Sunny Leone Sells Mobile Phones Now

Sunny Leone as brand ambassador of Chaze Mobiles

New Delhi, Apr 27 : India's moral police may soon have a tough task at hand with an unknown, small firm launching what would pass off as India's first phone endorsed by a real-life porn queen.

Having signed on Canadian porn star of Indian origin Sunny Leone as its brand ambassador, Chaze on Thursday said "the upcoming Bollywood actress" would launch its mobile handsets with "mass appeal". It even released a picture of Leone as if she were at a press event launching the phones since having her to do that at an actual event in New Delhi may well have been fraught with unforeseen reactions.

When queried, the PR representatives of Chaze Mobiles, PerceptProfile, revealed the still had been shot during the porn star's "first-ever TVC shoot" for the firm at "exotic locales" of Thailand. The ad will soon be beamed during prime time on Indian television.

The imagery and association with Leone who is better known as a porn star than as an actress seems to indicate how Chaze Mobiles wants to position its product in an extremely cluttered low-end handsets market. However, steering clear of Leone's controversial past, the company described her simply as a "rising actress".

"I am very excited to be associated with such a young and vibrant brand like Chaze. I chose to associate with 'Brand Chaze' because I am really impressed by Chaze's ideology of bringing out mobile technology for the masses and personally feel connected with their vision," the press release quoted Leone as saying.

It remains to be seen how the market takes to Leone-endorsed phones. Boosted by a saucy TVC by Leone, Chaze may well gain an upper hand in the segment still dominated by cheap Chinese phones.

Chaze has launched two entry-level models C123 and Jewel; C555 which boasts a "big screen and big sound" (sans any specs whatsoever); C234 (a "touch and type"phone) and C99, a "full soft touch multimedia phone".

The company claimed its phones will be powered by "avant-garde features" such as dual SIM, auto call recording, answering machine, multimedia, big speakers, and last, but not the least, a spy camera! All models are priced between Rs 1500 and Rs 3500.

India's Huge Stakes in Myanmar

Dr Rupakjyoti Borah

India stands to gain a lot from Myanmar walking away from China’s embrace and turning democratic. As the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is visiting Myanmar next month, there is a lot to reconsider in the two countries’ relationship.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, right, shakes hands with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Source: AP

Very few observers in India and indeed across the world could have predicted the sudden change of course by the ruling military junta in Myanmar and its new-found love for democracy. Now, of course, it seems that democracy is on an irreversible course in Myanmar, particularly after the recent by-elections, which clearly brought out the overwhelming support for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

There has been a plethora of visits by important world leaders to Myanmar like the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the British Foreign Secretary William Hague and the Japanese Foreign Minister, Koichiro Genba. Following suit soon will be the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who the Indian media has reported will be visiting Myanmar next month and when that happens, it will not come a day too soon.  It will also be the first Indian Prime Ministerial visit to Myanmar after a long gap of 25 years.

India stands to gain a lot from Myanmar walking away from China’s embrace and turning democratic.  During the US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in November 2010, he had chided the Indian establishment for “not doing enough” to promote democracy in Myanmar.  However, India has had its own reasons for dealing with the military junta in Myanmar. India had initially strongly supported the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar after the annulment of the 1990 election results by the junta, but as Myanmar inched closer to China, India decided to change tack.

  It was the then Indian foreign minister Jaswant Singh's landmark visit to Myanmar in 2001 that helped to break the ice, though the then Indian Foreign Secretary J.N Dixit’s Yangon visit in March 1993 had helped to set the ball rolling. Jaswant Singh’s visit was the first to Myanmar by an Indian Foreign Minister in 20 years. Since then, there has been a steady stream of high-level visits from both sides, including the visit last year in October by the Myanmarese President U Thein Sein. As of 2010-11, the total bilateral trade stood at US$ 1067.05 million.

So, why is Myanmar crucial for India?

Firstly, Myanmar is India’s land-bridge to the ASEAN region and is hence critical for the success of its “Look-East Policy” which aims at re-establishing close ties with the countries of Southeast and East Asia.

Secondly, Myanmar shares a long 1600-km land border with India’s Northeastern region, which has many active militant groups. Many of these groups in the past (and even now) have found shelter in Myanmar. Close ties will help India persuade Myanmar not to give shelter to anti-India elements.

Thirdly, Myanmar is rich in oil and natural gas-which India’s booming economy desperately needs. India has been scouting across the world for oil and gas resources and Myanmar is India’s immediate neighbour, which will enable India to cut down transportation costs and the risks involved. The Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline (IPI) has been a non-starter because of factors like American opposition to the same and the worrisome security situation in Pakistan. Already India’s state-owned ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited)-Videsh and GAIL(Gas Authority of India Limited) have made significant investments in the oil and gas sector in Myanmar.

Fourthly, it helps to reduce China’s growing strategic footprint in India’s neighbourhood. The Myanmarese junta had allegedly allowed China to set up a listening post at Coco Islands, abutting India’s Andaman and Nicobar chain of islands. Recently, India had to vote against Sri Lanka at a recent session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on a resolution for 'promoting reconciliation and accountability' in Sri Lanka because of domestic political compulsions, whereas China, Pakistan and Bangladesh supported Sri Lanka.

Fifthly, Myanmar is crucial for India’s land connectivity with the rest of the Southeast Asian region. India has already built the India-Myanmar Friendship Road, between Tamu and Kalemayo in Myanmar and running onward to Kalewa, which will help India get land-connectivity to the other Southeast Asian countries.

Meanwhile, Myanmar also has a lot to gain from better and close ties with India.

India, as the world’s biggest democracy can do a few things for Myanmar, which China cannot, despite its economic and strategic influence. India with its democratic credentials and close relations with the U.S. and other Western and Asian powers can help Myanmar get full international acceptability, while gently prodding it to keep up its tryst with democracy.

India is already involved in a host of infrastructure and energy projects in Myanmar. Besides, it has provided 32 Myanmarese cities with high speed data link while Indian firms are involved in the development of Myanmar’s railway network, including the supply of railway coaches and locos.  India has set a target of June 2013 to complete the $120-million Sittwe deep water port in Myanmar.  This will be a game-changer for India’s landlocked Northeast as once the project is completed, vessels would be able to ply between India’s landlocked Northeastern state of Mizoram and the Sittwe port.

So, how can India help Myanmar as it takes baby-steps towards democracy?

Firstly, India should announce additional lines of credit to Myanmar, taking into consideration the areas that need immediate attention. During the Myanmarese President U Thein Sein’s state visit to India in October 2011, India announced the extension of an US$500 million Line of Credit to Myanmar.  This is in addition to the Lines of Credit of close to US$ 300 million that had been extended by India to Myanmar in the past.  In fact, Myanmar is as important for India’s national security as Afghanistan and just like India has given massive amounts of aid to Afghanistan; it should be prepared to do likewise in Myanmar.

Secondly, India should provide additional technical assistance and manpower, especially in the field of I-T, India’s key strength. Already, an India-Myanmar Centre for Enhancement of IT Skills (IMCEITS) is in operation in Myanmar.

Thirdly, India needs to help Myanmar get full international acceptability, especially now that India is a non-permanent member of the UNSC (United Nations Security Council)

Fourthly, India would do well to relax visa regimes for Myanmarese nationals (particularly those visiting India for religious purposes) and announce special scholarships for Myanmarese students to come and study at Indian institutions.

Fifthly, India could announce some unilateral concessions so that selected Myanmarese products can enter the Indian market. As the bigger partner, India has to be prepared to give Myanmar some unilateral concessions.

Sixthly, the Indian private sector should also be roped in on a bigger scale, especially in the infrastructure sector.  The kind of averseness to risks that the Indian private sector has shown does not augur well for them and for a rising power like India.

The entry of the private sector will also help to speed up the implementation of certain key projects.

Lastly, India should take the initiative to start bus services between Myanmar and some cities in Northeast India, taking a cue from the Delhi-Lahore and Kolkata-Dhaka bus services, while strictly ensuring that illegal weapons and narcotics do not find their way to India.

In some other areas, India will have to move cautiously. While India and Myanmar have agreed to cooperate in the implementation of the Tamanthi and Shwezaye power projects on the Chindwin river basin in Myanmar, it should learn from the Chinese mistake and avoid going ahead with the same. In September last year, the Myanmarese junta had suspended the construction of the Chinese-built $3.6billion Myitsone hydroelectricity project on the Irrawaddy river, which would have mostly supplied electricity to China. There was a massive public outcry against the project, which forced the Myanmarese government to retract and India would do well not to repeat the same mistake.

