Atul Karmarkar.Com» Thoughts

Obama gets Nobel Peace Prize – Surprised?

Atul Karmarkar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:21:07 +0000

I’m sure a lot of people across the world were surprised when it was announced that US President Barack Obama was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, warding off contenders who seemed more deserving.

The blogosphere and twitterati were all agog over this issue and I’d been meaning to write about this, but something kept coming up and the post remained a WIP.

However, in the past week, I’ve come across a couple of posts that were too howlarious for words, and it’s only fitting that I put up the links here…

The Nobel Peace Prize – Behind The Scenes

Nominees for Nobel Peace Prize 2010

Go ahead and enjoy

Will put up any others I come across on this topic… and if you do, please leave the link in your comments, thanks !

Carla’s tryst with “Keratoconus”

Atul Karmarkar — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:18:28 +0000

A friend’s wife recently had a harrowing tryst with “Keratoconus“…
Here’s her experience, or rather “eyesperience…

Shri Ganapati Netralaya………
http://www.netralaya.org/
An experience to remember!!

Like any newly wed happy bride, I was settling down to a new life in Pune – one that would be interspersed with activities that I was passionate about. Finally an opportunity to follow my passion – I was excited about all the novel things I had enrolled for – be it vocal training, piano lessons or painting classes – my break from the corporate humdrum was indeed worthwhile.

And in the whirlwind of all these activities, I failed to see this seemingly dark cloud that was gradually blocking out my sunshine. I ignored the many times when I tripped over stairs that strangely merged together. I did not question the shadows that appeared under the musical notes or words in my books. I ignored the fact that objects at a distance always appeared blurred. All was well, until one day it dawned on me that my vision was gradually diminishing….

Thus began my myriad trips to eye specialists! Anxious moments were spent in many a clinic. Innumerable optical tests followed with as many prognosis and diagnosis, until it became clear that I had Keratoconus – a condition wherein the cornea bulges into a conical shape. An operation was inevitable – although where, when & how were questions to which answers weren’t easy to find. During this turbulent crossroad in life I saw light at the end of my tunnel – in the form of the benevolent Dr. Bhushan Khare or as I now say ‘the doctor who examines eyes with his heart’. Thus, commenced my journey to recovery……

Dr. Khare eased most of my fears and anxieties and prepared me for what was to come. He directed me to Shri Ganapati Netralaya [SGN] in Jalna. SGN is to optical patients what an oasis is to weary travelers. An ideal place to recoup! Its impeccably sanitized interiors housed state-of-the-art equipment manned by ever attentive staff. Doctors and staff buzzed feverishly to accommodate the steady flow of patients who make their way to SGN. Kindness and hospitality radiates in every nook and corner of this hospital which becomes second home to many a long distance patient like me.

Under the watchful “eye” of Dr. Sejal Maheshwari I found my “sight” again. She walked with me all through this experience – tests, surgery and post operative care. She empathized when I was anxious, cajoled when hesitant, comforted when in pain and applauded my progress. In spite of her hectic schedule, just knowing that she was available made a big difference for me.

And by writing this article I hope to reach out and make a difference to others with optic ailments. Fellow travelers do not be deterred by the distance – Jalna is just 7 hours away from Pune. Make the trip if you have to. Not only will your ailing vision be restored but your heart will be filled with the love and warmth of Shri Ganapati Netralaya.

Jai Ho!!

No time for blogging

Atul Karmarkar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:39:07 +0000

Have not been finding enough time to blog lately, and the frequency of posts looks all set to dwindle to some extent. As if lack of time wasn’t a problem enough, my internet connection has been acting up big time.

The service provider (BSNL) has been giving me a lot of grief and yes, numerous complaint numbers too, all to no avail. The worst part is that I a) either cannot connect, or b) get disconnected every few minutes, which is so bloody irritating. A call to the BSNL help desk elicited a lovely response - ”Please disconnect and call again… We can only accept one complaint at a time !!”

Wake up, sarkaari saands… with competition already here, how long can you afford this kind of complacency?

I’ve been blogging randomly the past few weeks, but due to this connection problem, some posts are queued up, and each time I hit publish, the connection dies on me… and the cycle continues. Will probably publish if they remain relevant to context, else they will remain confined to my drafts folder…

Do keep your comments coming in though… Am definitely looking out for them and will certainly reply !

500 cops and 50 hrs – All this to kill one dacoit

Atul Karmarkar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:44:36 +0000

One of the biggest WTF kinda news I’ve come across… Ghanshyam Kevat, a dreaded dacoit, was gunned down by UP cops in a village in Chitrakoot yesterday.

Nothing particularly amazing about this piece of news, but then look at the stats.. it was a single dacoit against almost 500 heavily armed cops and commandos, and what’s more, it took them close to 50 hours to nail the bugger !!! As if this wasn’t enough, he even killed 4 cops and injured 11 others.. all this with a .315 rifle and some bullets.. Amazing !!

If he had been carrying the kind of ammo carried by the terrorists who attacked Mumbai, it is anybody’s guess as to how many more cops would’ve been killed…

Doesn’t say much about our security forces, huh…

LK Advani and Google AdSense – The Second Coming

Atul Karmarkar — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:27:58 +0000

Aaaaaaaaargh !!!!!!!!

Some time ago, I had disabled LK Advani’s Google ads on this site, but lo and behold, new ads are popping up all over the place, and that too in all available sizes !!

