Hurray!

Here’s a positive update for us: 

US Hotel Heiress Paris Hilton’s potential inheritance dramatically faded out after her grandfather rang off declaring to donate 97% of his $2.3 Billion fortune to charity. Paris, a symbol of celebrity privilege in America, had always wanted a major slice of that cheese but eventually she cudn’t.

I hope this will shed some limelight “OFF” Paris,   as she was flooded with it. So, this is yet another good news for the ones who were “fed up” with her photos being posted in newspapers worldwide almost everyday.

I’ll log out for today, BTW, GOOD BYE 2007!

See ya’ll next year!! 

HELLO KITTY … For Men??

Hello Kitty, Japan’s one of the most “obsessed” character appearing on the almost all items ranging from a small eraser to a US$48000 diamond necklace, the cute lil’ white cat, usually seen on girls and women’s accessories will now be visible on men’s stuff too and will soon invade T-shirts, bags, watches and other masculine products. Creators say men accepted this as a design statement in fashion. This “for-men” product with the “HELLO KITTY” symbol will go on sale from next month onwards.

To appeal the men’s in their teens and in 20’s, its usual bubble-headed shape of Hello Kitty was changed a bit for a more rugged ‘n’ cool look.  For Example, the kitty for men has “HELLO KITTY” wordings, instead of the usual dots for the eyes and the nose.

SO is everything what girls have like lipstick,  nail polish,  fairness creams, beauty bags, etc going to come out for men too?

And Then Silence…

Ya’ll must hav heard of the tragic death of the Glitzy “would-be” Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. Well, that one was expected. She was from the glamorous and a very high-profile family, The Bhutto’s, also called the “Gandhis” of Pakistan. Almost all of the members of the family faced death by unnatural means. One thing is worth sharing, “Zulfiqar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were heavily involved in politics and died because of it”. (Politics: Defined by many as a “Silent Killer”) My Dad once told me that to b’cum a Politian one must be cursed by many. (Meaning becoming a Politian is the worst thing that can happen to a person.) I jus pray that The Almighty give some sense to these “POLITICAL GAMERS” who to gain fame and success ruin others life and property.

Note: This post does not represent my affection for politics but it shows my hatred for it.

200: A much-awaited number for me!

I guess I’m totally crazy of my stats. Mo’s article “Life Cycle of a Blogger” is true after all. To attract traffic I’ve been sending loads of mails and messages into the inboxes of my contacts and it worked too.

I’ve reached my second hundredth visitor today, so that means I’ve been hit hard. (200 Visitors in 13 days) Hmmm! Not Bad Either. Bearing in mind my student status and my poor organizing skills, this is way too much magnetism on ma’ BLOG!

Indeed, I m motivated to add more “bling-bling” content on La Communiqué™ … its more than a blog.

SO, KEEP VISITING! 😉

Myths–Decrypted

The subcontinent people are infamous for their very strong belief in Superstition – one may not find the strong belief anywhere as in the subcontinent.  Even as the world is getting advanced, this unpleasant belief is very common throughout the world – developed and the underdeveloped world.  One famous superstitious belief is the well-known “Black-Cat Theory”.  😮

Here’s a list of theories which topped the “Universal superstitious Beliefs”.

1)    Drink Eight Glasses of water to stay healthy.               
2)    Reading in dim lights makes a person go blind.
3)    Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser.
4)    Eating Turkey makes you drowsy.
5)    We use only 10% of our Brains.
6)    Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.
7)    Mobile Phones are dangerous in Hospitals.

But, the recent advancement in the technological sector has made it possible to “debunk” these beliefs. Complete lack of evidence has been recorded by the American Journal of Psychology and scientists have found no scientific basis for their claim. Two US researchers took these beliefs and stated researching on them to find any particle of wisdom in these “well-worn” theories.

So, let’s cross out the above theories and check out the reason why it should be deleted from our minds (if we have them!)

