The Woodlands Drive-in Restaurant has a special place in every Madarasi’s heart especially those born up until the 1980s even though it is long since gone. In its place now we have ‘Semmozhi Poonga’ – the public park. The hotel was taken back by Tamil Nadu government after lease expiry of 99 years. It sat at the very heart of the metro. Chennai’s rosy ’60s, ’70s and ’80s centered around Woodlands Drive-in, a favourite hangout for lovers, college students and celebrities alike.
How many pictures were filmed in the Woodlands. My parents’ wedding reception was held in the lawns of the very same hotel in the year 1966. Nostalgia. I have been to the restaurant a couple of times no more, after it lost its glory. Probably the owners or lessees lost interest in the business as the date of handover drew closer.
Very recently, the Anna Nagar Tower Club was also taken over by Chennai Corporation after the lease period was found to have expired. The case was dragging for years as the club membership is very impressive.
Wow wow, what an honest coverage here by TOI and the Hindu. Wonder how then they are keeping quiet about the churches in India, especially Tamil Nadu. Selective amnesia. The leases expired for most or all the cathedrals, churches in Tamil Nadu (and even mostly in entire India) that are over 100 years old because, the British always entered into lease agreements for 99 years, never opting for title deeds on ownership. Then why when Woodlands drive-in restaurant could be taken over by our government, the cathedral opposite the same restaurant with expired lease (most definitely) is not making headlines. Why no media is covering them.
Well, someone is sharing my opinion.
If the churches cannot vacate. let them buy out the real estate properties – mostly prime properties of acres and acres worth thousands of crores by today’s standards – who is stopping them. Or let them pay the market rate as rentals and extend the lease by every 11 months as is normally done in India for any commercial lease. As of date. most of them are illegal occupants or squatters who can be vacated without a notice.
How was Hong Kong taken over by China. The British handed over Hong Kong in silver platter to China after the expiry of the lease period of 100 years. Now will BBC do a cover story on illegal occupation/squatting of churches and cathedrals for free in Indian metros and through out India.
Let every single Indian share the information and let us make this a sensational movement. Let them pay for the lease at least, clearing the balance overdue. It is high time the churches and madarasahs in India are audited. Why Stalin, Vaiko, Seeman, Thirumurugan Gandhi, Actor Vijay are not asking for handover of church lease to government or renewal upto date. Every Hindu should make this a mission to publicize the news. Why is none moving the court. Should only Subramanyam Swami do it every time?
Mahabalipuram aka Mamallapuram, mere 45 km from city, is city as well. Almost. The city expands upto here and further. In fact, the metrorail may be plying upto the sun-kissed dusty town in near future. Still Mahabalipuram is of Kanjivaram district I suppose for administrative reasons. Situated on the ECR (East Coast Road) enroute to Pondicherry (now Puducherry), the historic seaside maritime port is millennia old, having been a trading center for Tamils for centuries. More than six rock cut Pallava period Dravidian architecture temples here have been washed out into the sea from the shore. What remains as the Shore temple is from the 7th century CE. The Pancha Pandava Rathas, Arjuna’s Tapas all in the rock carvings (the Pandav chariot and the Arjuna tapas cave carved out of single rock formation) point to the existence and flourishing of a vibrant Hindu culture and art in the southern state from over two thousand years before. The Chinese and Romans were regulars trading with this part of India which is why there are Chinese figurines carved into cave temples in Mamallapuram.
This is the reason President Xi probably chose the scenic Mamallapuram for his informal rendezvous with Indian PM Shri Narendra Modi. Xi insisted on taking road to Mamallapuram from airport, turning down aerial transport because he apparently wanted to see this part of the country with his own eyes. I won’t say Chennai is beautiful but I would any day vouch Chennai has this ‘lakshanam’ – auspiciousness about it. Chennai does not have a soaring skyline like Noida or Bangalore or Mumbai and neither is Chennai swanky like Pune or Chandigarh or even curious and classy like Hyderabad or Delhi… Chennai is like one big overgrown village that’s all. It grows on you as and when you live here, never one for making a first and fast impression.