India’s policy towards its neighbours has rarely been successful. Myanmar gives India a golden chance to start afresh and upend its neighbourhood policy.  Myanmar will be a crucial test of India’s foreign policy, especially as it aspires for a seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and hence it calls for some out-of-the-box thinking.

Dr Rupakjyoti Borah is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gujarat, India. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge, U.K. in 2009. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at Rupakjyoti.B@sls.pdpu.ac.in 

India's Power Needs

Tea Will Be Declared India's National Drink

Jorhat, Apr 22 : Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday said tea would be declared as national drink by April next year.

"The drink would be accorded national drink status by April 17 next year to coincide with the 212th birth anniversary of first Assamese tea planter and Sepoy Mutiny leader Maniram Dewan," Ahluwalia said while addressing the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Assam Tea Planters Association here.

It was Maniram Dewan who was not only the first indigenous tea planter but also involved in the national movement, he said at the the Tocklai Experimental Station.

Tea will be declared national drink: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

"The other important reason is that half of the tea industry labour comprises women and is the largest employer in the organised sector," Ahluwalia added.

The Deputy Chairman said he would soon take up the matter with Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma.

He said India is the largest producer and consumer of black tea in the world. According to ORG-India Tea Consumption Study, 83 per cent households in India consume tea and is the cheapest beverage in the world after water.

Ahluwalia urged tea planters and producers to emulate the path of coffee planters and go in for producing more varieties.

There are more than 20 varieties of coffee in the market but there are only two varieties of tea -- CTC and Orthodox -- and there was an urgent need to bring in more varieties, he said.

Ahluwalia stressed the need for brand identification of different varieties of tea which could be further popularised by the private sector.

He also announced that a tea-room of international standard 'Chai Bar', the first of its kind in the region, would be soon opened at the Gauhati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC).

The tea room with a world class ambiance will have a tea lounge along with a retail shop where more than 50 types of best quality tea would be on display, he added.

Ahluwalia asserted that economic growth of the North East was healthy and the region would soon witness a sea-change with proper connectivity not only between different states but also with South East Asian and East Asian nations.

Speaking on the occasion, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said a special package for the tea industry would be announced to ensure its development.

"The tea industry is a village based industry which has played a pivotal role in the state's economy. It is heartening to note that the young generation in the industry is doing very well," Gogoi said.

There are many young tea planters and small tea growers in the state and "they should come forward as we are ready to help them in all possible way".

The meeting was presided by ATPA Chairman Atma Ram Kesera. ATPA, formed in 1937, is the oldest tea association of indigenous tea planters in the country.

India’s AIDS Demographic Profile Shifts

By Vidya Krishnan

Marking a dramatic shift in the demographic profile of people with AIDS, migrant workers and their wives have emerged as a high-risk group (HRG) for contracting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with an infection rate surpassing that of injecting drug users, commercial sex workers and homosexual men, according to the latest government data.

The change is accompanied by a significant geographical shift from the south and north-east—traditionally considered high-risk—to states in other parts of India such as Maharashtra in the west, Bihar and Orissa in the east and Rajasthan in the north, which now collectively contribute nearly 50% to the new HIV infections.

The data was collected before the roll-out of the next phase of the National AIDS Control Programme, or NACP-IV. The programme, which will start from April, has been submitted to the Planning Commission for approval.

Experts say the findings reflect increasing promiscuity, especially among the migrant population. The emergence of new HRGs and geographies will require a redeployment of resources and a shift in the focus of NACP, which has succeeded in arresting the spread of HIV in states once considered to be the most vulnerable to the virus, they said.

According to the World Health Organization’s 2010 report, India is home to about 2.45 million HIV-infected people.

“Without making any moral judgements, we note that the disease profile is a reflection of the social fibre. Our data reveals that the majority of new infections are coming from migrant workers in the unorganized sector,” said Pragya Mishra, technical officer with the National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco). “Migrants labourers stay away from their families for long periods and tend to be more promiscuous. The rate of infections among housewives who are monogamous has gone up considerably,” with the virus being transmitted by their migrant labour husbands.

As recently as three years ago, injecting drug users, commercial sex workers and men who have sex with other men were considered to be at high risk of being infected by the HIV virus, she noted.

The drastic change in demography is evident in Andhra Pradesh, which was home to the highest number of HIV-infected people in India in the previous phase of the programme, NACP-III (2006-2011).

The sample surveys conducted in Andhra Pradesh indicate a significant decline in the overall prevalence of HIV across districts. Sample surveys in the state indicate that housewives are more at risk of catching the infection than the traditional HRGs, said an official at the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS).

“Due to focused intervention, prevalence among HRGs has drastically come down,” said Kailash Aditya, joint director at APSACS. “In the future, the HRGs will be those who indulge in casual sex instead of the groups that were traditionally considered high-risk. To some extent, this shift in disease prevalence is due to the societal changes such as live-in relationships and the general increase in promiscuity.”

APSACS is turning its focus from the traditional HRGs to families of migrant labourers by launching a special project called Pehchaan.

According to the sample surveys in Andhra Pradesh, HIV prevalence among female sex workers decreased from 11% in 2008 to 7% in 2011. Among injecting drug users, the prevalence rate came down from 7% to 3% in that period. The most significant reduction, however, has been among homosexual men, with the rate dropping from 23% in 2008 to 10% in 2011.

Another shift in focus concerns the transgenders, who will, for the first time, be included in NACP-IV. Transgender refers to people whose gender identity, expression, or behaviour does not conform to that typically associated with the sex assigned at birth.

“The next phase will have increased focus on transgendered persons, with specific interventions designed to suit their needs,” said Dola Mohapatra, national director at ChildFund India, which collaborated with Naco and APSACS for their work among HIV-infected children in Andhra Pradesh.

Naco was launched in India in 1992 with the objective of slowing the spread of HIV to reduce future morbidity and mortality among the infected population.

Finally, iPad 3 For India

Although iPad 3 is not release in India. Some enterprising teens have made sure that India is not left out from the iPad release worldwide. Be sure to get ready for the influx of new iPad 3 in India. Keep your wallets close and your iPad 3 closer.

 Black market gangs join the iPad stampede to ship tablets to India (as enterprising teen, 16, jumps back 14 spots for £300)

• 'Agents' earned £20 a day to join the queues at Apple stores
• iPads exchange hands at inflated prices just outside Regent Street store
• One agent aims to pick up 70 iPads today and ship them to India
• Noah Green, 16, sells his spot in the queue for £300
• Woman in New York offers her place in queue for $1000
• Tech reviewers are unanimous: The screen is a revolution

By Sean Poulter

They came in their droves and queued outside Apple stores all over the world.
From Tokyo to Sydney, London to New York, thousands waited for hours – sometimes days – to get their hands on the third incarnation of the iPad.
Some who didn’t like the idea of sleeping on a cold pavement paid as much as £300 to jump the queue.

Customers in Apple's Regent Street store, all bagged up with their purchases. Dozens of people were paid by 'agents' to join queues around London and grab iPads to sell on. However, there is no suggestion that those pictured had any part in this.

Black market gangs in London paid people to join the queue and buy the new tablets so they could then be sold on at a profit.
The frenzy – reminiscent of the scenes which greeted the launch of its predecessor this time last year – is all the more surprising given that the latest iPad represents only an evolution of previous designs rather than a revolution.

 

Its key selling point is a so-called ‘retina display’, with a high-definition touchscreen boasting 3.1million pixels – more than an HD television.
The new model, which costs from £399 to £659 in the UK, also comes with an improved camera and a faster processor, making it attractive to those who use it to play games.

The wait for the pay-day paid off: 16-year-old Noah Green was fourth in the queue - but sold his spot for £300

Eager for a bite of the Apple: People sit in the queue for the new iPad 3 outside the company's flagship store on Regent Street in London

Noah Green, a 16-year-old student from Stanmore, North-West London, had been fourth in the queue at Apple’s flagship store in Regent Street, London, but said someone had paid him £300 to move back.
Before going through the door, he said: ‘It is worth it. I am still 18th in the queue so I will be one of the first to buy an iPad. I am going to sell it though and earn some money.’
Many appeared to have been paid £10 or £20 to wait in line for hours on behalf of a third party.
Some buyers had their hands full of shopping bags filled with products. One was even pictured wheeling items out on a trolley.

First! 21-year-old Zohaib Ali from London celebrates getting his hands on the first iPad 3

Ali's 141-hour wait: The 21-year-old ate, drank and slept at the front of the queue

At Westfield shopping centre, in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, a number of buyers were seen handing purchases – still in their shrink-wrapped boxes – to a waiting group of Eastern European men.

What the reviews say

Every reviewer has raved about the iPad's screen, packing a huge 3.1 million pixels.
Tech site The Verge said: 'Yes, this display is outrageous. It's stunning. It's incredible. I'm not being hyperbolic or exaggerative when I say it is easily the most beautiful computer display I have ever looked at.
Walt Mossberg, of AllThingsDigital, said: 'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.'
Macworld said: 'You’re left with the same sort of typographic excellence you’d expect in a printed book.
'It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device.'
Slashgear said: 'Steve Jobs would have approved of the new iPad.
'With its focus on the holistic experience rather than individual boasts around its constituent parts, it’s the epitome of the Post-PC world the Apple founder envisaged.'
Tech Crunch said: 'Once you see and use the new iPad, there will be no going back.'

One said: ‘We’re just buying and selling, we’re not doing anything illegal. We bought them and we sold them.’
At Covent Garden, men were seen handing over money, collecting receipts and organising scores of people queuing.
One agent, who gave his name as Martin, said: ‘I hope to get around 70 iPads today. I will be sending them on to India.’ The new iPad will not be on sale officially in India for at least another week.
Stores were given only a limited supply of the new device and many had sold out by mid-afternoon.
This allowed buyers who did manage to get one the opportunity to make a quick profit by selling them via eBay.
Sellers on the auction website were offering the 16GB version, which connects to the web via wifi, for as much as £562.79 – a mark-up of £163.79, or 41 per cent, on the official price of £399.
The scenes were repeated around the world. In Paris, one customer, Athena May, said: ‘I don’t think it’s worth the price but I guess I’m a victim of society.’
Shares in Apple punched through the $600 barrier – a new record – briefly on Thursday pushing the value of the technology giant to $560billion (£354billion) and confirming it as the world’s most valuable company.

Blanket coverage of the iPad launch: Fenella Barnes and Harry Barrington-Mountford, from Upminster, sit in the queue

Apple employees welcome customers to the company's Covent Garden store in London

He'll remember this: Staff clap for the first customer at an Apple store in Hong Kong this morning

Joy: Zhuo Hanling with his wife Seah Swee Kheng and their daughter look at one of their third generation iPads after being first in line to purchase the tablet computer in Singapore

Queues in Europe: Christof Wallner, 23, from Austria, was the first new iPad buyer in Germany

Waiting: Avid Apple fans were lined up around the block eight hours ahead of the iPad's 8am launch

Cashing in: Amanda Foote, left, waited with her friend in the line outside New York's main Apple store

Eager: People line up to enter a branch of M1 Limited in Singapore

I can see clearly now: A close-up of the display, courtesy of The Verge, shows what a difference the pixels make to the iPad 2's already sharp screen

First! Construction manager David Tarasenko gets the first-ever retail iPad in Sydney - but admits it was the hype that made him open his wallet

Why Indians Love Bangkok: Cheap… LEDs!

By G Pramod Kumar


Indians wheeling massive LEDs are a common sight at the Suvarnabhoomi airport in Bangkok

For lots of single men who fill the cheap flights from Indian ports to Bangkok, the anticipation of the city is as ticklish as that of the man in a Tata sky ad. It’s as much a sin city as it is a fun city.

A standard package of loud Indian men who often convert their departure halls at the Suvarnabhoomi international airport in Bangkok into mofussil bus stands have these: beaches; snakes, crocodiles and elephants; shopping complexes and markets; and Pattaya and massage parlours. Of course, massage could also mean sex off the shelf.

Over the years since the key Indian cities started connecting with Bangkok, if you listened in closely you could hear whispered words of received pleasure or expressions of accomplishment.

But of late, I am seeing a new trend, a new element of pleasure among the Indian pack’s budget itineraries.
Sexy LEDs. Yes, super flat, super light and high definition LED TVs.
Every itinerary of the package-tours that bring scores of men, and some families, now includes a popular TV shop to pick up an LED TV. The most common destination is the electronic district, Pantip Plaza. Racks of LED TVs of various sizes and makes disappear in no time. And most of them go to India.

Take a look at the Suvarnabhoomi airport in the evening, when a number of flights leave for Indian cities.
You will often run into an outsize LED TV on a trolly, sometimes as big as 64 inches with an Indian pushing it. Then you see LED TVs everywhere, with Indians behind the trolley. Of course you see an occasional Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi or a Bhutanese, but even to an untrained eye, they are like statistical outliers. It is almost entirely Indians who are gorging on LEDs.

At about 7 p.m. one can see them crowding outside the customs counter for certifying their products for VAT refund. The only exception will be a Russian or a Bollywood B-grader or a Punjabi aunt taking out her Prada bag. Most of the others are Indians and their big LEDs.

I asked the shopkeeper in Pantip Plaza who his customers were.

He said mostly Indians.

And how many TVs does he sell in a day?

Close to 50.

This is just one shop. There are so many such shops around the city. So much so, that the shop at Pantip now employs Burmese Nepali salesmen who can speak both Hindi and English. One cannot miss this exception in all Thai (except the tailoring shops) sales squad in the capital.

The scene at the TV shops and the Suvarnabhoomi airport indicate organised trade rather than household-purchases. The pan-chewing traders mostly come from Kolkata, from where flights to Bangkok are both cheap and plentiful. And they usually carry more than one TV. Many of them are couriers for a per flight fee a few times every week. Of course, couriers from other cities also do it. Family vacationists and heavily bangled honeymooners also shop for LEDs.

But why such a craze for LEDs among the Indians? The Chinese or the Russians, who come in equally higher numbers, don’t do it. Is it the HD broadcast, the aesthetics or something else?

The massive price difference.

A super flat LED TV is at least 40 per cent cheaper in Bangkok than in India. In India, it is still a luxury, but at Bangkok prices, it falls within the middle class budget. For up to 32 inch TVs, there is no customs duty because in Indian rupees, the prices convert to around Rs. 20, 000.

The prices cross the duty limit at 40 inches and above. If you buy the bigger tv, the premium is higher because big sizes of the current generation are substantially more expensive and hard to get in India, particularly in smaller cities. If one doesn’t mind new generation plasma, which is as thin and as good looking as the LEDs, the prices are lower. That explains why one sees a lot of massive 64 inch TVs being carried to India.

Another reason is weight. An average 40 inch LED weighs less than 15 kg, it is flat and very easy to handle. The airports in India are now so used to them that they don’t let them move around in the carousel, but keep them aside for the convenience of the carriers.

I have grown up watching refrigerators, air conditioners and stereos being wheeled out of Indian airports after slow clearance processes when they were sheer luxuries in India. You may still see them in Dhaka and Colombo.

Importing household electronics has become so old fashioned in India that except for some niche products smuggled in with the connivance of customs officials, we had almost stopped seeing them.

Now there is this surge in the import of LEDs. These are the LEDs that are available in the grey markets of India at at least 10-15 less than in regular shops.

What is perplexing is why a consumerist, industrial India is permitting this? Is it too small in terms of foreign exchange or trade loss? Or it is because customs gain some hard-to-come cash? Or is it a big racket that the customs choose to ignore?

Innocuous, but big customs rackets involving high end electronics, expensive liquor or similar contraband get busted on and off. Doesn’t something smell a little fishy?

Here's Why You Can Never Get Tatkal Tickets

Mumbai, Mar 2 :  If you were wondering why it is so difficult to get tatkal tickets, recent arrests by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may help you get the answers.

The CBI has busted a multi-crore railway ticket booking scam with the arrest of four persons, who ran a ticketing business in Wadala. The accused used over a hundred bogus personal user IDs with the railway's proprietary software to book confirmed tickets en masse, seconds after bookings would open, depriving genuine commuters of tickets.

A ticket-booking agent is allotted only one user ID, but the accused allegedly accessed the IRCTC portal with simultaneous logins. Cops are trying to ascertain how exactly they procured the software, and the extent of their ill-gotten gains.

The accused, identified as Mehtab Khan, Mehboob Malik, Santaram Yadav alias Pappu and P Naga Kumar, have been booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy. The agency suspects the men have also violated the Information Technology Act, 2000.

While Khan and Pappu were arrested yesterday, Malik and Kumar were nabbed on Wednesday. Khan, Malik and Naga Kumar have been remanded to judicial custody till March 15, and Pappu has been remanded to police custody till March 12.

