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Travelogue – Lonavla –Matheran

/ vamsi krishna / 1 Comment

I always wanted to go on a trekking trip or a backpack tour sort of thing and this wish has been completed with Matheran trek.

We , 6 people,  boarded on a train to pune and got down at Pune. Had a delicious pune ka poha as breakfast and took a local train to lonavla from Pune. It took around one hour to reach Lonavla and we went on searching for accomodation . It was such a impromptu trip that we did no reservations and bookings except the tatkal booked pune train tickets 🙂

It was all greenery and moist all around us . We got an awesome old bungalow for economical price but it was little far away from railway station ( Place: Shamiana Lodge ). Tip : Say you are students 😛

Then, we took the hike to Bushi dam which is around 7 kms from our place. Well, we went there for some trekking and hiking 🙂 . It was not much of khaas (special) and was too much crowded owing to the weekend, but the hike was awesome with some awesome views . There was some Lions point nearby which many say is good , but we couldnt get a chance .

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Next day, we took a local site seeing Innova and went to Carla caves and Rajamachi point(Also known as Khandala stretch ). Carla caves was good and we got some real good hike on steps on hill top . Rajamachi point provides a magnificient view of Mumbai Pune Expressway with hills and clouds. Tip for prospective goers:  Local sight seeing guys will only consider time for charging . So, you cannot cover all points in 5 hours what we hire them for and overcharging is how they make money for extra time we spent. So, its best to visit only selective points and ignore any temples etc . 🙂

Then, we decided to board for our actual plan , Matheran trek. There are some trains that go till karjat and take Mumbai local till Neral and then take sharecab till foot of Matheran hill. We decided to take a direct cab (costed us around 2000 bucks) to Matheran base as train timings were not convenient for us to get there by dusk.

The road to Matheran base (the place till where vehicles are allowed ) from Neral (Dont be confused with NerUl , which is a posh suburb in Mumbai)  was a ghat road completely filled with fog and was too narrow but was a exhilarating experience with small water falls roadside and people doing road trek.

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There is a toytrain from Matheran base till uphill but only runs few times every day . We missed the last one for the day . Then we decided to rail trek on the route and that was an awesome experience. It was all raining and fog and we walked for some 5 kms to reach uphill and then couple of hours to find a place to stay. Due to time constraints, we took a place which was shabby deciding to shift next morning.

Next day morning, we shifted to Hotel Premdeep which was too good and economical considering it was not weekend and embarked on our trek plan. Reached Charlotte dam point and had full plates of Poha and maggie as brunch. Thereafter, we have travelled across some great awesome view points trekking almost 18 kms to and fro . The best one was Malang Point and Alexander point . It was worth it. Every point was good and was such a nice walk.

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And after this, it was like we were on heaven . We were literally living on clouds.

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Final day, we took the toy train downhill which was just 30 mins . Its a different experience. We took the sharecab till Neral and take return train from Karjat.

Best part was that my Idea mobile was not having signal for full two days and i was cutoff from the world with a digital detox. There are no ATMs on Matheran , so please take care . You can use horses for transportation uphill. Dont miss the toytrain.Best season to visit is Monsoons.

 

Some pics taken from my friend Photography page : https://www.facebook.com/Sawant.photography?fref=ts

What you can do for GOOD and Honest Politics NOW #loksatta

/ vamsi krishna / Leave a comment

Image

 1)   Donate and fuel the LSP campaign

Donate @ https://win.loksatta.org/donate/

List of donors found @ https://win.loksatta.org/donate/donations.php

Note: If you are not living in India, please have your Passport number handy – political donations from overseas require that. And did I tell you that Loksatta party was the one who fought for such streamlining of political donations.

You can donate to specific candidate .

2) Join our ground campaign . 

Loksatta Central Volunteer: loksattaarmy@googlegroups.com
☎: 91-40-2331 1819 / 2331 1817
LB Nagar – 7893540230
Uppal – 8341292601
Secunderabad Cantonment – 9652380710
Qutubullapur & Medchal – 9949022224
Kukatpally – 9866541113
Malkajgiri – 9491871121
All other constituencies: Missed Call to 8099333444
Follow our updates on our facebook and twitter accounts :
3) Sign up on our call campaign tool and call our supporter base and wellwishers to energize them and vote for Loksatta.Entirely developed by in house IT team.
4) Get on our social media team by emailing to:  ME  ( vamsikris21@gmail.com )  or to swaraj.webaroo@gmail.com
5)   Become part of LSP core and take the fight further
5) Vote For Loksatta and Encourage your friends and family in Andhra Pradesh to vote for Loksatta in upcoming elections wherever party is contesting

 It is high time citizens of our country stop seeing things through colored glasses of winners, losers, caste and region. It is so tiring to be cynical for such a long time. It is time to embrace the politics of “Facts” + “Reasoning”.