Chennai’s art and culture scene rocks! We could be aptly called the Cultural capital of India. Tamil Nadu is littered with ancient Hindu temples of Dravidian architectural style spreading acres, thousands of them, street to street. The state is a historian/archaeologist’s delight. A month long music season for classical Carnatic is still our annual feature that draws in fans from around the world. Birth place to classical dance form ‘Bharat Natyam.’ Many may not be aware that Kung Fu etc., the martial arts of China had a Hindu-Buddhist founder who originated from Tamil Nadu and migrated to China. While the martial art form died in India, it survived in China. The monk’s name was Bodhi Verman.
Chennai has given to the world not just the Google CEO Sundar Pichai and outgoing World Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi, but also 3 times world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand to Tennis aces Ramanathan Krishnan (world junior Wimbledon champ of his times) and Ramesh Krishnan and Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj. Chennai has produced Noble laureates and eminent scientists and mathematicians and scholars who have made good at global level. Chennai still keeps a low profile ! The best part that the Tamils have played in history is, being a quiet but stable and reliable and constant rock steady part to the idea of India. And this has nothing to do with our voting preferences. Tamils may not vote for the Congress or BJP over the regional Tamil parties, yet Tamils are most nationalistic by nature, and highly underestimated.
Ancient Hindu and especially Tamil Hindu contribution to the world is amazing. Our forefathers were creators, not destroyers and terrorists. They built huge architectural marvels of temples and universities, not mausoleums. India exported the best to the world, not terror and violence. Tamil society had structured grammar by 3rd century BCE and proper built dams (over Kaveri river that stand goods today, world’s first dam) with literary courts functioning in full flow.
Mamallapuram today stands a witness to this great glorious age of our ancient Hindu Tamil Kings who ran a reign of over 1000=2000 continuous years before their lineage came to an end. Pallava kings raised the Mamallapuram structures that are classified UNESCO World Heritage today. In Tamil Nadu, every street has an ancient temple that could be a world heritage site!
I would say, Tamil Nadu has this calming effect on anyone. Not impressive at the outset. People here are less agitated. I have heard north Indians give this opinion. We don’t have a pleasant climate. We are known for our humidity levels and sweaty weather. Yet Tamil Nadu is rated a good or perhaps the best place to live in or raise your children. One reason is, my state people respect law and order and try to follow it!!! Disciplined. Hardworking. Intelligent. These are the three words I would use to describe Thamizhs.
Mamallapuram to Chennaiites is weekend escape.
The last time I was in Mahabalipuram was just a year back. We girls chose a beach resort to unwind and swim (!) in their private beach closed to public.
The ECR is dotted with entertainment places. Pubs, discotheques, beach resorts, multi-cuisine restaurants that can cater to every taste bud… A pucca party place for the party animals. Pondicherry which is less than 100 km is Union Territory where they don’t levy excise duty on liquor. Hence the weekly drive to Pondy!!!
The ECR is also a very dangerous road to drive – known for drunk driving and accidents. Hundreds of casualty every year. I am never comfortable traveling down this road. Years back, this road had the first drive-in seaside cinemas. I watched the memorable picture ‘Bombay’ here curling up in the ground under the car in a cold month. Now the cinemas is in ruins but lots more different places have become fashionable and trendy spots.
Once upon a time, an uncle of mine owned acres of seaside property here that he later sold away for a pittance. Today this stretch leading upto Pondicherry is gold. I won’t say this is a scenic road – because sea view is hidden in most places by structures that have come up in between the sea and the road. Upto 1 km range of land distance from sea level is not approved by government after the Tsunami struck, but that has not dampened the real estate development. (Real estate growth is lukewarm nevertheless happening).
My first visit to Mahabalipuram was in standard 10 in 1984. ECR was a narrow spiraling road then with just a single lane. Every school girl’s first memorable excursion! I think we did not even own a camera then. We enjoyed the day the way one ought to enjoy outings!
Many Tamil pictures were filmed in this road and in the quaint beach resorts of those days that served as lovers’ secret meeting places.
We still take friends visiting us in Chennai to Mahabalipuram. There is a sculpture school there. Good food. Ideal place to spend a weekend. Luxurious beach villas and resorts. Some theme parks are closed, otherwise even for kids the ECR used to be a great stop. Free flow of liquor. A favourite with foreign tourists. The mix with culture makes it all heady!!! Two more attractions on the road before you reach Mahabalipuram: The Crocodile Bank and Dakshina Chitra (heritage architecture showcase).