1)    Drink Eight Glasses of water to stay healthy.
No such requirement is necessary to stay healthy. It may be a gud idea to drink a lot of water because it reduces the fat content in our body.

2)    Reading in dim lights makes a person go blind.

Majority of the eye experts do not believe that it’s going to do any permanent damage. However, It may very well be the cause of:  Squint in the eye, Recurrent Blinking,  trouble focusing.

3)    Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser.

Shaving has no effect on the re-growth or the thickness of the hair.

4)    Eating Turkey makes you drowsy.

There is a widespread belief that it is only turkey that causes drowsiness and mood change but scientists have found out that eating a lot of food may lead to drowsiness or sleepiness.

5)    We use only 10% of our Brains.

This myth arose in the early 1910’s, but brain imaging shows no area is silent or inactive.

6)    Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

This belief is prob’ly drawn out from fiction novels. It has been found out that the skin dries out and retracts after death thus giving an impression of longer hair and fingernails.

7)    Mobile Phones are dangerous in Hospitals.

Despite widespread concerns, studies have found out that mobile phones have minimal interference with medical equipment.

Whoosh … Here Comes China

Ya’ll mus be familiar with the fact that China is, arguably the World’s Largest Manufacturer of almost all kinds of bits and pieces and that it is major global player. It has invaded approximately all the manufacturing Fields: Cars, Trains, Toys, Computers, Clothing and many more. You jus name it, they have it. During the years China has evolved into what people call “a fully-developed country”.

In October, they came up with the largest LED screen and probably they are striving hard to conquer all the possible superlative titles. So If that wasn’t enuf, it made its way into the stage which was previously ruled by Canada’s Bombardier and Brazil’s Embraer.
It came with its own version of an “AIRPLANE”, The Flying Phoenix, a sleek model of an aircraft with two engines positioned at the back. It’s yet gud news for the booming Chinese economy, especially for the Chinese Flag carrier as most of its vehicles in the fleet are aging.

Now this leaves the rest of the world to wrestle a great question “IS China really going to be a Superpower?”  With its current velocity, I guess yes.  Last Year its GDP was around $10.2 Trillion way ahead than India’s “dwarf” GDP, which stood nearby $4.2 Trillion. And Yeah, Yesterday as I was going through the pages of my favorite newspaper, ARAB NEWS, I came across the fact that China had even created its first Bullet Train, the third country in the world to create its own Bullet Train.

I suppose in the near future, People instead of migrating towards the west will think twice, because China’s getting attractive. WoW!

Way to Go! China! 😉

A Century!

BINGO! … thtz what I said when I saw my Blog’s Visitor Count screening “100 Hits”.

A Century of  visitors in  10 days. NOT BAD!

KEEP VISITING! 🙂

A cigarette

Defined as: A stick with a flame @ one end and a fool @ the other.

 

So, Here’s a deal, if you’re a smoker, THROW THE STICK AND GRAB SOME LIFE!

Shivers up the Spine

Yesterday, December 19, Wednesday, we were encountered by something that send shivers up our spines. “A Car Accident”

First Lemme me first define the phrase “Car-Accident”

“A car accident, sometimes called a car crash or car wreck, is an incident in which an automobile collides with anything that causes damage to the automobile, including other automobiles, telephone poles, buildings or trees, or in which the driver loses control of the vehicle and damages it in some other way”

Now ya’ll may be scratching your heads wondering why you want to know what a car accident is.

As it was Eid, we and my cousins who were our guests for the Eid, were in a festive mode and decided to pay a visit the unspoiled beach of Ras Tanura which shares some water with the Arabian Gulf. All had a great deal of fun there holidaying for some hours, inspecting Malls, downloading city-scenes in our heads as we passed through the streets of Ras Tanura (where the worlds’ biggest refinery is based), Qatif, Safwa and after using all our time allotted for our excursion, we planned to exit back home, Jubail. As I was peacefully sleeping in our car after a tough day of the trip, the cousins were following us. Jubail was some 65 Kms. away from the place where we were.

