Deemed University fracas

What will happen to the thousands of students who have enrolled in the deemed universities depending on the approval given to these universities. Government has said that the students will be protected, but not mentioned how this will be done. Is the government fooling people. Almost all the deemed universities are run by powerful politicians and they have built infrastructure running into crores of rupees. Why does'nt the government leave the education sector to private sector play and get out of micro regulating the sector.

Maharashtra Government retrogades on taxi permits

Not unexpected, but Maharashtra government decision to impose language conditions for obtaining taxi permits is certainly retrograde. Most of the taxi drivers ply in the airport area, don't they need to know English. Mumbai being a cosmopolitan area, most of the drivers need to know Hindi well to cater to their customers. What customers want is of paramount importance than what the government dictates. I thought with the passing away of Comrade Basu, government interference in silly matters would have lessened, but the chauvinistic leaders' mindset is always 50 years old. Would it not be better if the government did something about the shabby appearance, spitting habits and bad and uncouth language and ill tempered manners of the drivers and their refusal to ply to a distance not of their choice with impunity.

Ban 3-Idiots

Considering the spate of suicides which has assumed alarming proportions, it would be wise to impose a temporary ban on the screening of 3-Idiots, which ostensibly is the reason for students committing suicides as the film has one suicide and another attempted one. I am sure film fraternity will jump in alarm at my suggestion, but that seems to be practical at this juncture. Art imitates life or life imitates art. Well, when life imitates art, the consequences are unintended

India labour to beat Bangladesh

India huffed and puffed their way to a victory in a game which they had to win, after their stand-in captain made a foot in the mouth statement at the start itself, leaving the team red faced in the first innings. Quality of cricket is getting pathetic day by day.

Erich Segal

Erich Segal dies at 72, the first of the writers to take their final journey this year. I have not read his monumental "Love Story", but will definitely have a dekko to understand the fascination people had with this work.

SCMM 2010 in a PERSONAL BEST

Successfully completed my 6th Mumbai Half Marathon in a PERSONAL BEST time of 2.25.56 hours today. The race started with a melee today at the starting point, and I started with a good pace and kept at it till about 9 kms mark after which i started sagging a bit. from Mahalakshmi race course onwards, the sun was directly affecting the runners and the pedder road climb took a heavy toll on the legs. Passed the magificient african athletes at about that time. The marine drive stretch also took a heavy toll and i started walking to the count of 30 steps each time to recover my energy. From just before the turn into V.N. Road, i started again strongly, and kept at it without stopping, slowly increasing my pace all the time. At the flora fountain turn, i was determined to run strongly to the finish and i started accelerating my pace all the time and from about 200 metres to the finish, i started sprinting strongly to finish strongly in a good time of 2.25.56 hours. If i had not taken those walking steps, i could well have finished under 2.15 hours, which was the target.

South Karnataka

Had been to South Karnataka on a temple pilgrimage from week ending 6th June to 11th June 2009. Covered Kollur Mookambika, Murdeshwar, Dhareshwar, Idugunji, Shringeri, Dharamstala, Kukke Subrahmanya, Kateel and Udupi. Total distance covered in excess of 1000 kms. The scenery was breathtaking throughout the entire journey starting with drive from Kundapura railway station onwards. Dense and thick forests along the way all throughout was absolutely breathtaking. Udupi was a busy town, though other places where we halted for the night viz. Kollur and Kukke Subrahmanya left a lot to be desired. Power situation is absolutely poor in these parts. Food was no problem and in fact it was scintillatingly delightful. Karnataka is a mystery left to be discovered by one and all. It was indeed beautiful. The drive up to Shringeri was breathtaking and Shringeri itself was a delight in itself. What beautiful facilities have been created there a mix of the old and the new, the heritage stone temple being almost mystical. Kukke Subrahmanya was a surprise because there were book stalls inside the temple complex itself which is a new attraction for me. Picked up Gandhi's autobiography for just rs.95/- only. Got some more books from Udupi, there were some three small stalls where we purchased lots of books that we do not get otherwise in Bombay. At every place food was served free in the temple complex itself. The method of serving food was unique in all the places and the innovative methods adopted for serving at a time, more than 1000 persons deserves to be patented. Murdeshwar had a breathtaking statue of Shiva which was about 23 foot in height and near the Arabian Sea. There were other statues as well, which was an absolute wonder.