Well, never expected our PM Modi to meet the Chinese prez Xi here. Hopefully the two drank in heartily from history. Every time I step into an ancient Hindu temple that is at least 1500 or 2000 years old, I think of the Hindu king who built the magnificent structure. For instance, the Brahadeshwara temple is even earthquake proof! You have to walk through these temples to be transported by the mind’s ‘Time machine’ into virtually another world and age.The Shore temple of Mamallapuram is an abandoned structure, no more a functioning temple. It is a miracle it was not affected by the Tsunami! Whenever I visit Mamallapuram, I picture artisans working on these great sculptures in the vibrant town of the Pallavas. In Brahadeshwara temple of Tanjore, nonstop Puja to Lord Shiva is going on for over 1000 years. Most Hindu temples in India are functional for two thousand years easily minimum. North could have had more but they were razed to dust by the Moghuls who raised their bloody mausoleums over our sacred places of worship.
The Shore temple of Mamallapuram is a rare one in that, Lord Shiva is seen here with family. Nowhere else in India can you see Shiva like a family man – mostly He is represented as Shiva Linga.
art by my worst half hahaha. The Shore temple at Mamallapuram, Chennai
acrylic on canvas: Mamallapuram
In Mamallapuram time does come to a standstill – at least for me. I have been here a dozen times, no more. But every time I step in here, I am drawn to this unbelievable proud native history of ours. Pristine. I almost feel a tear drop roll down my eyes. Moving.
As for China-India tie, India is NOT in contest with anyone. India has a soul, China lacks one. India is a time-tested people’s democracy. China is yet to take the acid test that it will fail miserably. The entire future of China may be incumbent finally on this one crucial step that someday China has to dare to take. Inevitable. People in India ACTUALLY LIVE. LIVE LIFE. We are happy the way we are in India. We shall progress at our own pace. We don’t want to saturate ourselves too soon the way China is going at it. Average Indian life holds good in the present. We Indians still throng temples and cinemas and attend concerts and go on holidays. Music is not only for stage performance. Music is for caressing our soul. Sports is not just for winning the Olympic medals. Sports is for our entertainment. That way, even India’s fixation with Cricket is good. Millions soak and enjoy these games. Which is more important to most Indians than winning medals like a machine without a pleasure. India can do better, no doubt, buts India is doing fine anyway.
China is this ruthless moneylender. China has swallowed African territories and even a Sri Lankan port city when they failed to cough up principal with compounded interest. China is modern day East India Company. India will hardly be ever that. INDIA REFUSES TO PROSPER ON OTHERS’ BLOOD, AT OTHERS’ COST. Us vs. Them. When we shed every moral and ethic in the code book, we can become China in no time too. Chinese eat rat and dog for main course. Can majority vegetarian India ever do that. Eat snakes? Do Europeans, Americans do that. Trivial it may sound, trivial it is not. This is the major existential social difference between India and China. Unbridgeable gap. India: Underdeveloped for a reason. Slow with a purpose. When you can eat man’s best friend the dog, then you will stop at nothing.
We were once taken for a ride by Mao Tse Tung. Xi or no Xi, INDIA DOES NOT AND WILL NOT TRUST CHINA. INDIA WILL NOT GIVE MORE MARKET ACCESS TO CHINA. INDIA WILL NOT BE DIRECTED OR CONTROLLED BY CHINA. INDIA REFUSES TO TOE THE CHINA LINE. INDIA DOES NOT CARE WHAT CHINESE MEDIA THINK OR HOW CHINESE MEDIA PORTRAY INDIA. INDIA WILL NOT JOIN THE SILK ROUTE. INDIA WILL NOT GIVE UP TIBET. INDIA WILL NOT GIVE UP AN INCH OF INDIAN SOIL TO CHINA. Full stop.
Prez Xi, we hosted you with respect because you were our guest. ‘Adhithi Devo Bhava’ – this is our culture. India can afford to antagonize China, India can live without China. India will.
I don’t want to dwell into morality, legality and ethics concerning PC, our ex finance minister now rotting behind the bars. Do not want to mix politics.
Just wondered how more useless all the wealthy hoardings of P Chidambaram and his son Karthi Chidambaram could get than this, when none of these managed to get the 74 year old senior citizen out of his Tihar cell that reportedly includes an unpartitioned (unscreened) squating toilet facility. Food is stated to be standard prison issue. No air-conditioner.
Is this what these guys worked so hard for … and then some… (!)
