paan singh tomar

paan singh tomar

When I first heard about it from my work colleague, who is from a nearby area to Chambal, I wasn't as thrilled. Later, as I got to know about the storyline, it reminded me of my days as an sportsperson (yes, I was a State Champion shooter!).

I made a resolve. I will watch this movie first day first show. It so happened that I ended up being present at the In

ternational Premiere of the film at South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF 2010) in NYC in Chelsea area.

The movie was very well made (10 being peerless):

• Subject Matter research was 9/10.
• Acting was 9/10.
• Direction was 7/10.
• Overall movie was 9/10.

Given that this movie has translated this story of an international champion to a rebel into a message criticizing conditions of sportspersons in India, I decided to ask a question to Irrfan (yes, he changed his name from Irfan Khan to just Irrfan):

'Irrfan, if you had to suggest three improvements to Sports Ministry of India....what would they be?'

To this, he didn't answer in three points. However, he ended up stating that he wasn't a specialist in this field and that government should have nothing to do with sports talent discovery and nurturing.

In my opinion, if the film makers decided to criticize the government (in a subtle way) then they must be ready to suggest improvements in case they are put in the shoes of the GOI; and yet, they were ill-prepared to handle this simple question. A critic has no right to comment in case they don't know how to improve the situation. Arm-chair commenting is one thing and constructive criticism is another; mostly for a progressive society, the latter is preferred.

This movie is yet to be released in India. Irrfan does not believe that this movie will have any effect on the Government of India or the way they approach nurturing sports talent. I think this movie would have an effect; at least, as an eye-opener. Also, it will serve as a source of inspiration for corporate marketing departments to patronize sports persons in lieu of marketing. Currently, the marketers are hungry for eye-balls for their products in a country, whose citizens have an increasing discretionary purchasing power and a constantly shrinking attention span.

Today, the government's facilities are much better as compared to Tomar's days (1950s). National Economic Liberation Policy (NELP) of 1991 opened up for foreign investments in India; and, in sports as well. We have already seen the boom in cricket with the foreign money and players flowing in ... in form of IPL (20-20) and other forms of the sport. Several other sports are finding corporate sponsors as well.

In conclusion, for approaching a matter as a critic, I think the Indian movie makers must approach it with a bit more progressive attitude than this. Differences apart, the movie is a must-see for a discerning movie-goer in India.

adour

adour represents a fusion of the traditional elegance and modern sophistication.

Having dined at some of the finest NYC restaurants, we decided to check out adour; the experience was luxurious. I had been to the King Cole bar on a number of occasions but never tried the dining experience.

A taste of modern sophistication comes when you sit at their bar waiting for your reservation time to come; it emanates from the interactive wine bar. This helps patrons choose a wine by allowing them to browse Adour's complete wine list by wine type, country and varietal. Computer menus are projected from the ceiling onto the bar, and patrons make their choices by pressing on the bar's surface. Yes, the restaurant is fashionably wine-centric. The 4-seat wine bar is constructed from gold and bronze and covered in luxurious goat skin.

The amuse bouche of tomato gazpacho with basil foam was quite a palate pleasing. The chilled English pea velouté was creamy yet light.

The vegetarian course initially sounded very cliche. However, it ended up being an unbelievable taste. The slow cooking of various vegetables allowed concentrating of flavors.

The exotic contemporary vacherin topped it all; the air was perfumed with passionfruit and mango as the servers brought it to our table. Digging into the layers of passionfruit, mango and lime gelee, we loved every spoon we dug in. This was truly a “masterpiece” as Bruni mentioned in his article. The petit fours were served with the desserts. The macaron flavors were dark chocolate and coconut with a fruit filling.

All in all, they are a purveyor of palatal and visual delight.

living in historic times...

US needs change to come out well after these historic times. Aging demographics and the on-going mortgage crisis will make US imbecile. However, focus on total factor of productivity and education can improve the situation.

It's 8 am on a Thursday morning. I am getting out of Washington D.C.'s JW Marriott's executive suite (they gave me an upgrade due to my platinum status) and I notice the headlines in the Journal (I refer to WSJ as the journal). The headlines reads:

"Weak Economy Forces Elderly To Delay Retirement"

I recollect my Macroeconomics concepts and conclude: The Long-run aggregate demand for the US economy has quantity of labor as a major concern right now with the aging demographics and restrictions on immigration for workers.