Out of the blue, I heard faded voices of my mom and dad as I was in a dreamland, but I somehow opened my eye lids.

I went like “WHAT!!”

I really cudn’t believe my eyes. Jus a few meters away from our car took place a fiery car accident. I woke up fully seconds later deleting away my precious sleep. All I cud see was FIRE, in the dark lanes of the busy Khobar-Jubail expressway. To my horror, it was a car which had jus lit up in flames after being hit hard by a “fleeing above 160” sedan. When I saw three men running away form the car, I knew the bang took place some jiffies ago.
My Dad braked hard as we were shocked beyond words. The sedan driver who had hit the car came out unhurt so as the other victims of the accident. Soon later, in about 2 minutes, highway Patrol Police came rushing towards the yellow scenario. I wanted to get outta the car and help n pacify the poor ones involved in the mishap. But, before I actually cud, my dad hit the gas pedal and off we went. He cudn’t take this anymore. I turned back as much as I cud, trying to see fire as it totally engulfed the car. (Gud thing I had a mobile phone equipped with a camera within my range)

As we went further we saw some more rescue unit headed for the accident scene and I sat upright on the seat and began recalling those images that I stored in my mind sum moments ago. I really wished they were a bit more careful, sitting behind the wheel.

We never experienced a live accident ever before, but according to some stats, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest car accidents rates in the world which also imply that these kinda accidents occur almost once in two days. I wish the traffic authorities take strict measures to root out this “F1-ism” from our roads by:

1)    Issuing harder penalties on law breakers,
2)    By lowering the default speed limit,
3)    Educating people about defensive driving,
4)    Awarding people who have no accident record,
5)    Installing a gadget in vehicles which stops them from crossing the adjusted limit.
6)    Monitoring of the roads more vigilantly,

Etc …

Moral: Think twice before hitting the gas pedal.

Tech-Infestation

 In the IT crazy India, one can see a lot of computer ‘n’ IT related stuff a plenty. I myself spotted many places where motherboards and hard disks were being sold on sidewalks and in one other instant I came across a cameraman using the BLUETOOTH technology to transfer photos he snapped to a printer nearby. This influx of technology is now a very common sight in India. So, if the Indian underprivileged class is not going bigger in terms of currency they certainly are in terms of Technology. Keeping this in mind, these sights: a beggar using a website to collect alms into his PayPal account, a mere cart person (Bandi-Wala) using a Blackberry, an unlearned man instead of placing his thump on a sheet to give his impression giving out a flash drive urging the authorities to chck his e-signature, etc are not very far.

Up there is a future view of the Indian roads and it depicts about the progress of India in the Tech-Industry. Computers and Gadgets would be so common and cheap in India that they will no longer be sold in Retail Shops, instead they’ll be carried around on carts!

EID Mubarak to ALL!

SHELL-A-BRATE this EID with great

POMP and LAUGHTER!!

PEACE OUT!!

$8,000-per-gallon printer ink leads to antitrust lawsuit

A Boston man has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing hardware maker HP and office supply retailer Staples of colluding to inflate the price of printer ink cartridges in violation of federal antitrust law. According to the suit, HP allegedly paid Staples $100 million to refrain from selling inexpensive third-party ink cartridges, although the suit doesn’t make it clear how plaintiff Ranjit Bedi arrived at that figure.

For most printer companies, ink is the bread and butter of their business. The price of ink for HP ink-jet printers can be as much as $8,000 per gallon, a figure that makes gas-pump price gouging look tame. HP is currently the dominant company in the printing market, and a considerable portion of the company’s profits come from ink.

The printer makers have been waging an all-out war against third-party vendors that sell replacement cartridges at a fraction of the price. The tactics employed by the printer makers to maintain monopoly control over ink distribution for their printing products have become increasingly aggressive. In the past, we have seen HP, Epson, Lenovo and other companies attempt to use patents and even the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in their efforts to crush third-party ink distributors.