Kaliyug, where and when not even your Karma would wait to catch up with you in your next janam. Instant Karma means instance justice. Fast trial.
Time for reflection for the septuagenarian ex minister as well as his son who is in his prime. The family can only watch in agony.
Imran Khan, the Pak PM demonstrated at the UN why Pakistan is a failed state. He wasted the precious UN time alloted to his nation (the bill footed by his tax paying citizens) by hate-mongering and talking s**t about India that nobody around the world gives a damn about (was he stoned?). Given his/his nation’s credibility. Looks like he had to time-pass, that he did at the expense of India especially of Kashmir that is part and parcel of Indian union. Chiefly because, there is nothing substantial to talk about his terroristan, aka Pakistan. What should have been utilized for bringing forward nation building agenda in an international platform was squandered miserably by Khan which explains why Pakis are in such a frustrated and desolate state today.
But then had he been any better, Mr. Khan would not have gone for a third wife in his sixties, marrying (seducing) a grandmother and mother to 5. Thus drain his energies, if any. What is left over is what Pak probably deserves. This nonsense. Not a word about the growth and prosperity of his nation. Not a word on how he planned to tackle poverty or fight terrorism. Not a word as to how he would make every Pakistani proud someday. Most of them Pakis when they cross their borders feign even their nationality. Unabashedly in foreign soil, many Pakistanis lie they are Indians to gain respect and acceptability.
More deplorable is Pak media journalists. Shame on them for hailing Imran Khan’s speech. What do you stand to gain, buddy. If I were you, i would be shell-shocked that the global representative of my nation misused valuable productive time in UN gossiping about neighbour. I would rather have wanted to talk about my own growth story, my plans, my ways and means. Of course, it goes without saying, Imran Khan;s speech was scripted by his military and spy agency in whose hands he is a puppet.
Reportedly Imran Khan was sulking in desperation watching ‘Howdy Modi’ on his (tiny cubicle of) hotel room tv after receiving a doormat (red carpet) welcome from his minister Qureshi minus any foreign dignitary. Of course, he flew a charity flight sponsored by Saudi to go to America.
Successful people and nations do not air grudge or grouse in public. They are after solutions. If something does not work out, they are also quick to move on to other things.
In contrast PM Shri Narendra Modi used his US visit to capitalize maximum for India and Indians. His approach was 100% positive and his interactions at global level will stand India in good stead in the long run. Every single minute in the American soil counts.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in a group photograph with the CEOs at a Roundtable in New York on Wednesday. (ANI Photo) Modi chaired an exclusive roundtable with 42 global CEOs and top executives from across 20 sectors,
Modi vs Khan: what it takes to be a Statesman. What makes the difference.
India’s young and bright diplomat Vidisha Maitra giving a befitting reply to Imran Khan at UNGA 2019, even if he did not merit one. One of her reminders to Pak: how their Habib Bank was closed in NYC for terror funding. Among other things. Crisp and clear. Her underscoring Niazi reminding Pak of their 1971 surrender was the icing in the cake. Niazi also means ‘to surrender to defeat.’
India’s PM Shri Narendra Modi ji remarkably made zero mention of Pak at UNGA because Pakistan is not our standard reference. Pakistan is not our agenda or mission or our last stop. India is much larger than Kashmir or Pakistan or whatever. This is called ‘Cosntructivism.’ (my lingo!) India would rather use international fora for forwarding our own growth stories and benefit in exchange from others’ experiences.
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Just heard Pakistan PM Imran Khan admitting in UNGA that Pak trains terrorists. Official statement by Pak premier at the United Nations. Indians have this habit of looking back at Pak that we must desist from now on. We are not them – the only reason we do look back is that, we speak the same language somewhat and there is some shared history.
Looks like Imran Khan is justifying terrorism to me. To go a step further, looks like he is blackmailing the entire world with terrorism. He is trying to explain at the UN the desperate condition of the failed state called Pakistan.
India’s goal or target is not Pak. Should it be so, we wouldn’t be here today in world stage.
A BIG NO TO PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH EVEN ON ‘BUY ONE GET ONE FREE’ OFFER !
India will not give up an inch of Jammu and Kashmir which is ours legally. We will take back POK some day and we will not stop short of that. But not an extra inch of Pakistan India is after – sorry, no thanks !