Yes. I am living in historic times and this roller-coaster ride is interesting to observe. Would this be the beginning of the end for a formidable power that was the United States? I will not hazard a guess as US has shown resilience in jumping back from such situations. However, a few incidents post-4/1 gave me evidence that we may begin the end.

A few days later, on 4/4, the USCIS issues a notice about allowance for extensions on OPTs or Optional Practical Trainings for F1/H1B cap-gaps. The following week, USCIS issues the lottery system for both Masters quota as well as the Bachelors quota. All this is a reflection of a policy issue resulting in inefficient allocation of resources. On one hand, the country wants to relax trade barriers. On the other hand, they have created labor trade barriers themselves. A quota system usually results in less than efficient allocation of resources. The current H1B quota system results in similar inefficient allocation of resources. The folks who are denied work permits in the US will sit in UK and other parts of the world in order to ensure that work is done. The displacement of where the work is done from where it affects due to the Internet revolution has made this possible. Hence, the country loses significant GDP by not allowing entry to the immigrant skilled workers.

How will US remediate this?
I have no idea but have some opinions around the same. May be I will blog those on the Trendwhizo blog next....

Back to the economy

On other hand, I see following image of of Chair Bair on CNBC while reading the WSJ article:

She asserts that the regional banks are in good shape. However, Dick Bove vehemently insists that the regional banks are not in good shape and initiates a Sell on those stocks. He points out that the FDIC watch list has expanded and most of the banks on that watchlist are regional banks. He has a point.

Macroeconomics wise, I can see that this downtrend will last fairly long. The mortgage troubles will spill over into auto loans and personal loans. Later, this will snowball US into recession. I think we are already in a recession - only NBER has to confirm. 

The cycle will not turn up until a source of spending is generated. A potential source is alternative energy. However, the OPEC might take a call to reduce oil prices to keep the junkie alive. OPEC parties are shrewd and will probably try to kill the alternative energy projects. However, society needs to understand this plan and not go by pure RoI-wise for investments in research for alternative energy sources. 

We will see a spate of business failures. Also, we will see a spate of job losses due to business failures. In a bid to become fit for survival, companies will cut jobs in an anticipation of becoming fit. The cycle of recession leading to job losses leading to foreclosures leading to recession will continue unless a source of funding such as govt spending is identified. I will not be surprised if the unemployment will hit double digit figures, yes more than 10% !

We will also see a rise in crime rate. The social fabric will deteriorate. To what extent this might happen cannot be gauged. Noone can predict the future. It will be shaped by the actions that various central banks will take. The developed world provides social security - that fund will have a huge payout due to unemployment and other issues. However, that may not be enough to sustain living at a higher price level for the population.  

The existing paradigms will change.  Consumption smoothing and the all the concepts that Greenspan, an erudite market manipulator, tried to imbibe in the minds of the US residents have back-fired. He built an apparatus during the Clinton administration and later, progressed during Bush administration. This was the only way for him to show prosperity during his tenure. The US household networth is usually composed of two aspects - home and investments in the capital markets. The capital markets were not doing good after the tech bubble burst. Hence, Greenspan had to push up the real estate prices. Thus, he started the functioning of the apparatus he put in place for stupid lending. Moral hazard is one of the job description line items for the position of Fed Chairman. The results will be seen in the next few quarters. 

Will there be another source of growth - such as the emerging economies? May be. The world mortar of growth was dependent on the US consuming the goods produced by China and the services produced by India. The savings of Chindia went to support excesses of the developed world. US in particular force-fed 2 billion dollars a day to the world. The emerging economies will suffer in the near short term. However, in the medium term, due to the savings rate, they will have capacity to survive. Inflation will reduce if oil prices reduce. If oil prices go back to $50 /bbl, then Chindia may never slip into recession. 

Emerging markets will tank severely. I already emptied my Equity side of the assets and I am about to sell my Real Estate during my next India trip. 

Why do the cash holders not come in and buy and stabilize the markets? I mean the oil powers have trillions of $s in their sovereign wealth funds to come in and stabilize these crises. I don't think they are welcome politically. Also, the developed nations have an ability to create their own SWFs by printing money. Yes, it can lead to general price-level rise (a.k.a. inflation); however, it is better than giving up your assets to unreliable outsiders (aka Barbarians at the Gate). I hope they don't follow the Zimbabwe path which led to quadrillion percent p.a. inflation rate - lol. 

