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Foster - Wollongong Monday June 2nd : Foster reminded me of an Australian Beer but this tiny town didn’t display any sign of it. It rather showed the character of dairy farmer’s than a beer guzzler’s sojourn. I would also remember this town for my first experience of filling up gas on my own. I was too sheepish to admit my nervousness to the petrol station owner but he readily helped me not just with the filling but also with the directions to hit A440 S. Gippsland Highway . As we turned and hit the highway, I saw the board ‘Foster Population 1,500’ confirming that town was indeed a tiny. Road from Foster to Sale goes through a vast land occupied by grass grazers. On either side of the road are cows, cows and cows. The only possible variation is their colour. Some are brown while some are white on black. A familiar Indian sight of shepherd holding a wooden stick in one hand and pushing the grazing cows did not exist here. Aussie cows didn’t have any human boss prodding them. The...

In every man’s life, there comes a time when his reputation, stature, skills and performance reaches nadir. This person was no exception either – his consecutive 23 movies crashed at the box office and people who stood by him all his life started deserting him. When he learnt that Nav-Ketan banner with whom he and his father had done every movie, too have decided to shift loyalties, he kept his ego aside and reached for Dev Saab and pleaded not to discard him. However, Dev Saab was unmoved by sentimentality. Soon he was all alone by himself compounded further by his cardiac ill health. That was the time, he remembered the advice his father gave him ‘When things are down and out, immerse yourself in creativity. That creation will bring people back to you’. During the time of convalescence, he created nearly 2000 tunes. This story and few others narrated by Harish Bhimani during ‘All Instrumental’ performance Pancham Relive 2008 brought out some of the unknown facets of Pancham. This was...

When my father passed away, my friend Pradeep Deshpande merely expressed ‘ पराधीन आहे जगती पुत्र मानवाचा ' . Ironically, this song penned by GaDiMa (गदिमा) was one of the coveted songs of my father. I grew up listening to various songs of Geet Ramayana (गीत रामायण ) – this one is also from it – but never felt the impact of the words till pangs of sorrow and separation made the essence of this poem percolate down to my inner existence. How mystically ग दि मा) used the event of the separation of Lord Rama and Bharata in conveying the profound truth and meaning of life in such a simple fluidic poetry. Sudheer Phadke who sang this and every song of Geet Ramayana has imbibed himself every nuance of the emotive spirit of this amazing literary creation . This song also reminds me of my RSS senior in my school days. I forgot his name but his image is still prominent. While going to Shishir Shibeer , in the local train, he would use quiz to entertain us. He ask...

Economist is not a magazine that I look forward to when I have a choice to read. But I do get impressed when economics is made simple. One such article 'Petro Dollar and US currency 'made 'currency circulation ' a 'simplistic matter'' This was sent by Girish Deshpande in 'पुलकित' forum - yahoo group dedicated to पु.ल.देशपांडे fan club. Wonder how पु.ल.'s reaction would have been to this article in his fanclub. IRAN HAS REALLY DONE IT...more deadlier than the nuclear.. The Voice (issue 264 -) ran an article beginning, ' Iran has really gone and done it now. No, they haven't sent their first nuclear sub in to the Persian Gulf . They are about to launch something much more deadly -- next week the Iran Bourse will open to trade oil, not n dollars but in Euros' This apparently insignificant event has consequences far greater for the US people, indeed all for us all, than is imaginable. Currently almost all oil buying and selling is ...

Part I – Melbourne- Wilson Promonotary Vacation should have an element of unpredictability. A new place that has not been ventured out is always an ideal place for a vacation. However, a season traveler in me does not rest until I spend a lot of time in researching about the place before I plan a vacation. I did the same when I narrowed down to visiting Melbourne – Sydney by car along the coastal route. My concern was unknown territory, onset of winter and travel with 14-month baby. I rummaged 'lonely planet Australia’, surfed Trip Advisor , Virtual Tourist , WAYN and read many travelogues of those intrepid adventurers who took on Australia by road. I went ahead with a tentative plan, confirmed my hotel booking at Melbourne, Sydney over successive weekends and car rental during the week. I kept options open between Melbourne and Sydney. Choice was Wilson Promontory, Eden, Jarvis Bay, Central Tilba, Lake Entrance, Bateman’s Bay and Wollongong. I decided the best way would be to c...

When George Bush attributed the reason for growing global food prices to 'India's burgeoning middle class', there was hue and cry in India's media - from politicians to ordinary blogger blaming 'Bush Ignorance' to ' American Jealousy'. But after seeing this Video, INDIA RISING , I do feel the impact of India's rising middle class on the globalization. Its scary but as an Indian I am elated. I only hope the pace and rise of Indian consumption culture is equally matched with relentless Expansion of Infrastructure , Reduction of Pollution and Corruption in the society that will eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition.