DesiReflections

Is Huawei bigger threat than 59 Apps banned ? Huawei is a very big Telecom giant from China and leader in next-generation 5G cellular network . Though Huawei claims that it is owned by the employees but world over it is felt that China’s government exerts invisible control over the country’s private businesses in many ways, some of them unofficial and never disclosed. Huawei executives have said repeatedly that they do not act on Beijing’s behalf. But absent the kind of constant, independent scrutiny that a publicly listed company would face, outsiders can only decide whether to take Huawei’s word for it. The Governments world over suspect the snooping and enable them to shut remotely, if required be , through the G5 technology of this company. For example the United States government cracked down hard on Huawei. Lawmakers and intelligence officials in US have claimed the telecommunications giant could be exploited by the Chinese government for espionage, presenting a potentially grave...

क्यों   इतना   सितम   आदमी   पे   ढाते   हो   क्यों     सितम   आदमी   पे   ढ़ाते   हो   इतनी   नफ़रत   कहाँ   से   लाते   हो   कैसे   रिश्ते   बना   लिए   तुमने   कुछ   न   कहते   न   कुछ   सुनाते   हो   तार   वीणा   के   झनझनाते   हैं   जब   कोई   गीत   गुनगुनाते   हो   कतरा   कतरा   बिखरता   जाता   हूँ मुझको   जब   बेरुख़ी   दिखाते   हो   सारा   अवसाद   गल   गया   पल   में   इस   कदर   तुम   जो   मुस्कुराते   हो   बेपनाह   प्यार   हो   गया   तुमको   बेवजह   मुझपे   हक़   जमाते   हो   न   दूर   जाते   हो   न   पास   आते   हो   जब   भी   जी   चाहे   रूठ   जाते ...

Is The Plant Based Meat Going To Disrupt The Food Market ? In last two years, food technology has moved consumers from browsing for wan “veggie patties” in the frozen aisle to selecting fresh “plant-based burgers” sold next to the ground beef. For those Indian consumers who do not know what a burger is meant to them. As per American perception, a burger is a flat round cake of minced beef that is fried or grilled and typically served in a bread roll; a hamburger. Most of them do not think a veggie burger do not fall in the definition of burger.  Think for a moment, in case plant based meat is able to replace meat sourced from cows, pigs, lambs and other animals it will be able to reduce greenhouse effect to large extent. It is a proven fact that process of manufacturing plant based meat uses 95% less land and 74% less water, and it emits about 87% less greenhouse gas than making a ground beef burger patty from cows. The fact remains that the traditional meat industry is in no mood ...

Conflict With China Is A Wakeup Call THE RECENT CONFLICT at the border between China and India has enraged Indians by large. People came out in the street breaking Chinese brand TVs , toys etc etc. Common men’s perception about Chinese imports is toys, Holi Colors pitchkaari, deepavali lights, statues of our Gods and Goddesses. But the Chinese imports are much more beyond these items. Chinese are supplying array of stuff ranging from    solar panels, LED bulbs, drugs intermediaries, power plants , technology and white goods in the guise of Japanese, European brands. I look this present conflict as a wake up call and an unprecedented opportunity for All of us to introspect on why it hasn’t been able to keep pace with rival China that has rapidly emerged as arguably one of the world’s most formidable economic and strategic power.  Interestingly, India was well ahead of China in terms of its per capita GDP till 1990 both on PPP and nominal basis. In 1991, India had a conside...

I had an official schedule to work at Someshwar for a week some 18 years back. At that time Someshwar did not have any hotel or lodge so I had only one option but to check in at some hotel in the nearby Kausani . Kausani is only 7 miles from Someshwar so it was the obvious choice.  I checked-in at Sun n Snow Inn. For the first time, I was landed at a hotel where you have to surrender your mobile at reception during your stay. Initially, I reacted as if it is a crazy idea. But for whole week, I realized that it provides a lot of mental peace.  Someshwar is a small hilly helmet, in beautiful valley close to Kosi and Sai River and famous for its Lord Shiva Temple , it was constructed by Raja    Som Chand founder of Chand Dynasty in 10th century. There is a steep ride    from Someshwar to Kausani , road takes you from dense jungles.  My decision to stay in Kausani yielded so much , I enjoyed pure nature from five am to 9 am and thereafter from 5.30 pm till...