May be I am super-cynical; only time can tell!

washington, d.c.

DC is a visual delight during this time period. Fortunately, my job brings me here for work this time around ! The blossoms bring optimism in contrast to the other important agendas being tackled at the Hill. My trips to DC end up becoming a memorable time of my life and here's an account.

I checked out dinner places such as Zaytinya, Jaleo, Adam's Morgan, etc. I will miss meeting a friend of mine once I am out of this project.

a - The Blossoms - they bring in some optimism during the national crises (oil, subprime, etc). Check the Yoshino cherry tree Bloom Watch here.

b - CNBC had their special episode based out of there. In a hot debate, we are having several sessions and congressional and senate member hearings. The credit contraction is going to result in an inopportune set of issues for the developed nations. On a side note, I received the IRS letter about the stimulus just recently.

c - DC's environment is well maintained. Personal safety and health facilities are good. Education is available via educational institutions such as Georgetown and GWU. The transportation is good - few chokes here and there. Public services are plenty - as will be expected in a developed nation's capital.

District of Columbia has its own unique challenges. For instance, they didn't have a team and hence, they got Nationals now.

On the flights back home, I ended up meeting two fine individuals who believe in doing the right things and not the popular things - one's a save-the-earth lady and the other has great pride for her country and serves her country!

This has indeed been a memorable phase in life.

a new windy city?

New York City has gusty winds over the weekends continuing onto Monday morning. Check this report here. Is NYC becoming the windy city, a title that Chicago had?

After I left from the movie hall, I asked my friend, who just arrived from India, to join me for dinner and he backed out stating that there were strong chilly winds outside. I was intrigued when he backed out in such a way. Little did I know that the winds were so bad. .... 40 MPH !

Damn ... I couldn't stand and I couldn't walk straight - on top of that - the overcoat wasn't helping. After picking up my take-away order from the Italian place, I wasn't inclined to get out of that warm cosy place. The earlier walk of a few hundred meters had put me in a shock about the possible shock. It was about 6F and strong winds on top of that. I started thinking - what happened? When I went inside the movie hall, it wasn't as bad. Suddenly the weather deteriorated?

Cloverfield was good but not as good as to tolerate this tormentation of the weather. There was a weather warning of winds - but nothing about the strong chill !

Anyways, next time it is windy, I will make sure not to step out without car. The walk back from the Italian place to my apt complex was dreadful with the forehead giving a sensation of frozen blood....

And No, I am not exaggerating. On return back to house, my other roomie, who went to leave back his friend, saw cars moving side to side or front to back, the stuff that appears in movies!

I hope there are no casualties due to this. My prayers with the homeless!

bay area

art lovers galore !

Check out the presentation of MoMA's online exhibits. I must tell you - they never stop to reach beyond expectations....

For instance, while making decision regarding whether I must visit MoMA for Puryear's exhibit, I checked out the online exhibit and the full-screen version was simply marvellous; and no, I am not talking about the linear exhibit but the clusters which are shown when you want to check out the work based on medium, chronology, etc.

Go MoMA Go !

settled....

Last few weeks, I have been fairly busy and life's been fairly eventful!

The trip to DC was insightful as I learnt more on American history and got more educated on modern art. Corcoran was the most impactful place and the high point which influenced my thought process !

I arrived to Newport at my friend's place on a Sat evening two weeks ago from DC. As soon as I arrived Om had a plan in place already. We went out for a movie to watch "Shootout at Lokhandwala" and thereafter to the city (New York is referred to as "the city" hereafter for this blog). In the city, the idea was clubbing.

The journey wasn't rough but wasn't pleasant either. What I mean by that is it wasn't rough because the roads aren't bad from DC to NY and it wasn't pleasant because I experienced typical city driving (cutting lanes, burning tyres, speeding, etc).

I feel my car's perfect for the TriState area (NJ, NYC, CT). I say this because with this car, I can't get caught in speeding and also, the roads are in horrible shape in NJ. Besides, I go to work using the Path and hence, I dont need the car at all. I might think of selling it as the insurance in Jersey City is 2.5 times what I paid in Pgh. Also, I dont have utility of the car as much.

