Incredible India!

Vellore fort, Tamil Nadu



Gaganachukki Falls, Mandya, Karnataka



Munnar, Kerala



A Cathedral in Thiruvalla, Kerala incorporating the features of a traditional Hindu Temple, a Mosque and Church



A Boathouse on the placid backwaters of Kumarakom, Kerala



Silent Valley, Palakkad, Kerala



Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttaranchal



Tso-kyo Lake, Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh



Eravikulam National Park, Kerala



Lake Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan



The port city of Vishakhapatnam (Vizag for short), Andhra Pradesh



Thirumalai Nayak Palace. Inner courtyard, Madurai,Tamil Nadu



Kumbalgarh Fort, Rajasthan



Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan



Lake Pichola, Udaipur, Rajasthan



Kaveri river running through Hogenakkal, Tamil Nadu



Kargil District, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir



The blue range of mountains that run along the western coast of India.This shot taken in mid May from Palivasal Tea Estate in Munnar in Kerala.



Nubra Valley, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir



Enroute to Kibber, Himachal Pradesh, India



Temple Tank, Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple, Karnataka



Temple Tank, Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple, Karnataka



Temple Tank, Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple, Karnataka



Kanchenjunga (8586m) viewed from Sandakphu, Sikkim



Tea Gardens at Munnar, Kerala



Rajgad Fort, Maharashtra



View from Ooty, Tamil Nadu.



Nohkalikai Falls at Cherapunji, Meghalaya



A Baptist Church in Alichen, Nagaland

Why ONLY Lokpal?

After the brouhaha, and as is usual in such cases, some responsible people have started looking at other routes to tackle corruption. The concept of Lokpal is all very good, but in a system where there is no plethora of laws, but only of enforcement, the institution of the Lokpal would only have added to the number of existing laws without adding anything to the manner of enforcing the same. Add to that the fact that the Lokpal is pushing for the ability to call on the Prime Minister (the highest power in a Westminister democracy), it is a sure way to twist the arm of the PM, which is simply not allowable.

Though I cannot with any finality claim that the steps detailed by Mr. Athale are better than the concept of the Lokpal, the fact that another workable possibility to counter corruption has evolved, speaks much for the maturity of our nation.

Ramdev and Corruption - Where the twain meet

The civil society's support for Mr. Ramdev's adventurism disguised as fast against corruption has me worried. Don't get me wrong. I am as much against corruption as you are. But if you are against the corrupt and want to take the legislative way to deal with it (since we are in a democracy), I suggest you get into the hurly burly of politics and do so. Being out of it and taking a lone ranger's path to supposed activism against corruption is to see corruption from a very narrow viewpoint.

Corruption has many hues, and comes disguised in all kinds of shapes and sizes. To glibly put the onus of corruption on the black money stashed away in foreign banks by its owners is to trivialise the issue beyond redemption. The stashed away loot is only a visible manifestation of the malaise that grips our psyche. Don't we pay off the MCD when they come to check our water cooler on whether it contains the aedes egypti mosquito larva? How many times have we asked the Chemist not to print out a legitimate receipt for the medicine that we have bought because it entails adding another 12.5% to the total cost? The neighbourhood doctor never gives us a receipt for the consultation that s/he charges. Do we crib? That isn't corruption, right? The examples are just too many and the vista of their operation ridiculously large. We just need to watch our everyday life from a slightly more objective angle.

We are only corrupting our own body politic to the mire when we classify corruption as something that belongs to the political class. And the Ramdevs of this country would rather piggyback on that thought and earn even more adulation from an idiotic public!

Time out

A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN.

The only question asked was

"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the shortage of food in rest of the world".

The survey was a huge failure..... ... Do you know WHY?

* In Africa they didn't know what 'food' meant.

* In India they didn't know what 'honest' meant.

* In Europe they didn't know what 'shortage' meant.

* In China they didn't know what 'opinion' meant.

* In the Middle East they didn't know what 'solution' meant.

* In South America they didn't know what 'please' meant.

* And in the USA they didn't know what 'the rest of the world' meant.

Double standards?

Siva Sena MP Sanjay Raut has hit out against Shahrukh Khan for speaking Baba Ramdev's proposed hunger strike. Why don't you practise what you preach Mr. MP?

Dear Shiv Sena-ists,

I fully agree that those who are called to one profession should stick to that profession. I frankly don't think Shahrukh Khan had any business talking about Baba Ramdev.

But equally so, I believe Baba Ramdev has no business meddling in politics and government. His domain is yoga. He should seriously sincerely stick to that.

Your tough stand against Shahrukh is commendable, but unfortunately it shows up your hypocrisy when you soo lap up Baba Ramdev.

We are all against corruption. But equally so we are all for freedom of expression too. Don't take the aam aadmi for a fool.