Elections in Telangana region :        April 30 , 2014

Elections in Seemandhra region : May 7, 2014

Please consider doing at least 1 or more of these actions.

If you don’t then

it will be one pound less on the pressure to change status quo for better in India.

it will be one pound more on the pressure to change status quo for worse in India.

it will make life of irrationals that much easier.

             If not you then who?
               If not NOW, when ? 

Loksatta Party references:

http://www.loksatta.org/

https://win.loksatta.org

http://www.loksattavideos.com/

http://news.loksatta.org/

http://www.peopleforloksatta.org
https://www.facebook.com/loksatta
http://www.facebook.com/JPLOKSATTA
http://twitter.com/JP_LOKSATTA

https://twitter.com/loksatta_party

http://www.slideshare.net/vamsikris21/ppt-31511706

Android App : http://tiny.cc/LSPandroid

iOS App: http://tiny.cc/LSPios

Windows App : http://tiny.cc/LSPwindows

1 Nenokkadine – View and Review

/ vamsi krishna / 3 Comments

First of all, hatsoff to Sukumar and Mahesh Babu for believing in this kind of film making and for all the people who helped make it to a reality. An action thriller with a psychological  disorder angle  is probably the most riskiest movie genre i am aware of. Sir,you have succeeded almost in getting it right in shape. I still remember the goosebumps when i watched Shutter Island or any of Bourne series. The interval bang feeling was same. For the first time, i started thinking and engaging my brain while watching a Telugu movie.

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If only this movie was made in Hollywood, it would have been given rave reviews by people who are criticizing it now. I suggest to dub this movie trimming some parts and release in English. This will get more audience and gets the appreciation its worth. People who believe Telugu movies should be about 1 hero, 2 heroines, 3 dialogues each for them, 4 fights, 5 comedy scenes and 6 songs should avoid this movie at any cost.Do not watch it as a Telugu movie , Watch it as a Movie.And most importantly this movie needs some patience and concentration like some of the biggies of Hollywood. This is not even expected from a Telugu movie which marketed itself as a regular potboiler of action, revenge drama.

The interval bang performance is probably the best interval bang i have seen in Telugu movies.Such a cool composed matured performance from Mahesh and he has leaped ahead in his acting prowess with this. The build up given till Interval episode was outstanding . This itself deserves to be made into a movie. The confusion with hallucinations was handled very pretty well. I should appreciate the guts of a director starting the movie on a very serious note . The fight where Rowdies put knife on heroine was exemplary and one of the best action choreography. Of course Goa episode was slightly lagged , but it was needed to put the point through till the interval.The Bank episode was expected and could have been curtailed a little.

Technical values and production extravaganza were top notch and people dont like the movie too dont contend with this fact. BGM was excellent and cinematography was extraordinary. There are too many interlaying threads in the movie and director managed to conclude almost all. I am proud that we have such a director in Telugu Cinema.

For Fans, Mahesh performance would be remembered for ages. Okkadu, Athadu, Pokiri, Khaleja, Dookudu and Nenokkadine would be his top performance roles.Iam glad that he is taking such risks and encouraged Directors and film makers go beyond the boundaries.The single frame of Gautam and Mahesh running would be a treat for all his well wishers.

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The way that title credit prop was used to interlink with climax is incredible. The way the parents are revealed in the end is probably the most cinematic thing i have seen in Telugu Cinema. First half is mind blowing and puts your gray cells to work . The use of psychological disorder concept for some scenes is mindblowing for any film making enthusiast.The twist of who really are THE TWO is another gem in the movie.Second half was too many twists . The preclimax encounter with Nazar was riveting and best of Mahesh-Nazar chemistry.

Ofcourse, this movie suffers with Making-it-look-like-a-Telugu-Masala syndrome and cannot escape its clutches. Interval bang is one measure of Telugu movies and this looses grip just after interval. The songs are not even required at places and many think that getting rid of Villains is THE END which this movie bursts the cloud .  Movie can be made into two parts ideally.This is a perfect recipe for a mini series. Twists are too many and audience can loose grip over movie if not convinced with one.

Thanks Sukumar, Mahesh and 14 Reels.

PS- I remember seeing Hans Zimmer name in Music section. Can someone clarify what is his contribution or was i hallucinating 😛

PPS- Some pun below.

 

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13 things i have learnt in 2013

/ vamsi krishna / 1 Comment

1) Money might not bring you happiness, but will definitely help you not be sad.

2) “The power of money is in, giving it for good”- NRN. Decided to donate 1% of taxable income to charities and these will not be temples.