System abuse
In the remand application for the accused, Inspector Girish Soni said, "This is a big racket run by the accused persons due to which the general public is deprived of their right to get railway tickets booked under the tatkal scheme. Meanwhile, the accused persons are selling the said railway tickets at exorbitant rates to the public." To book the tickets, Khan used the software, which is capable of getting the railway system to accept around 10 railway requisition forms simultaneously. He would access the website through his several fake IDs just after bookings opened for the day at 8.00 am. As anyone who has tried to book a tatkal ticket knows, the limited seats are sold out within minutes after the bookings open. With the software, Khan could book multiple tickets in seconds.

A railway source said, "The public has to wait to be able to make reservations, but the railway's own software does it much faster. If the person in question had access to the software, booking tickets would be a breeze." At the initial stage of investigations, the CBI is yet to ascertain whether the accused kept the profits made by selling the base price of the tickets, in addition to the inflated rates they sold them at. Sleuths will also look into how the accused managed all user IDs to hack into the system.

According to investigations, Malik supplied the software to Khan and Kumar. He himself acquired the software from Pappu, who in turn had acquired it from Uttar Pradesh-based Salman Ahmed, who is yet to be arrested.

The CBI is now in the process of figuring out how many other ticket agents and travel agencies the software was supplied to.

"The matter is under investigation. We cannot share details at this stage," said Rishi Raj Singh, joint director of the CBI. S V Ingale, chief commercial manager, Central Railway said, "No CBI officials have contacted us in this regard. What the accused were doing seems incredible."

Going by the books
The railways periodically issue licenses to booking agents. These agents, called Rail Travel Service Agents, are officially authorised to vend tickets to the public. Another variant of this is the Jan Sadharan Ticket Booking Service agents. These are persons with their own independent stalls who charge a small commission fee for every ticket they book. Both kinds are provided single login IDs to access the system, but Khan and his cohorts had multiple login accounts.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/here-s-why-you-can-never-get-tatkal-tickets-181808&cp

Massive Strike To Cripple India Today

New Delhi/Mumbai, Feb 28 : Key sectors of the Indian economy such as banking, insurance, telecom, transport, mining, postal and manufacturing could be badly hit on Tuesday owing to the nationwide 24-hour strike called by trade unions after the government's attempts to avert it remained unsuccessful on Monday.

This is perhaps for the first time in recent memory that trade unions affiliated to most of the mainstream political parties have come together to voice their protest against price rise, violation of labour rights and the government's free market policies like disinvestment in public sector companies and privatisation of services that could lead to job loss.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier appealed to all the major trade unions and 5,000 unaffiliated unions to call off the strike. But the unions rejected the appeal as it came only 48 hours before one of the largest strike calls in the history of independent India.

The trade union are demanding an universal social security net for all unorganised sector workers through creation of a national social security fund, enforcement of basic labour laws and stringent punitive action against violation of labour laws.

Other demands in the charter of the trade unions demands amendment to the Minimum Wages Act, provision for pensions, abolition of contract-based appointments and for putting an end to the disinvestment process of profit-making public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Major sectors like banking, transport, postal and port operations are likely to take a massive hit due to the strike. Key industries such as steel and power may see a low turnout at factories.

The country's largest lender, the State Bank of India, has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that its operations would be affected due to the strike.

In the transport sector, national carrier Air India said that its operations would not be affected due to the strike, as its unions have not given any notice to the management.

The Indian Railways have said its operations will be normal. But it is widely expected that rail tracks may be blocked affecting services. Also road traffic on national, state highways could be hit as various unions are known to target these.

States like Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal, where the Communist parties have a greater hold, are likely to be affected the most.

It seems political considerations have prevailed over a section of the unions on their earlier decision to go on strike. For example, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) said it would not be participating in the strike.

"The strike is politically motivated and illegal. We will oppose it tomorrow (Tuesday)," Ashok Choudhary, the newly elected national president of INTUC, said on Monday. The INTUC is backed by the Congress party.

Unions linked to other coalition partners of the United Progressive Alliance government, including the one affiliated to Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress -- Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress, will also not be participating.

Others, who oppose the country-wide strike call are the ones affiliated to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK).

The government has been asking the unions to desist from going for the industrial action by trying to reach out to them through open advertisements issued by the labour ministry in leading national dailies.

"Most of the issues relating to labour raised by the central trade unions have already been addressed to a substantial extent. However, I do assure all of them that I am always open to discussion on any of the issues relating to labour at any time and resolve the same amicably through consultations," union Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said in an open appeal published in leading national dailies.

‘AFSPA Violates Rights Given By The Indian Constitution’

 Binalakshmi Nepram

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Armed Forces Special Powers Act known by its acronym AFSPA violates rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution, said Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network.

Ms. Nepram was participating in a panel discussion on Irom Sharmila Chanu of Manipur and her 11-year hunger strike in judicial custody demanding the repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (1958) in India.

Ms. Nepram who was recently honored with the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year award said that more than 20,000 people have been killed in Manipur since AFSPA first came into force here in 1958. “There is no security in our lives,” she declared.

Babloo Lotongbam, Executive Director of Human Rights Alert, Manipur highlighted the problem in using army for policing. “Police uses power to maintain order while army use of power is to overpower the adversary,” he said. The whole of North East is declared a “disturbed area” to deploy the army. Mr. Lotongbam argues that army is not used in mainland India even though level of violence in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand is much higher.

Irom Sharmila started her career working as an intern for a Public Commission on AFSPA that Mr. Loitongbam organized in 2000. Just a few days later, after ten civilians were killed by members of Assam Rifles, she started her fast that has continued for more than 11 years.

She was arrested for three days after beginning her fast and is re-arrested every year for “attempting to commit suicide.” She is being force-fed through a nasal tube. She has been kept as the highest security prisoner and no one is allowed to meet her without permission from the government.

Declaring that AFSPA has failed, Pradyot Deb Barma, Chairman and Editor of The Northeast Today magazine said, “AFSPA is our 9/11,” referring to not only the date when it was first imposed in 1958 but also the terror that residents of North Eastern states continue to face due to this law.
Dr. Angana Chatterji, Co-convener of the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir talked about AFSPA use in Kashmir and its effect on the civilian population.

The story of Irom Sharmila Chanu of Manipur, and her 11-year hunger strike in judicial custody, demanding the repeal of AFSPA, frames the first US symposium on the Act and its use in Jammu & Kashmir and in Manipur, Tripura, and other states in India’s remote North Eastern region. Aspects of the deployment of the Act, the special powers it gives to India’s security forces in handling the country’s border regions, and its impact on India’s democratic, constitutional, and judicial practice, were discussed by a panel moderated by Charlie Clements, Executive Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Film and media curator L. Somi Roy of New York, and Hun-tré! International Manipur Projects, New York/Imphal, made an introductory cultural background presentation on Manipur.

The event was co-sponsored by the Harvard India Caucus, Kashmir Initiative at the Carr Center, North American Manipur Association (NAMA), European Manipuri Association (EMA), and Manipuri Diaspora Association.

Wackiest Things About India

A look at 106 whacky things you will find only in India!

Andhra Pradesh
1. Make a collection out of attars, concentrated naturally perfumed oils with poetic names and a rather lingering fragrance. Tiny glass bottles of these colourful attars can be found in Charkaman and Pathargatti, in the old city of Hyderabad.

2. Apart from a line-up of vintage cars, the Nizam's Museum in Hyderabad has some really weird things such as gold lunch boxes inlaid with diamonds and miniature models of the city's prominent buildings in silver.

3. A traditional steel tiffin box that opens up as a CD rack; a photo frame in the shape of a truck; beer glasses with filmi dialogues... Dcube is a quirky giftshop at Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills. www.dcube.in

Arunachal Pradesh
4. The Tenzing Restaurant at Sela Pass is supposed to be one of the highest restaurants in the world. Sela Pass is the gateway to Tawang.

5. Walk across the suspension bridge over Lohit river to Dong, the tiny place that gets the first rays of sun in India. About 7 km from Walong in Lohit district.

Assam
6. Get your fortune told at Navagraha Mandir, or temple of nine celestial bodies on Chitrasal Hill, Guwahati, known for forecasting future.

7. Watch tea being auctioned at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre, the largest auction in India, where the trading gets fairly frenzied, very unlike a soothing cup of tea. E-mail jkakati@assamteaexchange.com for permission to attend.

