for a 4 day get-away. The Central India has a few wildlife sanctuaries & amongst them the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) situated in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra in the Vidarbha region is a unique habitat of wildlife. The TATR which was declared a National Park got its name Tadoba after the local Gond warrior named “Taru” who died fighting a Tiger & the temple dedicated to him. Andhari is a river flowing through the sanctuary (although not a drop of water was visible in this hot & dry belt). The total area of the park & sanctuary is said to be about 625 sq kms. The major part of dry forest is teak & bamboo thickets. Very quite, with only the frequent fall of dry leaves, alerting of the sambars occasionally of the danger in sight, chirping of the birds, pecking of wood by the majestic woodpeckers, lou lou (sounds created by peacock) heard, the best time to visit is supposed to be between February-June, which is usually burning, with temperatures rising in the peak to about 45+ degrees celsius.
Tigers, the most magnificent of all the cats (unfortunately on the verge of extinction) is found in some parts of India. The TATR has fairly a sizeable number of them (45) considering the size of the reserve. This dry & thick reserve is home to others as well & amongst them, Bison, Sambars, Spotted Deers, Peacocks, Langoors, were prominently seen. Trailing the pug marks, which was visible almost every stretch that we explored lead us to nowhere. However, it was quite evident that the reserve was home to many of the cats & probably explained us to not loose hope & keep exploring. As in every other thing, you needed a bit of luck, blessings & ofcourse the talent to study & analyse the movement of these beautiful beasts. The well-managed park provides guide, who are fairly well aware of the habitat of these animals with every safari. These guys were helpful in studying the movements through the marks left by them on their stroll. While, the first one was spotted after almost 32 hours albeit at a long distance, these wonderful shy creatures made us wait relentlessly. Although time was running out (we had just couple of hours to pack our bags & head back home) & disappointment writ all over our faces, we were hopeful with our prayers. The hope & assurance of our guide that they would be out to quench their thirst in the hot temperatures in the region led us to lay a bait & we quietly with all our cameras, camcorders fixed to shoot pictures, hid ourselves in our vehicles, which resulted in us spotting not one or two but three of them in close range, less than 50 metres. Well, they say, patience pays off, isn’t it? True! After a relentless pursuit of nearly 56 hours, the disappointment disappeared by a long (nearly 30 min.) glimpse. What majestic creatures these are but sad that they are poached by some selfish & greedy inhuman maniacs. Like we have laws for us to express freely, live freely, these creatures which are essential for our environment & future generations too have the right to live freely, fearlessly in their own environment. Don’t they? Hope the government wakes up & makes stricter laws & enforce stricter punishments to the breakers, be it poor or from the elite society.
I’m thankful to the new friends who made this journey special & in particular I want to appreciate & thank Zeeshan Ahmed who has been helpful in capturing some lovely moments on the cam while I have been busy handling the camcord.
While I have planned & reserved my next visit. Are you a nature & wildlife enthusiast keen to visit this reserve? Please write in to: venkat@pursuitwfs.com or Karthik.enumulla@gmail.com.
Check out pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18721&id=1784882844&saved
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