3) “Be the Change you wish to see in the world “ . Don’t think that you are too small to make any change. If you think so, you certainly don’t know about mosquitoes.

4) Man’s decision making ability is limited. Do not waste it on making small decisions. Let universe take its control of recommending things.

5) When faced with adversity, people don’t rise to the occasion, People come down to their level of training and preparedness.

6) People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

7) Leaders create leaders. Managers create workers.

8 ) Get up with sunrise. You will do more productive things in a day than usual.

9) Measure everything of significance. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10) Business can be started with Passion. But it has to run with money.

11) Have and use the best technical tools in your hand. A good smartphone can save you tons of time.

12) If you are feeling uneasy, you have either not exercised properly or slept insufficient or ate inadequately that day.

13) Long road drives are ultimate stress busters.

#ThankyouSachin

/ vamsi krishna / 1 Comment

I still remember the way i cursed shaoib akhtar  when you got out after blitzkrieg 98 against Pakistan in  World Cup 2003.

I still remember the goose bumps when i watched your Sharjah desert storm innings .

I still remember the day when you  scored 200* , listening to the live commentary by calling up a friend , cursing myself for working till late, and later messaging every body “ Happy Sachin Day”

I still remember the efforts and adventures i put in to watch an IPL match live just to see you.

I still remember , my early childhood, running to the nearby store to get the batteries for the radio as electricity was off.

Thankyou Sachin for all those moments and memories.ThankYou.

This is my humble tribute to the man who made me feel joy, feel happy, feel nervous, feel exhilarated,feel accomplished, feel celebrated and at last brought tears in my eyes today.

sachin

Every young boy in India wants to bat like Sachin, be like Sachin or at best one fortunate just be able to take an autograph to make his own life complete.

He does what our national anthem could never do, what stories of our freedom struggle could never do, what our national leaders over all these years could not even some close to, and to an extent what even Mahatma Gandhi couldn’t manage to do. He brings Indians together. Sachin Tendulkar is one and the only thing India unites on. Be it Hindus, Muslims, North Indians, South Indians, Living in India, NRIs, guys, girls, the urban high rise city folks or the farmer in the village, when Sachin is in 90s we all have but one wish in our hearts.

Probably the only person who is known more than the sport he plays. He is the only  person who can make cricket fans cheer for his earlier wicket. A person who is capable of freezing the Indian Time.The only person who can crash cricinfo servers.A man who turned a sport into an art. He is the anti-depressant for a nation.He is the man who can control the raging crowd in a stadium . Records are just a reverberation of his talent.   He is a Habit . He is the closest i know to GOD .

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PS- There is a popular opinion that Dravid has been shadowed over Sachin in all this fame. Iam a big dravid-follower myself, but when Rahul Dravid says “Sachin is my inspiration “ , there should be no further thoughts. DOT.

”Sachin is like the poetry of the cricket and Dravid is like the grammar of Cricket”.

Some parts of this blogpost are taken from here .

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Why Explore Space? A 1970 Letter to a Nun in Africa

/ vamsi krishna / Leave a comment

launiusr's avatarRoger Launius's Blog

Ernst Stuhlinger wrote this letter on May 6, 1970, to Sister Mary Jucunda, a nun who worked among the starving children of Kabwe, Zambia, in Africa, who questioned the value of space exploration. At the time Dr. Stuhlinger was Associate Director for Science at the Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama. Touched by Sister Mary’s concern and sincerity, his beliefs about the value of space exploration were expressed in his reply to Sister Mary. It remains, more than four decades later, an eloquent statement of the value of the space exploration endeavor. Born in Germany in 1913, Dr. Stuhlinger received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Tuebingen in 1936. He was a member of the German rocket development team at Peenemünde, and came to the United States in 1946 to work for the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss, Texas. He moved to Huntsville in 1950 and continued…

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The Devils are Back !!!

/ vamsi krishna / Leave a comment

My Review–cum-Rating-cum-Analysis-cum-Criticism of #AttarintikiDaaredi

Trivikram cinema elaa vundi ani adagadam Avivekam !!!

Pawan Kalyan ela chesaadu ani adagadam Amaayakatvam !!!

Samantha saree lo entha baagundi ani adagadam Sillythanam !!!

