Monday, January 30, 2006

IITians form political party

Seems like Mani Rathnam’s Yuva is getting off the reels.

Five IITians, all in their 20s, have decided to take up mainstream politics. The youths, based in Jodhpur, will be in the city to campaign for their national party, “Paritrana’’ , which was launched in Jodhpur on Friday.

“Giving up handsome pay packages, comfort of family and support of friends wasn’t that easy,’’ says Tanmay Rajpurohit, the national president of the party and B Tech in aerospace from IIT Bombay followed by an MS from GeorgiaTech and double masters in arts.
“But my inner voice told me that I should invest my efforts in my country rather than making my pockets heavier,’’ said Ajit Ashwalayan Shukla, vice president of the party.
“People think we are crazy so much so that our families have also failed to understand our motto, but we won’t give up,’’ he added.

The core team of “Paritrana’ ’ comprises Rajpurohit , Shukla, Amit Beesen, also the vice president and a B Tech (Mechanical) from IIT Bombay and a LLB graduate, Chandrashekhar (national treasurer), B Tech (computer science) from IIT Kanpur, Bharat Sundaram, the PRO of the party and B Tech from IIT Kanpur and PhD in electronics from Melbourne.

“Paritrana means complete relief from the various causes of distress, and that is what we want to do for our people,’’ added Chandrashekhar. Low funds have not discouraged them in their efforts of holding door-to-door campaigns in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and parts of Maharashtra.

“We strongly feel that the politicians of today are no longer the voice of the common man but instead they voice their own personal agendas through which they can fetch maximum votes,’’ said Shukla.

“We are not here for the power game. We are here to deal with the grassroots issues of each and every small village that we come across,’’ added Shukla.

The zeal and burning desire of the five youngsters sounds sincere. “I believe that we are just five ordinary boys from the middle class family with no godfathers in politics but have dared to come forward and fight for our rights,’’ said Chandrashekhar. “And we will succeed in it,’’ he added.

After the launch of the party at the Suchana Kendra in Jodhpur, the party members, as a part of their promotional campaign will tour Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai.

Source: Economic Times

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Rang De Basanti

Happy "Beating Retreat" Day

A very relaxing and lively weekend.....after a hectic work week.
Watched the much awaited "Rang De Basanti" movie...to describe the movie in one line "An awesome and inspiring movie". It is surely a must watch movie, what everyone needs to take home from this movie is the focussed thought to stand up for oneself and make our country a better place to live without turning a blind eye towards the injustice and corruption.

A.R. Rehman has come up with some good songs for Rang De Basanti movie. The pick of the album is "Paathashala", "Roobaroo" and "Luka Chuppi".

Sunday turned out to be typical day with a visit to the Malibu Temple and lunch at Paru's .

Till Next,
~M

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Happy Pongal

May the pot of prosperity boil over
May the Pongal that we cook,
the fragrance of turmeric
the taste of sugarcane, ginger and honey
Bring the joy of Pongal into our homes
May the blessings of the Sun God flood our lives

I can hardly believe that it has been one year since I was in India celebrating Pongal and watching Solomon Pappaiah's patti-mandram :)

Happy Pongal to all....

Enjoy.....
~M

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Malibu Temple & Beach

Today was one of those ideal Sundays, got up after a good nite sleep and had a relaxed day. I went to the Hindu Temple in Malibu. Do visit this temple if you are in the area. It is a beautifully located near the Malibu Beach/Pepperdine University. Nothing beats the peaceful ambience of a temple. When I am in the L.A area, I like to visit the temple and then head to the Malibu/Santa Monica Beach for a relaxing walk - Today was no different. To top this - had lunch at Annapurna - a very good South Indian Cuisine. Headed back home to watch the Bengals play the Steelers (Steelers went on to win the game, to play Colts). Next Week - Divisional Play offs :).

Take it easy..

~M

Monday, January 02, 2006

New Years 2006

Flew to San Jose, CA to celebrate the New Years with U of H Buddies..Akhil, Badri and Sesha.

Weather played spoil-sport during the complete trip..with record level rainfall in Northern California we had to ditch our skiing plans.

31st December 2005 - After a good lunch at Banana Leaf, a Malaysian restaurant we headed to Santa Cruz Beach since it was sunny. Pigeon Point Light House was our final destination before sunset. We headed back to Mountain View to welcome the New Year in Cascal, a Latin restaurant. It was fun to start the New Year with friends talking about old times.

1st January 2006 - A leisure day to start the New Year. After lunch it was time to watch the "Bush Bowl" - Texans v/s 49ers....and Texans do get the first draft pick and head coach Dom Capers would be fired!! I got to watch a thought provoking movie "What the Bleep Do we Know?". It makes one think "How far down the rabbit hole do you wanna go??” It is a powerful cinema which explores the inner-workings of the human brain and also discusses about Quantum Physics, the physics of the incredibly small. It makes an interesting watch which makes you ponder.

2nd January 2006 - A peaceful start at the Livermore Temple and a filling lunch to wrap up the trip to head back to Los Angeles, CA.

Wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!

Take Care,
~M