The companies have also turned to using the ink equivalent of DRM, the use of microchips embedded in ink cartridges that work with a corresponding technical mechanism in the printer that blocks the use of unauthorized third-party ink. Adding insult to injury, most printers are lying, filthy ink thieves, according to a recent study, misreporting that they are low on ink when they are not.

Bedi’s suit asks for unspecified damages and an injunction barring the two companies from engaging in anticompetitive business practices.

Courtesy:  arstechnica.com

Sickzones

As I go out almost everyday with my new bike (bicycle), the famous GOLF Maxima, I cum across many strange thingy in town. Sometimes I discover new places: Eat outs, All-in-one Stores, Veggie Marts, etc but sometimes I approach weird places like one instant I bumped into a place which for Indians looked like India, for Pakistanis looked like PakiLand, for Bangladesis (Desis) looked like BanglaLand … Quite Amazingly people here had all they can ask for > Beetle Leaves, Hyd. Biryani, Bangali Fish, Pakistani Sweets and kebabs.

It was a bit awkward feeling thought, for us, b’cuz of the fact that they never took their eyes of me and Cycling Crew plus behaved like they new saw the decent world @ the other end of our peaceful Industrial town, Jubail. They jus simply stand on the road regardless of the incoming traffic and chatter loudly in their terrible dialects, chewing the Beetle Leaves, spitting down their “spent” leaves and staring @ everyone who is not amongst them. We even caught them on the lens wearing Sheets around their legs and vests around their bellies.

Sometimes I encountered with more bizarre places loaded with these subcontinent expatriates and which also seemed like a safe-haven for over stayers.
And, in this very zone, we saw all those posters and Bill-boards filled with spelling Mistakes. Following are some of the errors which were discovered by our exploring ‘n’ cycling team:

1) Equapment
2) Cattering Services
3) Comertial and Advertising Agency
4) Bakry
5) Hair Cut Sallon
6) Shoping Center
7) Cumputer Solutions
8) Indian Restorant
9) Shopers Place

Those were the ones I found in the “Subcontinent” Hotspot.
And here sum too:

10) Mans Toilet
11) The Brost House
12) Masterpece
13) Tailer Shop
14) Photcopy Here

Oops! Totally forgot to mention this; Guess What! We even found tens if not hundreds of fake brands representing top products. Here are a few of these counterfeit names:

1)  Panasafe (for Panasonic)
2) Radu (for RADO)
3) Unileven (for UNILEVER)
4) CAB (for CATERPILLAR)
5) Gamestation
6) P5P (for SONY PSP)
7)  Adibos (for Adidas)

…

And thousands of Pirated CD’s coming in n out of the subcontinent Flea Market.

Taking into account my Discovery Skills and a distinctive hatred for an ill ‘n’ immodest society, I consider myself to be eligible to apply in an agency which chcks and corrects all these social gaffes!

As a computer buff…

…I love dealing with software, hardware, firmware and doubtless all wares.
So, during the years my computer, prob’ly my bes i-pal, has evolved into somethin what I have now. It now resembles a hybrid-computer. (Cross-Product of both Digital n Analog Comp.) Maybe, because I had it edited many a times. No, not as many times as my buddy, The Hacker®.

Nattering about my PC, its stats are incredible, its look stylish and its sound almost no-more, unlike the decibels used to hear when we first had it seated on the computer desk about 61/2 years ago. Lemme, give ya’ll an account of the modification process and the e-stuff it lost and gained.

The stuffs involved in the export/import were:

1. RAM Cards

2. Motherboard (Replaced << all by myself, after a case study!)

3. CD-ROM’s

4. Floppy Drive

5. PCI Cards (Installed << 2 additional ones)

6. CPU Fan (Replaced << Twice)

7. Light Diodes

8. Power cables

8. IDE Cables (Fixed new ones << Twice)

9. Power Supply (Matter-of-fact, I changed it 4 times. Once the suspect was my mom, she accidentally plugged the CPU Power Plug into a wrong slot, then … a typical BANG!)