Pakistan may try any means to denounce India and Kashmir, but India will deal with it in its own way, reserving the right to choose the time and place to our convenience. After all they say, revenge is best served cold. Very recent example: Balakot.. India is that slow and steady but steadfast Elephant. The elephant memory is very sharp. The Indian elephant will never fail to watch over anything and everything. The Indian elephant will neither forgive nor forget.
Pakistan and Bangladesh are a blessing in disguise for Indian nation. Past Karma? Pakistan came into force to serve as a buffer state-shock absorber saving us Bharatwasis from some mad dogs! India also can do without the Bangladeshi vermin! Well, that’s how I see things!
India will not misuse UN to air our private and personal or pet peeves. India will use UN only as a platform to reach various levels and as a window to connect to the rest of the world. UN to India is a serious international mission that must not be squandered and wasted the way Pakistan’s Imran Khan did with it in his session. Let us build a better world at the UN rather than dig up graves!
The bubbly young techie who was riding a two wheeler lost her balance and came under a passing tanker, crushed to death (was she wearing a helmet – what a dumb question to ask). Reason: An illegal (political party) hoarding (flex banner) fell on her throwing her off her Scooty. All my weekend enthusiasm seems to have deflated in a single stroke. The irresponsibility and callousness of those in authority is shocking. No word for the angel’s grieving parents. She happened to be my husband’s friend’s kid’s college mate and best friend. A very bright, cheerful kid full of life, reportedly: donning many hats: Software engineer working in the city’s IT corridor, Zumba trainer, linguist and a few more. It is at times like these I completely lose faith in God. Whoever’s kid is that… how can life go on after this… Her parents’ only child…
Lost my appetite totally. 23. Like my daughter. Her parents must be like us…
I have received Whatsapp forwards on this to no avail. No political debate on any tv news channel. Silence from Arnab Goswami. I am blank here. No knowledge. Hoping for Republic tv to pick it up sooner or later.
Awaiting more information and investigation on this. No word from even Dr Subramanyam Swami???
Very painful watching this knowing (or rather learning) what is going on in India and how the nation is losing heavily while the common man is fleeced mercilessly. As I do not know much about this scandal, I rest my case. My only counter is a fervent prayer to set right things that are gone awfully wrong.
How August 1947 was, we never knew. Down south, hardly any ripple about the partition was felt. From what I learned from stories told and retold in my younger years, from the only transistor (public property) in Luz, Mylapore, the All India Radio broadcast Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous speech ‘when the whole world sleeps….’ – of the oft-quoted ‘Freedom At Midnight.’ Hundreds of men had gathered there waiting for hours to listen to this historic speech that was tuned to maximum volume. ‘National flag hoisting in schools and offices next day which was declared government holiday (August 15th) followed by sweets distribution, then all went home. Next day business as usual with schools reopening!!!’ is the exact way the Independence Day August 15, 1947 was described to me. As uninteresting as that!
72 years later, August 2019 is being a different one. Our Independence Day this year was a buoyant one, no doubt. What a journey this has been for India. A short recap of this whirlwind month of August’19:
CENTRE SCRAPPED ARTICLE 370 AND ARTICLE 35A GIVING SPECIAL STATUS TO JAMMU & KASHMIR ON AUGUST 5TH, 2019. LADAKH BECAME A DISTINCT UNION TERRITORY. FOR THE PRESENT, JAMMU & KASHMIR TO CONTINUE TO BE A UNION TERRITORY, TO BE RESTORED WITH STATEHOOD IN TIME. WITH THIS, THE NEHRU BLUNDER WAS RECTIFIED BY BJP PRIME MINISTER SHRI NARENDRA MODI’S GOVERNMENT IN A SINGLE STROKE. HISTROY REWRITTEN, HISTORY MADE! AFTER 72 LONG YEARS, JAMMU & KASHMIR WAS INTEGRATED WITH THE UNION OF INDIA.
First Images of Planet Earth beamed by Chandrayaan 2 released by ISRO
CHANDRAYAAN 2, INDIA’S SECOND LUNAR MISSION, LAUNCHED JULY 22ND, CONTINUED ITS VOYAGE TO THE MOON, BEAMING THE FIRST SET OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF EARTH & MOON THIS AUGUST. AT LEAST TWO INDIAN SCIENTISTS HAVE THEIR NAMES ETCHED IN THE MOON NOW: SISIR MITRA AND VIKRAM SARABHAI, FOUNDER OF ISRO, WITH LUNAR CRATERS NAMED AFTER THEM.