Chhattisgarh
8. Get a Godna tattoo in Bastar, where you'll notice women wearing bangles, necklaces, waistbands, earrings, nose-pins, anklets made of ink. According to tribal belief, precious metal jewellery was mortal and for a permanent ornament--an essential for the other world-tattoo became the solution.

9. Attend Irpu, in the season of Magh (Jan-Feb), held to mark the flowering of the sacred Mahua tree. It's prohibited to pick Mahua flowers before the festival. On Irpu day, a fowl is sacrificed for a mahua tree in the village headman's fields, followed by song and dance.

10. If you visit Bastar during Baisakh (April-May), you will see Bhima Khuta, a pole representing the rain god Bhima Deo, to which villagers pray for a good monsoon. Women prepare bhojilis, a few seeds sown in a leaf cup, and wait for it to sprout--a sign of a good rainy season.

Delhi
11. Enter the world of mysteries and have some fun while you're at it. A pub crawl in Paharganj will be an experience like none other. You can find the cheapest drinks in Delhi here (20 bucks) but that's not even the point. At places like India Club, where parts of Dev D was shot, and My Bar, atmosphere is the king as you witness the underbelly of Delhi from up close.

12. See how sanitation habits changed over two and a half centuries at Delhi's incredible Sulabh International Museum of Toilets. www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org

13. If you're shoe-crazy, forget brands and get custom-made shoes by Dr Rameshwar Arya. His tiny shop is at A 16, Nizamuddin West Market.

14. Handpainted movie posters at Cinema Posters, 3 Hauz Khas Village.

15. Join a amateur photographers on a 'photo walk'. The themes vary from heritage to environment. www.delhiphotographyclub.com

16. Do Delhi By Cycle, whether it is the bylanes of Chandni Chowk or a Raj tour that traces the imperial heart of the city. Conducted by Dutch cyclist Jack Leenaars. www.delhibycycle.com

17. We love the thought behind Any Surprise Any Place, ASAP, who promise to surprise your loved ones in whichever way you want, anywhere you want. www.asap.co.in

Goa
18. Ponder over the mysterious bubbles at the Bubble Lake at Netravali in South Goa. Legend has it that clapping your hands (or any sudden sounds) make the bubbles rise up.

19. Attend an SEQC quiz, Sunday Evening Quiz Club where the quizzes are free and hosted by different quizmasters each time. www.seqc.blogspot.com

20. Take a train to Goa in the monsoon. Start from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and take the Konkan Railway route into the beach capital. The route takes you through numerous tunnels and past waterfalls along the way. Do make sure you book a window seat.

21. Read or renew your wedding vows on a beach. www.weddingsetcgoa.com

22. Join the Shutterbugs for a photowalk through the hidden bylanes of Goa. Enthusiastic amateur photographers are often accompanied by professionals who are happy to guide and share their inputs. www.goanshutterbugs.com

Haryana
23. The Star Monument in Bhiwani is an inspired contemporary structure. A hexagonal pyramid, it has six star-shaped sides, each a lofty 101ft, three of which are clad in white marble and three in blue Italian glass. Truly odd!

24. Urusvati Museum of Folklore in Shikhopur Village, Gurgaon, is dedicated to love stories and folklore from the subcontinent. The stories of both mythologically and historically famous couples such as Baz Bahadur and Roopmati, Nal and Damyanti, Shakuntala and Dushyant, Heera and Ranjha, and many others, are told through the medium of paintings, miniatures and terracotta tablets. Tel: (0)98111 31266.

Himachal Pradesh
25. Enrol for a cooking class at Lhamo's Kitchen in McLeodganj, and learn how to prepare the delicious Tibetan dishes. On Bhagsu Road.

26. It is an unlikely venue for watching art house cinema or the edgiest foreign films, yet movie screenings in little improvised rooms fitted with a projector are regularly held in McLeodganj. Look around the bus stop area and posters on the wall for show timings.

27. Suketi Fossil Park in Nahan has fibreglass skeletons of animals.

28. The atmospheric The Castle, Naggar, is believed to be haunted. http://hptdc.nic.in

Jammu and Kashmir
29. At Magnetic Hill, you can experience 'magic' of cars being pulled upwards due to the magnetic properties of the hill. In reality though, this seemingly gravity-defying act is nothing but an optical illusion but much fun nonetheless! About 50 km from Leh, in Ladakh.

Jharkhand
30. Taste tribal food at the very quirky Jungli Restaurant that functions out of a garage in Ranchi. www.junglirestaurant.com

31. One of the region's most exotic relics is a pair of drums made of human skin, preserved in a grove in the forests of Chhota Nagra.

32. Visit Jhumri Tilaiya, yes it really exists, situated about an hour north of Hazaribagh and home to the pretty Tilaiya reservoir.

33. Ramgarh, near Rajrappa Temple, has the Liril Waterfall, named after the popular and raunchy Liril commercial in the 1990s.

Karnataka
34. Attend the Kodava Hockey festival, apparently among the world's largest field hockey championships, held in Coorg every year in April-May.

35. Watch the curious sport of buffalo surfing, common along the coastal belt of rural Karnataka.

36. Visit the unique Driftwood Museum in Chakrapadi, Kumarakom, full of gnarled and twisted roots.

37. In the lanes of Avenue Road, is Raju Dosa, the only place in Bangalore with Gujarati innovations such as Sweet Dosa, Saunf Dosa and Kairi Dosa.

38. At Bangalore's Daily Dump, you can buy composting solution apart from a range of flower pots and other garden accessories in curious shapes and vibrant colours. www.dailydump.org

39. Chumbak is where you get funky everything, from fridge magnets to TP covers. Visit the store at A 802, Akme Ballet, Mahadevpura, Outer Ring Road, Bangalore, or check out their stuff online at www.chumbak.in

40. Beat stress with a session of laughter yoga at Bangalore's Laughter Yoga Research Institute. Sessions often include performances by stand-up comedians. www.laughteryoga.org

41. When Raina Sahu moved back to India after nearly two decades in the USA, she shopped for essentials in offbeat places and found others who were interested in the surplus. Thus was born The Tuckshop with all kinds of items from clothing to coffee powder. The barter has found many takers, exchanging services for goods: a music concert in exchange for a fridge, a pair of rabbits for an unused breadmaker, a meal of Kerala-style fish curry and rice for a t-shirt. At The Tuckshop, the customer and the seller just have to agree on what they are willing to swap. http://tuckshop.in

Kerala
42. Forget jeep and elephant, and opt for a bullock cart safari through the villages around Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady. E-mail info@tickkerala.com

43. Learn to climb a coconut tree from natives and take home a certificate when you complete the six-day climbing course at Kozzhikode's Indian Institute of Spices Research. www.spices.res.in

44. See ox race, before the sowing season, through flooded paddy fields. The practice is especially prevalent in Pathanamthitta district in south Kerala.

45. Maria Goretti says that Laze in a jacuzzi on top of a mountain, as it snows, at Rokeby Manor, near Mussoorie.

46. Walk across the longest bridge in Kerala, just a couple of feet wide at Kottapuram near Nileswaram, which connects sparsely populated islands.

47. Visit the world's oldest pepper exchange in Jew Town, Kochi that's the only such exchange in India, and which monitors global and domestic pepper prices. www.ipsta.com

48. Learn to make traditional Kerala delicacies such as beef fry, mutton stew, palappam, meel moilee, with Nimmy and her husband Paul, at their mansion in Fort Kochi. www.nimmyandpaul.com

49. Visit the one-of-its-kind teak museum near Nilambur in Malappuram district where a two-storey building provides information on all aspects of teak.

Lakshadweep
50. For one of the strangest sights, take a midnight stroll on Bangaram beach, and you will be met with an eerie bluish glow, arising out of phosphorescent plankton that has been washed ashore.

Madhya Pradesh
51. The Bhagoria Haat held in Bhil-dominated villages, specifically in Nimar and Jhabua, is a unique haat to choose a life partner. Held in March, around Holi, a boy applies gulal on the face of the girl whom he selects as his wife. If she's willing, the girl reciprocates in similar fashion. Having selected each other as partners the pair is supposed to elope. They return after a few days and are accepted as husband-wife.

52. The Mohan Gallery at Baghela Museum in Rewa is dedicated to the region's famous white tiger and chronicles its life.

Maharashtra
53. Hiro Music Store in Mumbai will delight all music lovers with an envious collection of LPs and CDs. Opposite Punjab National Bank, Sir P.M. Road, Fort.

54. The second lifeline of Mumbai, after the local trains, comes to life at the BEST museum at Wadala's Anik Bus depot. It features amateur mini models of BEST buses and the ancient trams.