There are two hurdles if you want to watch a Pawan Kalyan movie on first day. First, you need to get tickets . There are celebs and even actors in that film couldnt get tickets. Second, you need to be in a theatre which can make you watch full screen and understand the dialogues especially when the movie is of MatalaMantrikudu Trivikram. You know what iam talking about .Yes,about the high flyers and the screams .Even the Prasads Multiplex is not an exception for this Power phenomenon. Atlast, got the tickets and watched it. “Aa kicke Verabba”

First of all hatsoff , to all the Power fans who put extreme restraint in not watching the pirated print which came out .Only PowerStar can pull such an openings even half the cinema is out in advance. “Bayatapadindi Breakfast maatrame , Full meals full screen meede”

Chetilo katti undi eduruga Champalsina manishi unnadu , ainaa champakapovadame Maanavatvam ( from Jalsa)

Net lo print undi, Nalabai nimishaallo download autundi  , ainaa Naalugu rojula taruvaata theatre lo Choodadame Pawanism

Caution : Spoilers ahead !!

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The best unnoticed part of Trivikram movies is that Casting is perfect and that actors do it with more ease than any of their previous films.Boman Irani debuts in telugu and who can do the “Devil is Back” scene with that eye winking so elegantly as Boman Irani . Welcome Sir to Telugu Cinema. Who else can pull off the ‘Atta’ character with so much completeness as Nadiya and who else can fit the bill so brilliantly as Kota Srinivasa rao as Siddappa to give that rustic look. Pranita , like a beautiful Bapu Bomma and Samantha , so mesmerizing in that saree and so hypnotic in that song “Ninnu Choodagane” . A tailor made role for Pawan Kalyan and he pulls off movie on his shoulders with so ease that he brings out all his emotions of Tholiprema,Tammudu and his rusticness of GabbarSingh and his elegance of Badri and Jalsa.”Oka Gaddam geesukunna Simham , Oka gaddam geesukoni simham kalisthe …  “

Writing and execution of script was top notch and the scenes of PawanKalyan joining as driver and pre-interval revelation discussion were great. I dont want to reiterate the heartwarming Climax as the best in career of Pawan Kalyan. The scene where Nadiya asks to fill up full tank and Pawan Kalyan taking keys without any hesitation which was used to bring out the interval point, satisfied the critic in me.”Prekshakula Staayini Penche Darshakudu Trivikram”  . Dialogues are as usual thought provoking and spell bounding.

The attapur baba with Kevv Keka parody takes the  front benchers to screendancing   and Ahalya Amayakuralu with Katamarayuda song episode takes the movie to the peaks. Music and BGM are like the soul of this film and Deva devam song in background when hero enters the house is so traditionally apt.Editing of flashback is so picturesque and drove movie whenever needed.That fighting of Rajini style jelled well with the situation and i think only Pawan Kalyan can do that. Thanks for reminding the 90s,80s movies once again .

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That scene where Gaganapu song starts and Pawan Kalyan and Mukesh Rushi walks oppositely was so brilliantly taken and that scene where Nadia mentions that family members are dead and Pawan kalyan walks out , only Nadiya watches Sidhu; just Brilliant taking Just before interval, when Nadiya says if these things are planned, you are bad and watch Pawan kalyan histronics change ; Excellently orchestrated. That moment when Nadiya asks Pranita and Samantha to get dressed better and Nadiya dances in joy; splendid to watch.  .In the entire movie, Pawan kalyan doesnt argue with Nadiya . And special thanks to Trivikram sir for having two intro songs which gets amplified with telugu words usage.I actually found out word by word meaning of KatamaRayuda, Deva devam and Gaganapu song . I believe “Narthana shouri means Shiva Thandavam ”

But Guruji, why did Pranita hug/flirt with Pawan Kalyan when she is not in love with him and couldnt Samantha be a little serious when her marriage with Siddappa son is announced.Even though he is mega business magnet, making railway station empty in 15 min is a little overboard. – . My complaints also include that  BASCAR Brahmi could have come on to pitch a little earlier and given more time like in Julayi. And why on earth did the cutest episode of Bava-Maradalu end so soon.  😦  “Alternate ideas lekapothe criticise cheyakudaduroy ” antaara guruji .. aithe wokay.”

“okka koorala uppu ekkuvaindani Bhojanam cheyadam maanestaama , migata avakaya, guttonkaayi,payasam aasvadistaam” 

“Family mottam kalisi Cinema choodalante cinemaaalu leni eerojullo ,  generations kalisi choodagala cinema teesinanduku Trivikram gaariki; thana image ki oka family entertainer tho  kooda meppistunna  Pawan Kalyan ki , Shatakoti shataabhivandanaalatho , Oka Abhimani “

Say NO TO PIRACY.

If you found any download links on the internet please forward them to the following email ids. avpc_hyd@.yahoo.co.in (or) ad@apfilmchamber.com Else you may also provide the information by calling the below phone number. Ph: Toll Free No- 1800 4250 111 (or) Mobile No. 9490164545.