I spent two weeks at my buddy's place before I moved to my new place nearby. I didn't want to leave the locality as it was pleasant living there. Everything is so accessible. If I crave for Indian food then I can hop on to Path train and reach Journal Square for India square in 2 stops (I didn't want to live there as the locality is unpleasant). I must admit that searching a place in nyc/nj area is a challenging task. In NYC, the prices are steep and there is no value for money and in Jersey City heights, they are cheap but the area may not be livable. However, at Newport, you find a good balance of price and locality. Also, the access to the city is close and convenient. Finally, I get assessed per NJ state tax and hence, it pays off.

My current place is a penthouse and it has 2 rooms for me of which I plan to utilize as a movie theater and the other one as a summer bedroom. In winter, the movie room becomes the bedroom. Thanks to my high-school buddy for suggesting about the deal and letting me at his place till the time I could find a good apt! The community is cool with good amenities. As a pleasant surprise, I met someone at my work who is my neighbour! Such are the modern times - you meet your neighbors at work and not your housing community !

With this, I would conclude that I have settled at my new place now and hopefully, I would have a pleasant journey with my current employer.

skiing

Location: Seven Springs

Nightlife places I got to visit: Foggy Goggle

Woke up at 7.20 am - brushed my teeth and ran to the bus stop. Alas, there's a bus on Sat morning and I reached the departure venue at 7.28am. The buses had not yet departed (or I would've cursed the movie "The Departed" which I watched the previous night till 2.30 am and slept at 3.45 am).

The buses reached Seven Springs at 9 am. Getting ready for skiing took me an hour as I had to buy the shell pants to make sure I am water-proof from head to the toe. Those skiing shoes are soooooooo non-ergonomic w.r.t. walking for non-skiing purposes. Anyways, I get ready to take my lessons at the ski-school. The first lessons went on fine except for once when I fell down due to the lack of skills to slow down my speed. As the lesson progressed, I started getting better grip of my stance and skiied better. I kept on practicing in the magic carpet 1 area.

Around lunch time, Chris (friend from MISM) came on near me and it was a pleasant surprise to see him right there. We decided to head for lunch. He was trying to locate his girlfriend Michelle so that we could all have lunch together. However, post-lunch he could locate her and it was so nice having a small chat with them together.

I hit back to skiing - this time in the magic carpet 2 area. Thereafter, I tried several slopes once I mastered the skill of turning and controlling my speed. I took another break and changed my shoes to upgrade from 11.5 to 12 size - what a relief for my left foot !

Final round of skiing was disastrous as I lost my phone at that time. I took off the skis and returned in order to search for the same. I had heard from colleagues that the place is good and ppl return the cell phones. After visiting all the 3 information desks, I returned to the second one. Rob and Rich were there. Rob had assured me that I would get my phone back if someone returned my phone back. Rich was present at the counter the second time I returned and he asked me a few questions to confirm if the phone was mine. My stylus was lost and the screen more damaged - however, I was so relieved due to the return of the phone. Many thanks to Rich !

At 6pm, I tried to connect to few MISM colleagues from fall batch (man, except Chris noone from the summer batch was present - what's wrong with the summers?). However, as none of the connections were coming through, I decided to hit the bar - it was fairly populated and the DJ had started going on -alongwith the crowd being energetic. Somewhere Sera (a fall MISMer) saw me but never joined to dance with me citing the reason that I was surrounded by gorgeous chics and that she didn't want to disturb me - silly Sera! Rest of the MISMs were too tired to even visit the bar ! Foggy Goggle was a nice little place - I wouldn't say it was the best - but say 4 .5 on a scale of 10 (with 10 being the best). The crowd was 7 on 10 for their enthusiasm. Moreover, I was there only for 45 mins as I had to come back to get into the bus by 7.20pm.

All in all - a fun outing for the winter and perfect timing as the fresh snow had made skiing environment conducive on the slopes and the day was relatively less chiller!

india calling...

nice video commentary on Udaipur over here....Venice of the East :)
Similar one on Agra - over here.

They remind me of the time when I visited these places over a decade ago or so :)
I like this commentary bySeven Network - he starts saying - 6 months ago, when I came I couldn't wait to leave this place and 6 months later, I want to come back to this place. Indians like to tell that they invented numbers, chess, and they have the Taj Mahal... :)

Besides check out this hilarious video on a north-Indian marriage by Raju Srivastav on Star One's show.