55. If you think bhaji with pav is cliche, try Khurshid's anda bhurji with the local bread for a midnight snack. However, Khurshid's opens only after midnight, around 1 a.m. and continues till the crack of dawn. Near Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle West.

56. Merge real life with reel life on a tour of the Goregaon film city in the northern suburbs of Mumbai.

57. Enter the 'Black Box', a small auditorium at the Comedy Store Diner at The Palladium, Phoenix Mall Compound, for dinner in the company of both amateur and pro stand-up comic actors. www.thecomedystore.in

58. Relive the romance of Bollywood by opting for a tonga ride (a bunch of balloons in hand, maybe?) at Mumbai's Apollo Bunder.

59. Visit the weird and wacky Shree Chhatrapati Shahu Museum, in Kolhapur, and be thoroughly intrigued by its rather unique exhibits, including a fairly disquieting taxidermy collection.

60. Take a leaf out of the Aamir Khan movie and embark on a photo tour of Mumbai's Dhobi Ghat, near Mahalaxmi railway station.

61. Appreciate South Mumbai's gloriously crumbling buildings and leafy avenues on an early morning photo tour of Colaba. End your tour at the Gateway Of India, and follow up with breakfast at the famous Cafe Mondegar.

62. Hinesh Jethwani is the mind behind Indian Hippy, an online store that has brought together painters who specialise in Bollywood posters, a dying art. He can also paint you into a poster of your favourite movie. Check www.hippy.in

63. Spend a few hours soaking up some spirited cricketing action-and watch scores of Sachin Tendulkars in the making-at Mumbai's Shivaji Park.

64. Jawaharlal Nehru, Mother Teresa, Amitabh Bachchan or AR Rahman-all frozen in wax at the Celebrity Wax Museum in Lonavala.

65. Watch the famed wrestling matches of Kolhapur at the Kasbagh Maidan.

Manipur
66. Watch a match of Yubi Lakpi, Manipuri Rugby, at the Bijoy Govinda Temple or Palace grounds, where the humble coconut does duty as a ball.

67. Cheibi is one of Manipur's ancient martial arts, a sort of duel, and a state level competition is now held at the Khuman Lampak stadium in Imphal.

Meghalaya
68. The Wankhar Entomology Museum at Riatsamthiah is a private collection of stick insects and butterflies. Tel: (0364) 254 4473.

69. Gamble at a match of teer, or archery, the thrilling local pastime in Shillong. Three archery clubs gather every afternoon between 3.15 and 4.15 and shoot over a thousand arrows in a matter of few minutes.

70. Stay at treetop at Mawlynnong, Asia's cleanest village, near Shillong.

Mizoram
71. Milu Puk, translating to the skull cave, near Mamte Village, 100 km from Lunglei town is where heaps of human skeletons were found some years ago. Since then many skull caves have been found, such as Lamsial Puk near Falklawn Village.

72. Ride with the Aizawl Thunders, a club of 250-odd bikers who can often to be spotted riding their Enfield Bullets through the city. Started just for fun, The Aizawl Thunders have become pretty iconic and often rally for various social causes. You, can too, join the thunder.

73. Phulpui Grave, in Aizawl, celebrates the Romeo and Juliet of Mizoram. Mizoram is full of love stories and Phulpui, with its twin graves, is a revered site.

74. Laldenga London, a cave on way to Reiek Peak, is named after PU Laldenga, Chief Minister of Mizoram in the 1980s. Laldenga apparently hid in the cave while leading the Mizo Separatist Front, apparently telling the world that he was communing with European leaders in London!

Nagaland
75. Explore the headhunting relics, if you are so inclined, and skull exhibits, or simply the wood carvings in Mon where Chenloisho village has a small museum for the creepy stuff.

Orissa
76. Climb the lighthouse at Gopalpur on Sea on a late afternoon and watch one of the coolest sunsets.

77. Hop on a 'green' rickshaw, driven by men in Green Rider t-shirt through the bylanes of Puri. A Puri Municipality's initiative to keep the city green, this is an eco-friendly way to see the quaint buildings of this town.

Rajasthan
78. Sanjay Omelette, run by, yes, Sanjay, for over 30 years now and has more than 100 types of egg dishes. In Bapunagar, Jaipur.

79. Witness elephant polo at the Polo Grounds in Jaipur and cast aside all your notions of this game being an equestrian preserve.

80. Watch salt being produced at Sambhar Lake, which is India's largest inland salt water lake about 90 odd km from Jaipur. The whole lake is a giant salt factory with dams, evaporation ponds and salt pans constructed on it and is an unusual sight to take in.

81. The spooky old town of Bhangarh is at the edge of the Sariska Tiger Reserve and full of legends and ghost stories. Visit at your own peril though, as an ominous sign by the ASI warns visitors to leave the site post sundown.

82. You can watch exorcism rituals at Mehndipur Balaji Temple, about 3 km inwards from the Jaipur-Agra road, via video-screens outside the temple. You can enter after the ritual is over on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

83. Kuldhara, a 13th-century deserted village on the outskirts of Jaisalmer, is believed by the locals to be cursed and haunted.

84. Pay your respects at Bullet Baba's Temple at Chotila village, 20 km from Pali, on the way to Jodhpur. It's a shrine where, believe it or not, an Enfield Bullet is worshipped along with its owner Om Bana.

85. There is a smell of petrol in the air as the fire eaters eat and breathe fire by the serene ghats of the Pushkar Lake. You can witness this intense performance during internationally renowned Pushkar Mela.

86. At an Opium Ceremony at the Bishnoi village Osian, outside Jodhpur, slurp powdered and diluted opium concoction straight from the palms of the server.

87. Warm and friendly, Shashi runs cooking classes that teach you how to make local delicacies. 18 Gangaur Ghat Road, Udaipur. Tel: (0) 99293 03511

88. Worship rats, if you please, at the Rat Temple at Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner.

Sikkim
89. For a unique aspect of the city, get a bird's eye view of Gangtok through a helicopter ride run by Sikkim Tourism Helicopter service. www.sikkimtourism.travel

Tamil Nadu
90. Jallikattu, or bull taming, is played during Pongal near Madurai.

91. Bookworm Prabalan runs Oasis Books from his old Mylapore bungalow. It has the city's best collections of books and magazines on activism, revolutions, environment and related issues. Call him on (044) 2461 3445 and make an appointment to visit.

92. The ubiquitous blue-checked Madras lungi, according to recent newspaper reports, is being turned into jackets, dresses and scarves in faraway Spain. The Co-optex showrooms across the city has dress material in the lungi pattern that you can buy and fashion to your whim.

93. The act of getting oysters from the depth of the sea makes for quite an offbeat pastime. Tuticorin, the country's Pearl City, is where you can still see the nearly obsolete method of pearl hunting. Local fishermen take the plunge with wooden buckets in hand. Nine times out of ten, there are no pearls in the oysters. However, just that one pearl calls for really robust celebrations.

Uttar Pradesh
94. The Ayurveda Jhansi Mahotsav highlights the various herbal and ayurvedic products of Jhansi and is a weeklong healing holiday.

95. Try Thaggu ke Laddu in Kanpur, a popular sweet shop that makes several different kinds.

96. The lovely rooftop Filocafe in Varanasi has, quite oddly, movie screenings at 7 p.m. on Sundays. Join the weekly ritual of the locals. Tel: (0) 98390 66788.

97. Agra's kabootar baz control their flock with a code of high-pitched whistles and calls and wave sticks to keep the pigeons in the air. The expert kabootar baz is called a Khalifa, for his ability to direct the flocks in perfectly choreographed curves. You can witness kabootarbazi on any afternoon at Taj Ganj.

Uttarakhand
98. At Mukeshji's Jungle Vibes in Rishkesh you will meet music aficionados and adventurers from the world.

99. No visit to Rishikesh is complete without a stop at the 'Beatles Ashram', where most of the songs from the White Album were written in 1968.

100. Pratap Music House in Dehradun has an eclectic collection of musical instruments like Turkish Doumbeks, African Djembes, Australian Didjeridoos and many Indian instruments. www.pratapmusic.com/

101. Visit the Landour Language School in Mussoorie, established in 1910 to teach Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu to Britishers. http://landourlanguageschool.com/

102. Visit the spooky Roopkund Lake, in Chamoli district, also called Skeleton Lake because of scores of skeletons found at its edge.

West Bengal
103. Watch burly men grunt and tackle through a rugby match at Calcutta Cricket and Football Club Kolkata.