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My other blogsposts related to Telugu Cinema: 

“CONTENT UNNODIKI CUTOUT CHAALU” .. My review of Gabbar singh #tenglish

Welcome to Tollywood – A intro guide to non -telugu movie goers

25 must watch telugu movies

Some Desserts as well :

Andhra Pradesh – Way Forward

/ vamsi krishna / 3 Comments

Disclaimer : Iam a staunch believer in unity of Telugu people and the current Andhra Pradesh state is the best option beneficial for the current state. However, i personally dont want negation of majority parties decision to divide the state as its an even more dangerous phenomenon for our democracy than dividing a state . The below is my view, opinion and appeal to all the people concerned with this Telangana-Andhra issue.

Last month and long has been the rare momentum thats happening in Seemandhra region of current Andhra pradesh state , where Lakhs of people are on roads and protesting without a political masthead. Initially, started as a “Justice for Andhra” movement, turned to “Samaikyandhra” movement, thanks to the reckless foot-in-mouth syndrome of TRS chief and his comments regarding government employees in Hyderabad.

Telangana and Seemandhra are like conjoined twins who have one heart .i.e Hyderabad. To divide the twins, you need to create another heart and change the entire artery system of the body which doesnt have heart.And if this operation of separation has to be done, its next to miracle to have two healthy bodies after its done.

First, people of Telangana region should understand that creation of a new state is ‘neither a panacea , nor a pariah’ , it doesnt solve any problem except the political hunger of some politicians and satisfy the ego of some of  maniacs who still revere in primordial loyalties,  and there is a huge danger that can cause big unimaginable problems. The silver lining is that we are in a highly transparent democratic society and things can be sorted out through the royal way of showing a middle finger, i.e Vote. If you want to vote for TRS or Congress just because they are giving a new state, you seriously deserve to be separated.

Telangana movement accelerated only with the help of hate speeches and  warmongering . If this continues, you are not creating a new state , but two warring states . Yes, different regions can divide like brothers, but first , lets decide how many brothers are we talking about. 2 ( Telangana, Seemandhra), 3( T,S Rayalaseema) or 4 ( T, S, R , Hyderabad) . Even a person who cuts the cake doesnt take the first piece and sits watching the fun who all fighting for rest of the cake.

If you want to know, why the new state is not completely beneficial for Telangana, you can check here.

Dear UnitedAndhra(Samaikyandhra)  protestors, this is what we get when you vote for parties which were okay for separate state at the time of election or  be silent when the parties were officially OK for a new state . There is very less use of calling for a united state now, but if it is its good. UPA and BJP have officially endorsed the new state.But the fight needs to be for the any of the new states to not to loose in anyway in this due process. Even if you look at all the official protests now, they are only saying that a justice needs to be done before dividing the state. And i totally concur with that view.We all know the credibility and history of the party which just started saying “Samaikhyandhra” .

To remind everyone, that there will be a big burden on central government exchequer to create two new states of Telangana and Seemandhra Pradesh.This is unprecedented in Indian History where a state which has state capital has to be renamed and is the new state. A  new state machinery has to be setup in Seemandhra region and all the existing state machinery in Hyderabad has to be restructured, reorganised and renamed. I dont even have the clue if we require one lakh crores or five lakh crores for this exercise.All the funds allocation for this exercise should be finalised and promised beforehand so that the new states does not suffer in future.

There can be only be negotiations and understanding at this stage and people of Telangana should be concerned with what all happening in rest of the state.

For Way forward , these are some things needs to be considered and discussed so that everyone is in a win-win situation.The below points and resolution can be audacious but thats my view point.

  • Hyderabad
  • Water
  • Electricity
  • TradeBarrier
  • State Bureaucracy
  • Rayalaseema and North Andhra

Hyderabad :


Hyderabad- Education :  Hyderabad is the educational hub of the state and even one of the best equipped in India , I know some friends who came from Himachal, Gujarat,Assam just to study here.Hyderabad has ISB, IIT,IIIT,NIPER,NALSAR law university,BITS, HCU,Osmania,JNTU, PottiSriramulu Telugu university,NIFT, Acharya NG Ranga agricultural university. NIRD, ICFAI,ASCI etc and not to mention the 250+ Engineering colleges in its vicinity.

Hyderabad – Research and manufacturing  : Hyderabad is also the research and Manufacturing hub of India. DRDL,ASL,CCMB, NFC,NIN, IICT,BHEL, NMDC, ECIL, HAL,IDPL,HMT, Reddy Labs and 18 of top 20 pharma companies of AP.