Now, those thingamajigs I jotted down were all the h-stuff, Yeah … the hardware stuff. I have formatted my hard-drive nearly 7 times and have tested almost 75 different kinds of software.

But even as my e-accomplishments are worth noticin, they are faded out in the face of the e-actions of my friend, The Hacker®.

He got his first external hard-drive when he was only 8, has formatted  hard-drives nearly 25 times, replaced around 8 motherboards, assembled one hi-definition computer all by himself, learned HTML jus by readin a book and is celebrated in the Computer Lab for his intellect as well as his understanding for a program logic.

Now, ya’ll goin to advice me to get a new Binary Machine. Ain’t that right? Oh! Yes, I really do havta get one…But tell that to my parents who don’t want me “Tech-Savvier” than the today’s usual me.

Trendz…

In my 365.25 approx. dayz of readin an’ understandin blogs, newspapers, articles, posts…, I’ve cum to a conclusion that mos’ of the bloggers (duh, not all!!) follow a particular theme for when postin articlez. Then, the’re more inclined to postin in agreement to the blog theme. The themes may only restrict their wits to only think, construe and put pen to paper, only selected articles. Likewise, writers and poets too follow a suit.

Perhaps, it might be the feelin of bein dissimilar to the other bloggin competitors or maybe because of their “wanna-be” nature.

To prop up my second opinion, lemme giv ya’ll an paradigm of my ‘opposite of foe!!”, . He is indeed a real, big, supernatural, extraordinary, astonishin chap, who probably think only about the IT all 24X7. When he cum’s across a guy who is willin to listen to him, he launches his IT blah, blah, blah…outta his “oral cavity”. He once was very pissed off @ me, for != not listen his story =, about overclockin the graphics cards. I totally do NOT oppose his continually lectures about computers, but whos gonna pay attention to somethin ur interest rates @ at a moderate level? I sit next to this guy an’ now he’s in a “CODE RED” mode with me, but the other ‘Charles Babbages’ in my classspace respect him a lot. I named him “Binary Agent” and probabaly the entire school knows him as “THE HACKER”. While hez not from the “i-mind” sort, people crack hilarious stories against him.

Now, this fella is one of the many men who restrict themselves, interests, desires and hobbies to only selected subjects…and there are many who have the same ‘gene’. This is one of the many factors why many people don’t get lured towards majority of the blogs in spite of they bein hosted on top domains.

Moral: A lil’ bit of twist of evrythin, wudn’t mess it all up!

India Growth?? I don’t think so…

Las’ month wen I waz cleared of round 1 of the debatin team selection, I was applauded n waz given a slip containin the topic I had to prepare for the next round, which was planned to be a month after the day I won the former. To my amazement, I got a topic which I knew all books wud contain, all magazines wud publish, all blogs wud post, all websites wud make public…The topic was:

“INDIA IS AN EMERGING SUPERPOWER”

I was quite content n exited about the subject I had to speak. I was full of knowledge regarding this topic, cuz I talk “AGAINST” the Indian growth all 24/7. I argue that the Indian growth is only in the media cuz the western lobby trya…blah, blah, blah. Considering the fact that I had to speak the “cons” of the previous topic, I waz determined to score in this one too…until they, the co-coordinators, rang off declaring that I was supposed to go “for” the motion. I waz totally dumbfounded by this, exclamation! How can I speak anything for this topic? How can I even score points? Where m I supposed to get the matter from?

…not from Neptune!! Certainly!

I came home feelin very weak, carrying the heavy virtual burden and came bombing down on the drawing room couch n soon dozed off. Zzzz

The evening I woke up, I still had that non-patriotic feelin in me. But, somehow I had to be patriotic (@ least for sum days) to go forward. It seemed fine for sum reason. Maybe cuz my financial consultant cousin, Mo, wud help me out like he did before or maybe I had Google® within my reach. Well, I tried checkin out the latter first. I hit in the address box:

http://www.google.com/

…then, I typed in the search box the subject that I was presented (I waz patriotic for now). After I waited for sum 4 seconds, the search engine came up with my results. To my horror, I saw what I expected. Every line, save 2 or 3, had a negative attitude for my subject. I basically wanted sum pro’s so that I cud speak sumthin @ the venue, but what I had here were couple of lines explainin me not to go for supporting the fact that India was all-geared up to b’cum a superpower. I knew this fact wud hav less support. So, I decieded to quit the browser n carry out with my math assignment that day.