104. Get horse riding classes around the verdant greens at Tollygunj Club, on Deshapran Sasmal Road.

105. Giving morning walk an edge like never before are the tussles between the seasoned wrestlers from local akharas, below the Howrah Bridge.

106. Prepare yourself for a haunting night with the ghouls of the past. Make your way to Kolkata's spookiest spots such as National Library on Belvedere Road, rumoured to be haunted by Lord Metcalfe's wife. At Hastings House, a ghostly coach entering the compound carrying the ghost of Warren Hastings himself have been reported by many, and the Government Art College has a strange history of suicidal principals.

India Ramps Up Ties With Myanmar, Thailand

By Jyoti Malhotra

New Delhi Jan 31 : The road from Moreh, a town on the Manipur-Myanmar border, to Imphal was used by the Japanese army in 1944 to come right inside the heart of British India’s north-east, even challenging the might of the empire.

For decades thereafter, the Imphal-Moreh road as well as other border roads in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland were pretty much left to their own fate, as India deliberately ignored the development of border infrastructure, fearful of easing an enemy’s passage inside the country once it had broken through the frontier.

But as India revamps its mindset on border areas and begins to look at neighbouring states — such as Myanmar and Bangladesh — as part of a contiguous hinterland that must also participate in India’s economic growth, the first glimmer of a shift in South-East Asia’s balance of power is becoming slowly apparent.

Take the stream of visitors making their way to Delhi recently, in the run-up to India’s commemoration in December 2012 of its “Look-East policy” and its 20-year-old partnership with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean).

Vietnamese president Truong Tan Sang’s official visit last October was quickly followed by Myanmarese president Thein Sein, also in October. Last week, just as Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, 44, arrived in the capital to attend the Republic Day parade, the first woman head of government in several decades, Myanmar foreign minister Maung Lwin was departing Delhi’s shores.

Interestingly, 2010’s chief guest at the Republic Day ceremonies was South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, while last year’s chief guest was Indonesian president Susilo Yudhoyono, the latter a key member of Asean.

Yingluck, whose closeness to her brother and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is an open secret, is a businesswoman, as well as married to one. She is expected to follow in Thaksin’s footsteps, which is to promote a CEO-like approach to governance, even though Thaksin, still a billionaire, remains in exile in London and Dubai.

That school of thought clearly struck a chord in Delhi last week, through the official dialogue as well as at her meeting with the industry associations. Annual India-Thailand trade currently touches $7.5 billion, but with Yingluck proposing greater Thai investment in India — in the hotel industry, in the food-and-vegetable cold chain — chances are that both countries will double their target by 2015.

Still, it was Yingluck’s offer to India to invest in an Italian-Thai joint venture that is seeking to build a world-class port and attendant infrastructure in the Dawei special industrial zone on Myanmar’s south-western coast, that has stirred the tea leaves in the region.

Dawei’s geographical location — on the isthmus that separates the Andaman Sea from the Gulf of Thailand — is so compelling that it has the potential to completely transform India’s relationship with Asean as well as East Asia.

Both Chennai and Kolkata are just across the Bay of Bengal, and both countries are already talking in terms of ramping up connectivity across this large lake by introducing ferries to Yangon, as well as Dawei.

As Myanmar emerges from its self-imposed isolation and reaches out to the world, and the world returns the compliment, Dawei could soon become a major stop on the maps of merchant ships.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to Yangon and her announcement that the US would soon revoke sanctions on Myanmar (this is expected to happen once democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi participates in the April elections) is both a reaffirmation of the democratic spirit in Myanmar — as well as the US return to challenging China’s rising power in Asia.

In Clinton’s wake, from Pakistan to France, the world is beating a path to Myanmar’s door. Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has been the most recent visitor, but dignitaries from France, UK and Australia have travelled both to its interior capital, Naypydaw, as well as paid obeisance to Suu Kyi in Yangon. Interestingly, Myanmar’s parliamentary speaker, Shwe Mann, told his Indian counterpart, Lok Sabha Speaker, Meira Kumar, as well as Indian officials during his visit here in December, that “India’s model of inclusiveness was a model for Myanmar.”

Myanmar’s foreign minister, Maung Lwin, reiterated the message last week, giving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a detailed account of Myanmar’s “planned and orderly commitment to reform,” both economic and political. Agreements with several dissident ethnic groups have been reached, he said, and discussions with those holding out, such as the Kachins, remain on the cards.

India’s trade and economic figures with Myanmar, at $1.25 billion, are low, especially when compared to Myanmar’s trade relationship with China, touching $4 billion. Myanmar exports natural resources, such as timber, and agricultural products such as kidney beans or ‘rajma’, to India, while India exports machinery, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.

Nevertheless, Delhi remains heartened by the fact that only days before Thein Sein came to India last October — he began his visit by paying his respects to Buddha’s shrine in Bodh Gaya — the Myanmarese cancelled a $3.6-billion dam that China was building in their country.

Thailand’s proximity means it is a natural player in Myanmar. Besides the Dawei investment, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported last week quoting the New Light of Myanmar, four foreign companies were forming a joint venture with three domestic companies to run a special economic zone in Pathein, in the Ayeyawady region, also in south-western Myanmar. Two of the four foreign companies are from Thailand, one from Hong Kong and the fourth from Indonesia.

Indian officials point out that strategic interest in Myanmar, as well as in the greater Asean region, can only be complemented by “greater Indian business interest. Indian companies should take advantage of the fact that India refused to kowtow to US pressure and withdraw from Myanmar. Now as Myanmar opens up, they have to be first off the mark,” one official told Business Standard.

Essar and ONGC Videsh are making money from their 20 per cent stake in an oil block off the Rakhine coast, officials point out, while a detailed project report on building a 1,200-Mw project on the Chhindwin river is almost ready.

Officials say they hope the private sector will make use of India’s $500-million credit announced during Thein Sein’s visit to improve ties with Myanmar.

Delhi’s intention to expand its presence in the region is at last showing on the ground. Finally, 132 km of a beautiful, road from Moreh, the Manipuri border town, and across the border to Mandalay, as well as the last 165-km stretch to Mandalay has been built.

With the Thais also building their share of the stretch from Myanmar, the trilateral highway between India, Myanmar and Thailand could soon put India’s neglected north-east in the heart of Asean’s action.

Anna Stops Fast, Mumbai Blamed

NGO India Against Corruption's estimates of hosting 50,000 people on Day One of Anna's fast at MMRDA ground seemed over the top, after not more than 5,000 showed up

He came. He saw. And by what he saw, it was apparent he hadn't conquered. Not on Day One at least.

In the days prior to the Anna Hazare's fast, extensive media coverage set the tone to give the impression that the activist would take the city "by storm". But if there is any truth in numbers, a rumbling was all that the inaugural day of Hazare's 3-day protest fast saw.


Wait and watch: Team Anna's supporters are expecting the crowds to
swell on the last day of the protest at the MMRDA ground in Bandra-Kurla
Complex. PIC/Sayed Sameer Abedi

While Team Anna expected a crowd of about 50,000 to be present at MMRDA ground, BKC on day one, there was not more than one tenth of that number on the grounds. At any given point, there were no more than 4,000-5,000 people throughout the day.

Did Mumbai disappoint Team Anna? The India Against Corruption (IAC) members claim they had nearly 16,000 people yesterday. One of the NGO's spokespersons said, "It's the heat that has kept the people away. We are sure people would come back."

At 4 pm, the NGO said they had nearly 16,000 people registered who promised their support and presence, but not even half that number was present at the ground.

Why they left
What kept the anti-corruption champion's supporters away? "I had come to mark my attendance and after it was done, I decided to leave," said Babli Mohite, who had bunked office to attend the rally and left by 4.30 pm.

A group of youngsters who had come to participate in the agitation left around the same time, citing work. Another attendee, Bhavesh, said, "I was here for some time, then I got some urgent work and had to leave."

Unforeseen circumstances, emergency, urgent work, prior engagement -- the response from followers beating a retreat from the ground had the same undertone when they were posed the question.
Some got impatient when asked if they would come back the next day. A woman who didn't give her name said with knitted brows, "I came to have a look and the moment I did that I decided to leave," she said.

Rekha Udar spent a few hours on the ground with her husband but decided to leave by evening. Asked whether she was coming again the next day, she said, "I was here for the first day, we haven't yet decided about coming tomorrow."