Hyderabad – IT/ITES  : Hyderabad is the Dravid of Indian IT if Bangalore is the Sachin and NCR is Kohli. The city is home to more than 1500 IT firms. The major multinational IT firms located in Hyderabad are Microsoft (the largest R&D campus outside the US), Google,Facebook, CA Technologies,Amazon, IBM, Motorola, Samsung, Agilent, Automatic Data Processing, Oracle Corporation, Yahoo!, Dell, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, Virtusa, OpenText, UHG,The major Indian firms with development centres in the city are Mahindra Satyam, Infosys, Four Soft, Wipro, Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services, Polaris and others.

Hyderabad-Sports : Hyderabad has the potential to be the sports capital of India. Gopichand Academy is churning out the next Indian Badminton legends. We have extraordinary sports infrastructure on lines of Delhi and SAP is considered one of the good sports administration in India.Hyderabad has hosted a bunch of international sports events and proved its mettle.

And iam not sure how such institutions can be replicated or how can one snatch away all these from rest of the state . Every parent in rural Andhra Pradesh dreams of their children to move to Hyderabad to search for a job. Almost all these educational and research institutions can put a reservation of locals and thus depriving a grand chance to the new state of Seemandhra region. To avoid this,

No existing public institution in Telangana region should put up new local reservation restrictions and consider both the people of regions as ONE( exempting the governance bureaucracy) atleast for next 15-20 years.Likewise in Seemandhra region for all the new institutions that will come up.

Also, No UT for Hyderabad.DOT. Its just an immature idea and creating two new capitals is the most underserved option in this issue.

Also, how can one of  the new state have its temporary capital 100 kms far away from its border.Does people who decided have a common sense of Geography 101.

Water :
Some analysis of water issues can be found here .There will be water wars between the new states , of which the arid Rayalaseema region need much more of allocation. All the allocations have to be decided beforehand splitting the states and a special preference needs to be given to the arid region of Rayalaseema. Polvaram project needs to come up to save the Delta regions which is the rice granary of India and the additional allocation of 45 TMC we get for this project for this project can be allocated to Rayalaseema and Telangana. There is a fear in many that there might be water stoppage at Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar .So,

The current usage and allocations to projects has to continue with respect to Godavari and Krishna rivers and any other river which is flowing in both the regions of the state and an independent body should be constituted with constitutional privileges to overlook any issues in this aspect.

Electricity :
There might  be scarcity with respect to electricity , for  the state of Telangana if state is bifurcated. Seemandhra region has abundant gas reserves and uranium reserves which are yet to be exploited and can be used for power generation in future. The Singareni coal is loosing its efficiency and KTPS(Kothagudem) in Telangana region is using the imported coal or from Talchar mines for its electricity production. So,

Telangana region should be given preference allocation for all the new electricity generation plants that will come up in Seemandhra region. Telangana region also needs additional consumption as the irrigation is mainly by electric motors .

Trade Barrier :
Telangana region will not have a sea port and will be landlocked.This seriously effects the imports and exports for the region of Telangana region. Currently, agriculture produce in states are not allowed to be sold outside of the state . A farmer cannot sell his rice or mirchi in another state.  Going by the statistics, Seemandhra region rice production outbeats Telangana region and the new trade barrier that will come up will only increase the costs of all the essential items in Telangana region that are produced in Seemandhra region.

Prices of Rice, tobacco,cotton,palmolive etc would be severly hit with this new trade barrier. Sameway, the existing manufacturing and pharma sector in Hyderabad would be severly hit with this new trade barrier and land locked situation. So,

There should not be any additional taxes and trade barriers with respect to import and exports for the current entire state region of Andhra Pradesh and all the coming up internal trade restrictions need to be reviewed so that both the new states are in a win-win situation.

Rayalaseema and North Andhra :

A separate Rayalseema board and North Andhra board needs to be setup to address any issues with respect to that region.There is a huge danger that if Rayalaseema people or North Coastal Andhra people feel discrimination after some 20-30 years.

Bureaucracy :
The main fear /reason that AP NGOs are on roads since last 60+ days is that there have been grace injustices to people of new states formed with new capitals while they were retiring from state services. Their service in erstwhile states was not considered while dividing the states and there are still legal battles going on with respect to that . This needs to be take care first. All the existing personnel of state services in Hyderabad  should be given preference to settle in their current cadre or the new state cadre . If they are opting for new state cadre , they should be given an uplift in their benefits .Also, the people of Telangana should not be left out in creation of new state machinery of Seemandhra region and loosing some great opportunities.We have around 100+ government departments which will need to be developed in the new state and an estimated 0.75 to 1 lakh new government employees are required for Seemandhra region governance. So,

All this needs to be done by a central government constituted tribunal which looks after till the complete bifurcation is completed.The current employees in Hyderabad should have a preference to stay where they are now.

Atleast 25% preference allocation needs to be given in all the government services for the people of Telangana region so that they can also opt for the enormous job opportunities that will prop up in creating a new state machinery of Seemandhra region.