Week Later, I got a call frm my friend concerning my progress. I frankly told him that it was “NIL”. I told him what I really felt like pronouncin on the head-teacher’s face…”I QUIT frm the debate thingy”. This shook him as well and I told my problem. He then, unexpectedly, advised me not to go for the second round. When asked why, he replied that I ‘d b losin 5-6hrs per day for 2 wks. Upon hearin this, my strong quitttin desire turned concentrated (pH 0)LOL. This thing was, for me, way expensive than the Microsoft’s New Surface computer.

So I made my final decision…TO QUIT!

Let, me tell ya guys why I don’t feel like speakin for the motion, not jus cuz I hated India, but cuz India is actually not proceedin in fully right direction to emerge as a superpower. I’ve got some thin here to clear ur confusion:

Read out what other feel about India being a superpower. (found on a debate conducted by bbc.co.uk)

I came to the United States from India when I was three and a half. I’ve visited the country a few times since, and one thing I have noticed is how each and every time I go to India there is tangible economic improvement. It surprises me because the wealth generated is in spite of widespread political corruption, poor infrastructure, red tape at every level of business, sometimes militant labor unions, and inadequate social institutions. It gives an indication of the country’s immense potential, and obviously it also presents the long journey to unleash that potential. I believe that as the economy continues to grow and the middle class broadens, the debate for more liberalization and better governance will grow. In effect, I hope economic growth will force better governance, and better governance will feed more economic growth.
SV, NYC, USA

Indian culture is centuries old and is bound-up in caste-oriented thinking. Until the caste system is destroyed (including changing people’s last names which designate caste affiliation) there will be little opportunity and justice for the very poor. The “higher” castes will continue to prosper and the lower castes will continue to live in poverty. Percent increases in GDP and average income will reflect the progress of the well off, not the vast numbers of poor.
Michael, California, USA

I think the biggest problem which is holding India back is lack of social infrastructure. India today is a big emerging power in the Information Technology sector thanks to its limited educational system, which is not available to everybody. Still half of the population is unable to read or write. If India wants to really prosper in a healthy way it will have to find ways to distribute the benefits of development evenly in the society. Population can be capital but also a hindrance if not educated, healthy etc.
Rajesh, Ranchi

Corruption is the biggest problem in India. Huge amounts are spent on infrastructure and it will be a mess till there is some accountability. The average person is just trying to survive, they really don’t care if the country becomes a superpower or not. My main worries during the day are how long will there be a power outage. How much will the cop extract from me. How many bumps on the road do I have to endure and will there be water in my house tonight. I pay taxes and I don’t know where all the money goes, so don’t talk of being a superpower. It’s just a topic for people to discuss when they drive by me in their air conditioned cars.
Abhi, Pune, India

The superpower status for India is an unwanted title. With all its force and efforts, India still needs to do a lot to improve its rural infrastructure. In the field of education, India is surely a role model with its variety of institutions for studies in many subject fields to show the path for other developing countries.
C Sachidananda Narayanan, Tirunelveli, India

The development and growth pace of India is fast enough. But what we need to be changed is a bit of political structure and almost all the politicians. As I see we are lacking in the leaders from each provinces. We have good leaders on top like our president and prime minister, but what about the other politicians, parliament members and small party leaders? I think we need to have proper rules to be implemented by election commissions, like no mafia/crooks should be allowed. No individual with a single police case.
Parthiv Shah, Baroda, India

The real problem of Indian economy is improper administration of the taxing system. Government and fiscal policy makers should be strict on people on who are evading taxes. Economic policy should concentrate more on social welfare.
Sibi Joseph, Manchester, UK