Kalamuni Top On  Way To Munsiyari  I wrote about Munsiyari few weeks back in this column. Munsiyari is the last Tehsil in Pithoragarh on Tibet border.   But in this piece I missed to mention an interesting spot on way to this place. The place is Kalamuni Top. It is 15 km before Munsiyari . It is a narrow tableland or a pass at the height of 9,500 ft. probably the tallest in the nearby vicinity. Being on such a height it is the coolest place, when it rains in nearby places it snows here. So the drive from Birthi to this place is straight steep . One has no choice but to halt for a while over here in fact every vehicle stop . The mighty Panchchuli peak has awesome view from this place  . While we reached here around  one o’clock in the September afternoon, it was shivering and biting cold. We were wearing a long coat in addition to three piece suit and a thermal undergarment still shivering. To our surprise a Nags Sadhu was sitting in front of a small fire pl...

You will hardly find any Bollywood actress who is active in the age of 70 year and rocking.  In Hollywood, there are few  actresses who have been active till 70 . Meryl Streep is one such star who has crossed 70 and busy in her career. And she is my favorite.  She began her career on the New York stage in the late 1960s and appeared in several Broadway productions. Streep transitioned to films in the 1970s and soon began earning major accolades, eventually winning Oscars for ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’, ‘Sophie's Choice’ and ‘The Iron Lady’, among a league of nominations. Equally able to wow audiences in drama, comedy and musicals, she has come to be considered one of the greatest actresses of our time. She was born in June 22, 1949 in Summit, New Jersey , once she became active in her career she was recognized film for her masterly technique, expertise with dialect  and subtly expressive face. Streep was hardly 12 , she started voice training and took up acting while in Hig...

Threat of Cyber Attacks is Real Do you know that the cypher attacks have now emerged as deadlier    weapons, more dangerous than the traditional one. They are capable of crippling enemy’s economy without firing any weapon on its border. And such danger from our traditional enemies is real. The impact of the cyber-attack can be classified: Physical/Digital, Economic, Psychological, Reputational, Social/societal .  Under the Physical/Digital category , there is possibility of the loss of human life by manipulating the flow of water in dams, disruption in water supply and electricity, damage to vital infrastructure or assets . While the economic impacts include a fall in stock price, stealing vital data of financial institutions or reduced profits . Psychological impacts are also serious, individuals can be left depressed, embarrassed, shamed or confused , while Reputational impacts can include a loss of key staff, damaged relationships with customers and intense media scrut...

Incredible Journey of A Singer Who Can Not See : Stevie Wonder  I grew up with the music and songs of Stevie Wonder. Actually he is only two year elder to me but when I started learning algebra, Stevie started recording music albums!  And I feel proud that my generation grew up with Stevie’s sonorous voice and his soul touching music . He is the one who influenced music  scenario of seventies, eighties and partly nineties.  Stevie hardly needs any introduction. But this piece is especially for those friends who are born after 1990.  He won not one or two but 25 Grammy Awards, a feast difficult to replicate, a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, more than 100 million of his records sold worldwide — only speak partially to his legend.  In 1961, when he was only 11 year old, Wonder sang his own composition, ‘Lonely Boy’,  to Ronnie White of the Miracles; White then took Wonder and his mother to an audition at Motown, where CEO Berry Gordy who signed ...

विफलता को पलटना होगा  कई बार हमें लगता है  हमारे साथ सब कुछ उल्टा पुल्टा हो रहा है . शेयर में निवेश घट के चौथाई रह गया है  प्रापर्टी की क़ीमतें धराशायी हो गयी हैं  माल नहीं बिक रहा है  खीसे में नगदी कम है  उधारी ज़्यादा हो गयी है . ऐसा लग रहा है  जंगल में ड्राइव करते करते भटक गए हैं  और गूगल मैप ने काम करना बंद कर दिया है  अजीब पशोपेश है  आप चाहते तो मुस्कुराना हैं  मगर मुँह से सिसकारी निकल रही है . बात सही है, समस्याएं  मुँह बाए खड़ी हैं  कुछ दिन अपने खोल में सिमट जाओ ,  यह  मुसीबत की घड़ी है ,  लेकिन कौन सी शै तुमसे बड़ी है . चिल मारो यार ,  ये सफलता और विफलता  एक ही सिक्के के दो पहलू हैं  विफलता को कोशिश करके पलट दो  सफलता तुम्हारे सामने होगी . तुम्हें पता है  जब तुम परेशानी में होते हो  सफलता तुम्हारे आस पास ही होती है  तुम उसे देख नहीं पाते हो  इसलिए मुसीबत में धैर्य मत छोड़ो लड़ो, लड़ो और लड़ते रहो .  तकलीफ़ जितना सताए  उससे कहीं ज़ोर से उसे धक्का देते ...