And the biggest loss we are giving to the Telugus is that, the first rate politicians like Chandra Babu Naidu or Jayaprakash Narayan or anyone of that stature cannot become chief ministers of any state due to political restrictions and you just lost being governed by the best and have to live with the second rung of politicians.

End Disclaimer : This post is my personal opinion. If you want to counter,bring me facts and legal sources and i will correct it if applicable.

Memories of Madarasipattinam – my 500 days of summer

/ vamsi krishna / 1 Comment

Its been two years since i stayed in Chennai and was this post is  a reminiscence with some self nuances.

As someone rightly said or as my inner voice puts it  “ The three seasons in Chennai are cold summer, medium summer rains and the actual summer” and this prompted me to have the title of my 1.5 year of stay in Chennai  as what it is. Perhaps this is one of the added advantage  for  corporates for opening new ventures here. Employees can’t bunk and hangout; It’s better to stay in AC office than to sulk in the sultry weather outside.

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To live in Chennai prosperously either you have to be the owner of Saravana stores, OR an AC dealer , OR own a kirana store which sells sambhar masala Pepper OR probably better, an  Autowallah,  but NEVER ever a tie wearing software guy. Flaunting your id card is going to be charged extra.  The autowallahs, as usual  are  a different species as any other place but in one thing there is  thats common to Autowallahs anywhere , that  if the front tire of the auto can fit in the gap, the whole auto can fit and every autowallah imagines  himself a Michael Schumacher. The house rents were so sky rocketing that it’s better to buy a house and rent it, pay some part of rent as EMI and relax at home with the remaining.

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Anyone who has visited or lived in Chennai has a memoir or a totem to validate that. Atleast that’s what I deduced after seeing a jute bag of either Saravanana stores or the Pothy silks in every household there. I also became an i-also-came-to-chennai guy when I shopped at Saravana stores and they rewarded me with a thick plastic bag in recognition of my cute little purchasing power.  That was also the time when I have been taught one of the golden rules of living in Chennai, never venture out to T Nagar area on a holiday. There are only two places I know where you stand in a queue and your pace is completely determined by the guy standing back in line and his pace is determined by guy standing next to him and so on. One is while having darshan of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirumala and the other in TNagar Ranganathan street. That road if i remember is Usman road and can be easily renamed as Saravana road with the number of buildings portray that name on that road.  Perhaps they are waiting for some official nod from Rajini sir to rename it.You might have even seen some videos of some salesman doing Rajini style packing.

Two mega things happened while I was in Chennai. One,  the release of Yenthiran/Robo and two, the state assembly elections.

Be it people thronging theatres at 4AM for early morning shows or all the theatres in Chennai screening only Endhiran/Robo/Robot  on that weekend or the Corporate bulletin board servers going down with analysis and discussions, it was only possible to THE SuperStar. The Euphoria was exhilarating. The exciting was unmatchable.  Being myself a fan of Thalaiva and wanted to watch it in Telugu, took a lot of effort in booking tickets.Everything was Rajinified for atleast a week.

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The state assembly elections were a lousy and noisy affair. Thanks to the market and meetings nearby my place, every Sunday , I had to plug in earphones into my ears . With all different coloured flags of various parties and political holdings of various people it looked like a new place every week. I reckon  have seen LTTE Prabhakaran in the hoardings too. And that gloomy day in office,when AIADMK had won the elections .Stalin is credited for the IT revolution in TN just as CBN is credited for in AP.

These are definitely some memories i would cherish for life . And I just missed meeting Shashi Tharoor for a tweetup and the one function i attended to see the legendary Kamal Hassan turned out to be cancelled . The long local train journeys, especially in the monsoons are the best memories i still have of rustic rains and probably the best monsoons i enjoyed. The long drives on ECR, OMR or on Tambaram – Chengalpattu are one of the best times. Somethings might have changed now ,  OMR might have been more crowded  with new IT companies , Tambaram -Chengalpattu NH might be the next suburb stretch , Besant nagar beach might have become more like Marina Beach with too much crowd  Hope Kottivakkam beach is as secluded as ever and Sathyam and Escape Cinemas as luxurious as ever.

Certainly miss that suspense of which way would be out while shopping in Padmavyuha-like Spencer Plaza (People who shopped in Spencer can only understand this 😛 ) .Shop in the ritchie street and see how dead cheap those electronic things are , Shop in the Moore market near Central or any of the platform second sales of books and understand how economical is to gain knowledge . Ofcourse, couldnt explore much of the traditional side of the city. Will save the visits to Kapaleeswara temple/Mylapore/Triplicane for future when i become little religious.