The biggest problem which India faces today is a growing need for infrastructure amidst its growing economy. Corruption and population outburst are two other major concerns. Unfortunately there is a perception in India that people can get away with doing just about anything. Everybody needs to understand that chances of making it to the club of developed nations are bleak with this much of corruption. It’s time our political parties act responsibly.
Indraneel Chowhdury, Charlotte, USA/India

India cannot be a super power until the poor can afford food and clean water. A country which cannot handle common mans problem cannot become a super power nor for that matter can be called as a developing country.
Naga Shakelli, New York, USA

The number of issues concerning every Indian is humungous. We have poor sanitation and the quality of drinking water is bad. There is pollution and economic disparity is widespread and increasing. Literacy is pathetic in some of the northern states but improving handsomely in the southern states. Agriculture is monsoon dependent, which means more than 50% of the Indian population is monsoon dependent. Infrastructure is abysmal and the government is stumbling at every step. India might face the severest of hardships but an average Indian would still be smiling.
Sayeed, Bangalore, India

India currently has the potential to regain its place in history as an influential international economic power, but the question must be asked, “at what cost?” Before India can achieve the aforementioned status, it must improve the situation of those whose voices are not always heard: the poor, the women, and those people that rely on the natural environment for a living. As an American, I see my country’s development, historically, as lacking the foresight to pace its development with the condition of its people. This time India can choose to copy the mistakes of the United States in its development, or it can learn from them to ensure that all of its citizens reap the benefits of development.
Rachel, Toledo, USA

The mos’ Moneyed guy in Pitiable INDIA!!

Is the gossip goin around here about Mukesh Ambani becoming the richest man in world accurate? Well, I waz jus surfin around online wen I came across a website screenin that famed Indian tycoon, Mukesh Ambani is worth a whooping US$63.2 billion, overtaking the celebrated Architect of Microsoft, Bill Gates who is now worth US$62.29 Billion. I was stunned beyond measure, cuz of the fact that India, jus 4 decades ago used to breathe with the aid of USA and is still the country listed as the mos’ loaned country.

Guess itz due to the recent high Oil Prices, [As high as US$92.2 a barrel] by which, Reliance Industries, primarily related to the Oil sector, mus’ hav gained a great deal. I consider this weird cuz India is considered as one of the mos’ poor nations n has its 25-30% children malnourished.

This gap between the rich n the poor is gonna increase unless the government, the high-class, the local society steps to root this menace n filth out of the INDIAN SCENE. Now this Ambani dude probably earns about US$280 per sec. while sum people don’t even make a rupee in the same time. The rich get richer while the poorer get poorer.

I hope Mr. Mukesh Ambani understands this n uses his fraction, if not half, of his fortune for a gud cause, so as the other “Top-Cheese” in the country.

The Day when I visited the Indian Navy…

…was the 22nd of August and was one of the most exiting days of the semester for the few students, including me, who were chosen to pay a visit to the Indian Navy Warships, who extended their invitation to the IIS-Jubail and the Indian Diplomatic Community and were docked at the Jubail Commercial Port which’s just across our locality.

After getting the school for grouping, we headed off to our allotted buses, and departed to the point were the INS Kaput and INS Betwa were anchored. Before entering the port we underwent a security check which demanded us to get off the ride. After making sure that we had no “Boom-Boom” devices, the security forces let us in. The port which is one the biggest and busiest port of the kingdom was incredibly big and expansive.

Several Cargo Ships and good vessels were anchored at the port and the loading\offloading process was in full swing. After an approx. 2-mile ride inside, we arrived at the berth where Capt. A.K. Jain and Capt. Ajay Bhutanis’s destroyers were relaxing. The very first glimpses of the ships had a “jaw-dropping” effect on everybody. It was the first time, that I saw these fiery warships from a close-up. We got off our buses and shaped ourselves into teams, which were guided by class-advisors. As we came closer we were able to hear the roaring voices of the engines which kept the ships and its crew alive.