World No.1 . India’s PV Sindhu is the World Badminton Champion 2019
India’s Manasi Joshi also is the BWF World Parabadminton Champion!
INDIA’S PV SINDHU CREATED HISTORY BECOMING THE FIRST INDIAN TO WIN THE WORLD BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS (BWF) ON AUGUST 25H, 2019
Modi Trumped Donald on Kashmir who agreed Kashmir is a bi-lateral issue between India and Pakistan
INDIA AT G7 ON AUGUST 26, 2019 ON INDIA’S TERMS.
Order of Zayed, UAE’s top civilian award conferred on PM Modi
Bahrain confers the nation’s highest civilian award, The King Hamad Order of Renaissance, on PM Modi
Earlier, our Prime Minister was also presented with highest order of awards by the UAE and Bahrain- two of them in a single day. This takes the count to 6 – the number of islamic nations that have honoured Shri Narendra Modi with their highest civilian awards.
Wonderful!
The other side:
Sushma Swaraj
Arun Jaitley
INDIA LOST SMT SUSHMA SWARAJ, EX HOME MINISTER – INVALUABLE ASSET TO THE NATION, ON AUGUST 6TH 2019
INDIA LOST ARUN JAITLEY, EX FINANCE MINISTER ON AUGUST 24TH, 2019. JAITLEY WAS THE MAN BEHIND GST.
Two gems lost in a single month from the crown. This is not just BJP’s loss, this is national loss. With them, BJP and the nation have lost three precious sons and daughter of India including Manohar Parikkar who was our ex- Defence Minister. Irreparable loss.
What an August this has been for us. In between, there was the telecast of ‘Man Vs Wild’ featuring PM Modi with Bear Grylls in the Discovery channel. It came as a breather. None of us anticipated August 2019 to unfold this way. It has been one roller coaster ride for us Indians.
Neither is Rupee doing great. Once again after over an year or two, INR breached the 70 rupee mark against dollar, thanks to China-US trade spat. Markets are not good. Manufacturing slowing down. Registering Production losses and lay-offs. Monsoon mayhem everywhere in India except for in Chennai where it’s raining for a month now to no avail. Some gains and some losses.
We in India cannot say that the Amazon fires do not concern us. The enormous impact the fires will leave on our very existence in future is worth making the issue our top priority. My humble request to everyone who cannot directly do anything in his/her/their lone capacity to put off the raging fires: say a small prayer for Bhooma Devi, Mother Earth. Pray for quick extinguishing of fires. The array of flora and fauna lost to the fires is unimaginable! The loss of habitat for the wildlife and the native tribes is worse. There is every reason to believe this is corporate managed which makes this whole tragic affair a sordid one. Still, in whichever forum you can, please put in a word about the Amazon – Brazil and Bolivia fires. The fires now encompass nine Latin American nations. Wherever you are, write/add/speak a word about wildlife, environment, water resources, pollution. Thank you! You won’t be making a penny out of this probably, but neither will you be losing one!
SUSHMA SWARAJ: The Prime Minister India Would Not Have …
Never expected to write sort of an obit for our beloved External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj who right now is being cremated in Delhi. Almost as popular as PM Modi in diplomatic circles, Sushma made it on her own to the top, no blue blood in politics. She was 67. Not the age to die. She touched many a heart cutting across nationalities, forging closest ties with SAARC countries, serving her best to NRI community and standing tall at global summits with her short but fierce stature. It is not even an year since she became the first Indian minister to be invited to OIC where she quoted from sacred Sanskrit texts to an Arab audience. She minced no words in calling a spade a spade and did not desist from her scathing attacks on terror. No wonder, when most foreign dignitaries mourn her loss, our neighbour Pakistan BLACKED OUT media news coverage on her because, they were the hardest hit by her in world stage. Sushma Swaraj brushed shoulders with world leaders as an equal. She did India proud with her roaring addresses, all the while draped in beautiful saris with kumkum (vermilion) lighting up her bright, cheerful face. Sushma was striking as the bold and confident, yet traditional Indian Nari, the face of Modern Indian Woman.