A TV journalist said that in the morning she had zeroed in on some potential interviewees for her show in the evening. But by then, none of the chosen candidates were seen at the venue.

Expect more on Day 3
But IAC members are hopeful that people would show up in huge numbers on the last day. Anjali Damani, one of the IAC coordinators, said, "In the evening, the crowd has grown in size. There are nearly 15,000-16,000 people at the ground now. We are sure there will be a heavy turnout on the last day of the protest as the movement will gain momentum."

One of the protestors, on her way out, summed it for her fellow citizens. "We Mumbaikars cannot afford to spend the entire day at the ground. It is far away for most of us, and it takes a long while to return home. We will have to leave early if we are to get a spot on the crowded trains back."

Told you so
Munna Tripathi, who has dragged Anna Hazare to court claiming that his agitation is unconstitutional, said, "This shows the lack of the common man's trust in Anna's agitation. Many have realised that he isn't fighting for a cause. That is why Mumbaikars aren't turning up."

India's Love For The 'Missed Call' Phenomenon

By Rati Chaudhary

Mumbai, Dec 26 : The new phenomenon of missed calls has been gaining popularity. It was used in popular forms of protest during the Anna Hazare movement as well. Stingy or not, we Indians love giving missed calls.

A missed call can be a pre-arranged signal or pre-arranged message to mean something specific like, "I have left the office and headed home," or "could you please bring the car to where you dropped me off?"

There are 900 million mobile phone users in India,but the average revenue per user is only Rs 150 because when it comes to getting the message across, missed call is our first choice. In fact, so profound is our love for missed calls that a Bangalore based company called ZipDial has actually used missed calls to generate business.

ZipDial Chairman Sanjay Swamy said, "Instead of using texts we now make people convey the message by a missed call. Say our client will send you a message asking if you liked their service or not. You can give missed calls on specific numbers to convey a yes or a no."

According to a study from the Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies a couple of years ago, over half of Indian cellular subscribers made missed calls to convey a message.

Social Networking Websites Asked To Screen Content By February

New Delhi, Dec 24 : In a major blow to 21 social networking websites including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and YouTube, a Delhi court on Saturday asked them to remove derogatory content by February 6, 2012.

All the 21 defendants have to submit an order of compliance to the court that they have received the court order and have to remove the derogatory content from their respective websites as directed by the court.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar took cognizance on a private criminal complaint and had directed the Centre for taking "immediate appropriate steps" and also file a report in the court by January 13.

Earlier, another court in a civil case had restrained these sites including Facebook, Google and YouTube from webcasting any "anti-religious" or "anti-social" content promoting hatred or communal disharmony.

In the fresh case, the court said, "It appears from a bare perusal of the documents that prima facie the accused in connivance with each other and other unknown persons are selling, publicly exhibiting and have put into circulation obscene, lascivious content which also appears to the prurient interests and tends to deprave and corrupt the persons who are likely to read, see or hear the same."

"It is also evident that such contents are continuously openly and freely available to everyone who is using the said network irrespective of their age and even the persons under the age of 18 years have full and uncensored access to such obscene contents," the court said.

The magistrate had summoned the accused companies to face trial for allegedly committing the offence punishable under section 292 (sale of obscene books etc), 293 (sale of obscene objects to young person etc) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

The magistrate noted that in the website material submitted by the complainant, Vinay Rai, a journalist, contained obscene picture and derogatory articles pertaining to Prophet Mohammad, Jesus Christ and various Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

The magistrate said that as per the records placed before the court by the complainant, there are defamatory and obscene articles pertaining to various Indian political leaders which are being webcasted by these sites.

"The contents are certainly disrespectful to the religious sentiments and faith and seem to be intended to outrage the feelings of religious people whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian.

"There are certain degrading and obscene photographs of various political leaders belonging to different political parties and photographs pasted and the language used is also obscene, filthy and degrading," the court said.

It said that prima facie the accused are also liable to be summoned for offences of promoting enmity between classes and causing prejudice to national integration but due to an embargo under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court can not summon them under these offences without prior sanction of the Central or state government or district magistrate.

"I find prima facie that the accused persons are liable to be summoned for offences under section 153-A (promoting enmity between classes), 153-B (assertion prejudicial to national integration) and 295-A (insulting religion or religious belief of any class) IPC.

"However, owing to the embargo under section 196 of the CrPC which prohibits taking of cognizance under the said provisions except with the previous sanctions of central government or state government or district magistrate, the accused persons are not summoned for the said offences," it said.

Rai, in his complaint filed through advocate Shashi Tripathi, had said that contents hosted on these were "inflammatory" and seek to create enmity and communal violence among various religious communities.

The complainant alleged that the contents on these sites were obscene and may lead to "creation of obscene books, pamphlets, papers which can easily be downloaded from these social networking websites affecting the minds of children and were harmful for social harmony and may lead to increase in crime against women also".

The court also examined four witnesses during the hearing on Rai's complaint to ascertain the veracity of the materials produced as evidence and said, "from the testimony of these witnesses examined on record belonging to three different religions along with the material produced on record, it is evident that the same promotes enmity between different groups and religions, which is certainly prejudicial to the maintenance of peace and communal harmony."

The court had earlier sought response from the Delhi police regarding the authenticity of documents filed by the complainant as the addresses of most of the respondents (website companies) were beyond its jurisdiction.

On December 20, Additional Civil Judge Mukesh Kumar, in an ex-parte order, had directed the social networking websites to remove the objectionable content in the form photographs, videos or text which might hurt religious sentiments.

'Gandhian Anna Like Taliban'

'Anna wears a Gandhi cap but thinks like Taliban'

New Delhi, Nov 24 : Anna Hazare's prescription to flog drunkards to curb alcoholism invited sharp reactions from politicians and activists Wednesday.

Terming Anna's remedy as reminiscent of the Taliban, Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh told IANS: "While he wears a Gandhi cap, Hazare's thoughts are akin to that of Taliban."

"This statement has dented his image," he added.

Criticising the anti-graft campaigner for the comment, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Nilotpal Basu said: "There is no need for self-appointed guardians in our society."

While agreeing that Anna's cause was right, social activist Ranjana Kumari said his ways "are not acceptable".

"Flogging people is taking law in your hand, you can't do that," she said.

Anna recently told a TV channel that drunkards should be flogged so they drop the habit.

His encouraging women in his native village Ralegan-Siddhi to flog the errant menfolk reportedly "cured" the place first of liquor and then gutka and paan.

Farm-Fresh Veggies Can Cause Cancer in India

By Johnlee Abraham

Bangalore, Nov 22 : Beware! The farm-fresh vegetables you buy from vendors may cause you deadly diseases such as cancer.

For these alluringly green vegetable are irrigated with untreated sewage water that contain high levels of lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury and arsenic, a research by Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) suggests.

According to the study, the menace takes alarming proportion as consignments of such unsafe vegetables are making inroads into the city market uninterrupted from adjoining areas in the absence of a system to check the edibility of such items.

As per the IIHR research conducted over a period of fours years in suburban areas of Bellandur Tank, Varthur Tank, Nagawara Tank and Byramangala Tank the vegetables irrigated with sewage water contain high levels of lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, arsenic and other  heavy metal contents.


The study further said the prolonged use of untreated sewage water for irrigation has also contaminated the soil. Rampant use of pesticides has also added to the problem.

The research stated that the toxic levels in the soil of the study areas were more than 6 mg, which is way above permissible limits.  While the study has brought to light an alarming reality, the State Horticulture Department seems to be playing down the issue.

Instead of taking some serious efforts to curb this menace, the department has taken refuge in a blame-game. "It is mainly the small-time vendors, who operate around the Bangalore Urban, sneak in toxic vegetables into the city.

They buy their stuff from farms that use untreated sewage water. And since they are very few in numbers, it's difficult to keep a watch on them," said Shanmukhappa, Managing Director, Horticultural Producers' Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS).

What's the solution?
Is there no way to put a curb on these vendors at all? "If we have a doubt that the produce might be contaminated, it is then we send it to the testing labs," added Shanmukhappa.

He also added that the only way to tackle the entry of toxic vegetables into the market was through close vigil. According to experts, until and unless, the vegetables are screened for finding residual traces of toxic chemicals, there is no way to differentiate these vegetables from normal ones.

"The health hazards caused by consuming vegetables contaminated with heavy metals are many.

It may vary from simple complications such as headache, body cramps, nausea to more severe disorders like cancers, renal damage, cardiovascular diseases and even damage to nervous system," said Dr Thuppil Venkatesh, Principal Investigator, National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India.