Our group was first taken to INS Betwa, a Class II frigate equipped with the latest thingamajigs and weapons. It was designed by the Indian Navy: Directorate of Naval Design was programmed to be an anti-submarine frigate and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2004. As ships do not die its ancestor, the previous INS Betwa had participated in the 1971 war against Pakistan. The feel on the dock of the ship was awesome and as we climbed, we were welcomed by some of the crew members who wore white navy outfits with some weird-colored badges and stuff. Pilot Engineer D. Prem began briefing us about the magnificent frigate and its tools.

The most striking weapon was the tank-like movable turret gun which would fire shots as well as warning ones and behind it was the radar controlling the gun. Huge networks of steel chained were used to anchor this 20000 tons vessel. Everything on board was extraordinary and peculiar. As we moved to the second deck, the guy, Mr. Prem, tutored us about how the missile batteries function and unleash their latent fury. When I forwarded him a question regarding the range of the projectile, he smiled and informed me that it was supposed to be kept as a secret in a foreign land. (We somehow got to know the range, which was 150kms) The powerful missiles were guided by the radar located at the top of the main cockpit and could be even be altered into heat-seeking ones. “A right hit would blow 80% damage to the enemy target” said Pilot Prem, gesturing as he spoke.

After explaining more about the same we moved ahead. At this point, the neighboring vessel, the INS Rajput’s naval bands began to hit the notes and started playing the Indian National Anthem, which pumped patriotism into our hearts for a while. This was when our tutor informed us about the band and that it was the Navy’s best band. After moments of standing still and hearing them, we went on with our “investigation”. We inspected how the missile batteries were positioned and drew out picture in our mind about the reloading-process.

The next important “must-see” component was the main ship cockpit deck or the control panel which features the most important component: the chair of the powerful frigate Captain. As we entered the towering cockpit, we were set aback by the interior looks of it: Numerous Networks of cables and cords for controlling the whole of the vessel, Enormous Compass and other measuring and calculating devices, 4-5 semi-super computers for helping and assisting them in their computation. Quite Amazingly, the vessel’s ‘insides’ were kept very cool powered by the ship’s A/C Units. When, I asked them why they jus can’t pull down their normal windows was when they replied that it would turn the ship into an Iron Box. I now used my physics-inspired mind to understand the logic. << Conduction

He, the guide, began explaining the ship goodies and how they are made to function. After spending some minutes in the cockpit, we decided to leave and head for the main shed (…don’t know what they call it, so used the word “shed”, because it looked like storage shed). They Navy men had arranged some kind of party there exclusively for us, It seemed. We hurried downstairs to the main mast enjoying the attractive view of the Jubail waters.

We reached the ‘shed’ and this time we were dumbfounded by…

…a combat Helicopter!

The Reason of my excitement was probably because I never saw a helicopter on a Water-Vessel. The last time I saw a helicopter when the SWAT teams were called in to exterminate the terrorists who had killed 5 people in Yanbu in 2005. Then, snipers, as my building was a tall one in the area, climbed up and shot them from there. This had happened after I returned from School. I was really exited seeing the firing going outside and then the bomb disposal teams defusing the bomb package. Well…enough of that, let’s get back.

They, the navy dudes had arranged some kind of party there. With some cookies in one hand a cup of orange juice in the other, I had my day. I quickly quaffed the drink down as the temperature that day exceeded 40 C. It was an excellent feeling, but it went heartbreaking as soon we were announced that we had to part off.

The ‘men in white’, stood in a line resembling the ‘guard of honor’ as the school teams began ‘ejecting’ off the vessel. They bid us farewell while we were busy pulling their snapshots into the cameras. So, finally we were off board.

After minutes of walking to our buses, I found myself sitting back in bus. As the bus began its ‘exit’ tour I turned my head as much as I could to take the last glimpse of the frigates.

We were encountered with another security check and after that we just ‘bussed’ to the place, where else…

…The same old school!!