Sushma Swaraj
Rig Veda in the OIC
Listen to Sushma Swaraj at OIC in Abu Dhabi, that made Pakistan, the founding member of OIC skip the meet! Sushma quotes from Rig Veda:
Yet, Sushma wasted no time when it came to issuing medical visas to Pakistanis who tweeted her for help. The ex External Affairs minister was easily accessible and approachable to the commoners not only from India but from world over via Social Media platform. She negotiated and rescued hostages and made NRI lives easier forever, streamlining procedures. Her humanitarian side despite the power she wielded won her many hearts from all sections of the society. She will be hard to replace.
Om Shanthi Sushmaji! You will be sorely missed! Many of us fancied you for No.2 after Modi ji, as his likely successor. It is not to be. Why cannot BJP leaders take better care of their health. Second precious gem lost after Manohar Parikar, CM of Goa and Ex Defence Minister. Mother India’s most cherished children.
RECLAIMING BHARAT FROM TERROR IDEOLOGY : Indian Jawans / Martyrs who laid down their lives for the nation done justice.
No doubt that Article 370 is as contradictory as it can rise war between nations, it is also as simple as to say Article 370 is temporary provision. That means, it can be amended anytime if parliament has approval of president of India. Although, there is no article in constitution of India which gives power to parliament to amend this, also, there is no article in constitution of India which prohibits parliament from amending this. ‘term – Temporary provision is itself enough to mention that this article is amendable.’
All images from Google
In a historic move, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah revoked Article 370 and Article 35 ‘A’ giving special status to Jammu & Kashmir, with a majority voting in Rajya Sabha. With this, the integration of the Jammu & Kashmir with the Indian Union is complete. The state stands bifurcated (or trifurcated?) as distinct Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Bravo Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, Home Minister Shri Amit Shah ji, and National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Kumar Doval ji, we recognize your exceptional courage and determination and sheer grit and willpower and we are immensely proud of you as we have never been of any Indian since 1947 – including Mahatma Gandhi. What a winning combination you are. Mastermind!
Peace is this, not Satyagraha which is blackmail. Constructive actions go a long way in ensuring-restoring stability and equilibrium. Not confusing decisions like Gandhi and Nehru duo’s. Harmony is in integration not in fanning bloody terrorism. Courage not cowardice builds nations.
India will have to be on red alert, because Pakistan, our neighbour swarms with terrorists waiting to get back at us. Kashmir terrorism has largely been their making.
Scrapping of article 370 was the need of the hour. When Kashmiri baniyas can walk freely in Chennai streets selling their carpets and silks and hold expos in our urban neighbourhood making a living, we need to see this is reciprocated. When Kashmiri youth can attend our universities across India and work in our tech parks and can get recruited in India’s civil services, it is only just and fair that we too have access to the valley, not only as tourists but as potential residents ! When Rohingya terrorist infiltrators can settle down in Kashmir, why should not Biharis and Bengalis.
Vaccinations hurt. But vaccines are life savers. Modi’s panacea for the nation is for India’s immunity and eternity. Red Letter day in Indian political history. May be today feels better than it ever did on August 15, 1947.
Who is Donald Trump and what is his orbit of power. What is China to us. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has to be naive to imagine that anyone can dissuade or deter India. India’s woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi broke Pakistan to two pieces right under the nose of US President Nixon and Henry Kissinger, liberating Bangladesh. We don’t need America or China’s approval. Our all weather friend Israel is our strongest ally. We Indians are in a far better shape now than we were in 1970s. India is pumped up with energy and self-confidence and marching ahead at full throttle under the dynamic leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi ji. The trio Modi-Shah-Doval is the best India has ever had since the times of Chankya when it comes to political wisdom and acumen. Balakot is not long or far behind us. India is not Syria or Afghanistan or Libya, even President Trump must know. India’s solid track record and credibility and respectability have guaranteed us that much berth for a smooth passage. India is prepared for the jolts of aftershock. We are shockproof enough. We will sail through this storm together! Let our Kashmir Hindu Pundits finally return home to safety and security!
Besides, India did nothing that Pakistan has not done before. Bhutto in 1974 similarly abolished special status for Gilgit Baltistan in POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) and populated that part of Kashmir with Pakistanis which is least Kashmiri today with a completely altered demography.Foot in the mouth of Pakistan media. Indian media as well.
Omar Abdullah family and Mehbooba Mufti family and also Lone family have had their coffers filled to brim. Let Kashmiris finally prosper with rest of India.