I have watched the cricket God and was part of that memorable mexican wave in honour of him in an ipl match and  if iam remember correctly , just sat beside Jessie Ryder,Scott Styris and had my dinner another day.I have watched the Chennai Open Tennis , watched Leander Peas and Mahesh Bhupati play and understood why they are the best double players.

I am glad that I could experience something different,truly vibrant and certainly enlightening . My only- tamil-literate home owner had taught me some Tamil and I realised Telugu and Tamil are almost similar in many cases. I can atleast understand half of Tamil then , not sure how much i can understand now.

The way Tamil people are proud of their culture kept me spellbound.They are fighting for the cause of all the Tamilians in the world  and sometimes I feel bad that we Telugus fight amongst ourselves. Tamil Nadu is probably the only place which still stays true to its cutlural and traditional roots without loosing grip of the development and its nuances.Tamil Nadu was the pioneer in the anti caste movement of 60’s and thats the reason almost all the Tamilians have their father name and village name as Surnames instead of their caste names. Truly blessed for all those learnings and experiences.

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How to ‘Be The Change’ sitting at Home**

/ vamsi krishna / 2 Comments

Yes, you read it right and you have definitely heard it right. You can Be the change and start changing India by sitting at Home. The only prerequisite is your Will.  We all agree that India is in a mess and God knows what can be next . Believe it or not, there are too many people  who want to do something and have no idea of what ‘bit’ they can do for the country .  . And this is just a START .

“Be the Change you wish to see in the World”  – Mahatma Gandhi

Social Media Activism

Nobody denies the fact that Facebook and Twitter fueled the Egypt Tahrir Square Revolution and are now the driving tools for all the people movements happening worldwide. In India, Social Media buzz determines the hot topics that need to be taken by News Channels and in turn put pressure on Governments to act upon issues. Adarsh Housing Scam, 2G Scam are  some of the successful stories of Social Media Activism in India.  Anna Hazare movement was catapulted to National Level using these social media tools.

Every major political leader is using social media to be more reachable to public and to avoid confusions in their standings on various issues.This page gives the list of major Indian politicians on twitter and their influence in Social Media.Almost every political party now has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Putting right amount of pressure on these political entities online will make sure they realise that they are in public scrutiny .

And what not, in a recent study, it is believed that Social Media would decide atleast 100 MP seats in next elections.

 Online Petitions

I was one of the cynic , and a  bit hesitant to spend couple of minutes on signing any online petitions. Later , i came across some successful online petitions and they have really made a Change.

If you come across any online petition, just spend one min of your time and understand the summary and if you think is rightful, just login with your email id and sign it. It takes very less effort and even lesser risk on your part but gives a tremendous boost to the petitioner . Many state administrations have considered such online petitions and issues have been rectified.

 Online Grievance Redressal tools

Many of not aware that online grievance system works super fast when compared to traditional public grievance systems. One occasion, i had trouble with my BSNL landline and after a month of wasting my time on recurring visits to local office, i have complained in the National Grievance redressal portal. ( http://pgportal.gov.in/ ). Next day, the divisional manager landed at my home and issue was rectified in hours. I have other successful personal encounters with Hyd Metro water works, Hyderabad Municipal Corporation ,Hyd Traffic Police.

Yes, the System Works and it just needs a little push from your side .

Atleast in Andhra Pradesh, there are online grievance portal/mechanism for all the government departments and they are bound to respond within an SLA.

http://pgportal.gov.in/ works for issues all over India.

RTI

And ofcourse, how can this list be without the greatest tool any Common Man has in his hand. If you see any discrepancy in any public work , just file an RTI with the required details and you may suddenly see the half dig up pipeline in your next lane being completed , roads being laid and that pothole on that  mainroad is filled up. Who knows you may be unearthing the next big scam.

You can file RTI offline by sending a 10INR DD to the respective department Information Commissioner. Just google it for the respective contact and you can find it.

If not,one can file Online RTI from http://www.onlinerti.com

Understand whats going on

  • PRS legislative is one initiative which documents all the proceedings of Parliament and some of the State Assemblies . It also has some insights into what each new policy is about and gives notifications/alerts as per your interests.You can also Track your MP performance in Parliament.
  • MyNeta gives complete details of people who have contested elections in both state and central elections. See how worse and good your candidates are .
  • Association for Democratic Reforms is one website which is tracking all the happenings in Indian Democratic politico sphere.
  • You can also be a citizen journalist and report issues to the media.CNN IBN has one of the most successful contributions from Citizen Journalists. Hop on to this website

PS- This is not a complete list and if you feel that something more can be added. Please let me know.

** – This post only informs about the options which are present for common man in shaping up the nation. If you are already in public domain and working hard towards betterment of Nation , All the best and we all are with you.