My First Crush As Teenager ! Yesterday, I reminisced a movie , ‘The Fall Of The Roman Empire’, which I saw as an adolescent sometime in 1966 , it was a historical drama , I was carried away by the character of Lucilla , daughter of emperor Marcus Aurelius , the role was played by Sophia Loren. That face of Sophia made an indelible thappa on my mind, I became a fan of her. Later I got a chance to see her ‘Two Women’ , the movie made her a celebrity. The movie was a stirring drama from Italian neo-realist Vittoria De Sica that cast her as a mother protecting her daughter from the horrors of World War II. Her  role not only brought her international acclaim , also an Oscar, a BAFTA and Cannes Film Festival victories as Best Actress. She earned additional Oscar and Golden Globe bids for De Sica’s ‘Marriage Italian Style’(1964), which cast her opposite frequent leading man Marcello Mastroianni. Though her cinematic output grew sparser after she started a family with producer and husband...

A Short Trip To Spiritual Abode  We trekked to Mayawati Ashram in the year 1982.  One one Saturday night, while enjoying dinner together, we , four colleagues viz. Vijay Gupta, LM Pandey , Jeevan Tewari and of course me, decided to trek upto Mayawati Ashram next day. Total distance was around 70 km from Pithoragarh, so we divided our sojourn in two parts, hitchhike upto Lohaghat and thereafter trekking.  First, I would like to share the significance of Mayawati , Swami Vivekanand visited this beautiful place around 1896 soon after returning from his historic Chicago trip. He traveled many parts of Kumayun including its  cultural capital Almora. He simply fell in love with Mayawati and established Advait Ashram. He expressed this desire to his two disciples - James Henry Sevier and Charlotte Sevier to have a retreat for the monks in the Himalayas at this place. It was a established as a kind of meditation retreat , his disciples started publishing Awakened India. Thin...

गुलाबो सिताबो गुलाबो सिताबो अमिताभ और आयुष्मान जैसे बड़े सितारों से लैस  और शूजित सरकार जैसे बेहतरीन निर्देशक की फ़िल्म है . लाक डाउन के चलते ओटीटी प्लेटफार्म पर स्ट्रीम होने वाली बड़े बजट की पहली फ़िल्म बन गयी है . प्राइम विडियो पर आज से प्रदर्शित फ़िल्म की रफ़्तार सुस्त है कहानी का बिल्डअप होने में बहुत समय लगा है , इसी कारण आज से यही कोई पंद्रह सोलह साल पुरानी डाक्यूमेंट्री फ़िल्म लगने लगती है .  लेकिन मुझे इस फ़िल्म की  तीन प्रमुख बातों ने प्रभावित किया है - डिटेलिंग की दृष्टि से इसका जबाब नहीं . शूजित की फ़िल्मों में शहर भी एक बड़ा कैरेक्टर होता है, यह फ़िल्म भी कुछ भिन्न नहीं , लखनऊ का किरदार बाक़ी किरदारों पर भारी है , लखनवी का अतीत और उसमें नए जमाने की आहट एक दस्तावेज की तरह है , कथा लेखक और निर्देशक ने कलाकार लखनऊ और उसके आस पास से लिए हैं . भाषा को शहर से जोड़ने की कोशिश बड़ी ईमानदार लगती है , लखनऊ की एक दम खाँटी ज़ुबान है जिसमें परम्परागत बालीवुड का बंबय्यापन एकदम ग़ायब है , आंचलिकता इस फ़िल्म की खूबी बन गयी है.  फ़िल्म में परम्परागत नाच गाना नहीं है , जो ...