The Indian state has always come across as soft power. We flex muscles rarely. When we do, you will see ACTION. Nehru-Sheikh Abdullah’s shortsightedness and grave blunder stand rectified today, 72 years after India won her independence from the British. For a Hindu, the islamic invaders will remain the worst sadistic and barbaric in memory and history. The British were in comparison, a lot more benevolent. The only logic for Indian muslims to idolize terror is that, their ancestors were converted either by force or by bribe and so today they embrace what they had to by default (of birth). An invader is an invader and India’s islamic invaders were the most perverse and that won’t change, because they raised a Taj Mahal (over Tejo Shivalaya). No institution building in islamic terror reign in Indian history, only massacres and rampages, razing of Hindu holy places and temples. This went on for a 1000 years unchecked. Will those like Shashi Tharoor lecture on the invasions. How many so-called intellectuals like Ramachandra Guha will dare to shed light on Hindu genocide that continued for centuries.
Gandhi is past and behind us. Modi is future and right before us. Historically terrorized and denied justice, subdued by brute force, emotionally blackmailed by the minorities, it is not surprising that the Hindu awakening is a reality today. For our very survival. It was only in 1990s that the Kashmir Hindu Pundits fled the valley, driven out by islamic terrorist Kashmiris. Those who stayed back were butchered in cold blood, their daughters raped and slaughtered. Village by village, the pillage and violence and bloodshed continued, instigated and fanned by the woman prime minister of Pakistan, Benazzir Bhutto.. How easy it is to ethnic cleanse an islamic province of its minorities with virtually no hue and cry anywhere in the national/international media! This pattern is seen in Pakistan next door and even in Middle East. Have you ever come across a single media report in Pakistan/world on the massacre of Kashmir Hindu Pundits and their exodus from the state. It was Kashmir then. It might be Kerala tomorrow if Article 370 or 35 A must continue.
India has to fight her own lone battles. She will.
ISRO needs no intro and is much written about. So, just a pictorial journey here with ISRO that has captured the imagination of every single soul in this one billion club nation. From humble beginnings in Thumba to the present launch of Chandrayaan 2, India’s second Moon Mission to the darker side of the Moon, on the heels of Mangalyaan the Mars Mission, ISRO has come a long way. From being ridiculed and chastised for ambitious missions to being denied legit credit for original discoveries (such as water on the lunar surface by Chandrayaan 1), ISRO has not walked a bed of roses. After all, India’s first rocket was carried by bullock cart and on the pillion of a bicycle when we embarked on our space mission. ISRO has proved many critics wrong and in the interest of humanity, continues with its tradition of nationalistic and scientific pursuits undeterred by setbacks (such as a couple of unsuccessful attempts). ISRO’s Moon Mission 2 (Chandrayaan 2) cost India less than 50% of production costs for Hollywood’s ‘Avengers.’ (To be edited)
Aryabhatta, world’s first astronomer, a Hindu after who India’s first satellite was named
Vikram Sarabhai, founding father of modern India’s space programme
ISRO legend Udipi Ramachandra Rao
ex president Abdul Kalam, ISRO chief Satish Dhawan with the then Indian PM Indira Gandhi in 1980 when Kalam worked as scientist
India’s first rocket is transported in a bicycle…
the road ISRO walked…
India’s first rocket is launched from a church in Thumba, Kerala
India’s first satellite Aryabhatta
Aryabhatta, India’s first satellite
Rakesh Sharma, first Indian to walk in space thanks to an India-Russia collaboration on space research
India postage commemorating Aryabhatta, the first launch
2008: Chandrayaan 1 finds water in the moon
Chandrayaan1 discovers water in the Moon
Chandrayaan 1 probe on lunar surface
the road to Mars
India becomes the first country in the world to reach Mars orbit on maiden attempt.
Women scientists celebrate the successful launch of India’s maiden Mars mission Mangalyaan1 in 2013
GSLV the bad boy
GSLV
Mangalyaan image beamed back by MOM adorns the cover of National Geographic.
Mars image beamed back by MCC, Mangalyaan
India is the first country in the world to reach Mars orbit in very first attempt, at least budget resources and in quickest possible time with the youngest scientists working the project
Mars images from Mangalyaan
ISRO launches record 104 satellites in a single mission
2017: ISRO betters its own record
Indian Remote Sensing satellite
Sriharikota, the satellite launching pad in Andhra Pradesh
GSLV launch
ISRO scientists watch Mangalyaan enter the Mars orbit
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