Though initially surprised, the reason wasn’t hard to figure out… The url has changed from lkadvani.in to bjp.org, which also now goes into my AdSense filter list. These guys seem to be hell bent on splashing his mug in every single webpage that can be seen by anyone !! In fact, I recall someone even commenting that allowing these ads to remain on one’s site could be interpreted by visitors as a stamp of approval for the man and his party.

By the way, if the BJP can do it, so can the Congress, right ? Sure enough, here’s this Congress ad popping up on some other page…

Will these online gimmicks actually translate into votes? Difficult to say, but a big change in India’s political landscape for sure…

Politics is fishy business

Atul Karmarkar — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:15:30 +0000

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi remarked that he and fellow BJP counterparts were like big ocean fish who weather big storms, and called Rahul Gandhi a small fish, floating around in the comfort of aquariums.

The Congress, not to be outdone, called Modi a piranha, who devoured human beings…

Always knew politics was fishy business, and this latest war of words only seems to confirm that… Seems a far cry from when Modi spoke of Jersey cows and hybrid calfs, eh? :D

The Pink Chaddi Campaign

Atul Karmarkar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:47:01 +0000

‘The Pink Chaddi Campaign’ – hmmm, must say I was intrigued when I happened to come across this a day ago.

Was curious to know more, and stumbled upon this campaign Facebook, which speaks of their plan to send pink chaddies to the office of the Sri Rama Sene on Valentine’s Day. Yup, these Rama Sene souls are the ones who tried to protect Indian moral standards by thrashing women in a Mangalore pub recently.

The Facebook group already has 4,318 members as of now, and you can also check out their blog. They also claim to have collected over 500 undies so far.. which should be enough for the Rama Sene hooligans, eh?

Maybe other such intolerant moral police also need pink chaddis delivered to them?

How intolerant can we get?

Atul Karmarkar — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:33:05 +0000

Intolerance seems to have become a way of life lately, and it doesn’t take too much to offend people or “hurt their sentiments” if recent events are any indication; some people from an NGO beating up a Pakistani girl for sporting an Urdu tattoo on her back, others vandalising Mumbai University over a perceived injustice to the Marathi language, the moral brigade attacking women in a Mangalore pub, or a sweet shop owner being forced to change the name of his shop…

Only the underworld was missing so far, and now even they’ve also decided to get a piece of the action.

Comedian Raju Shrivastav has apparently received threatening calls from Pakistan warning him not tocrack jokes on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan during his shows !

And last but not the least, we welcome back our very own 24X7 newsmaker, Anbumani Ramadoss – who’s been keeping pretty quiet lately, and who now jumps into the fray with his two bits…

And oh yes.. can anything related to an ”assault” on India’s moral fibre ever be complete without remembering the late Shiv Sena leader Pramod Navalkar, Mumbai’s moral policeman. Oh, how he would’ve loved being in the thick of things now.

Sanjay Dutt – MCP and wannabe MP

Atul Karmarkar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:23:01 +0000

In an interview with the TOI, Sanjay Dutt revealed his ancient thought process, when he made statements like “No sister gets along with her brother’s wife”, and also,

That’s a message not just to my sisters, but to all girls who hang on to their parents’ surname. It’s become fashionable these days. But I strongly feel that doing so disrespects the person they’ve married. This may sound harsh, but if Manyata had said that she wanted to retain her father’s surname, I would’ve felt offended.

A true blue MCP, Dutt seems to have gone off his rocker on this one or he’s travelled back in time.

If he’s even mildly aware about some of the bureaucracy that surrounds identification and address related documentation needed nowadays, he will realise how difficult it is for a girl to practically recreate a whole new identity for herself, starting from a change of name, marriage certificate, PAN card, passport, credit cards, phone bills, address proof, bank account details etc.

It is no longer that easy to simply change the name as each set of documentation requires some or the other proof and you just can’t get one created without having another in place. I’ve seen several friends and colleagues go through this process and it is harrowing to say the least. Of course, Manyata Dutt need not go through all this !!

There are a huge number of women who’ve retained their maiden names purely for the sake of convenience, and disrespect to their husband or his family has absolutely nothing to do with it. It’s time Dutt took a reality check and stopped feeling so bloody offended !

By the same token, I guess we can also say,

That’s a message not just to Dutt, but to all wannabe politicians who are ex-convicts in cases related to murder, kidnapping or abetting terrorists. It’s become fashionable these days. But I strongly feel that doing so disrespects the Indian people. This may sound harsh, but if Dutt actually becomes an MP, I certainly will feel offended. :-p

Ditto to Amar Singh, who says if Dutt can’t contest, his wife Manyata will.. Crap ! More offence ?

An overdose of LK Advani

Atul Karmarkar — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:36:05 +0000

Am thoroughly fed up of seeing ads with L.K Advani’s name / face on almost every third or fourth site I seem to visit… especially Indian sites running Google ads… some promoting peace, some his website and others pitching him as the next PM…. Why must these oldies itch for stardom even at this age ?

If his party wanted to project him as a tech savvy guy, they’ve certainly gone overboard. On some sites, especially ones which have only Google ads, it is terrible to see identically coloured and designed ads on the entire page, the only difference being the size of the ad.

Given my opinion of Indian politicians and politics in general, the last thing I want is for that ad to be displayed on this blog. Seems to have reduced, though, else I’ll have to play around with Adsense settings and block the damn thing altogether !

Wonder how much the BJP have earmarked for his ad campaign…

Update - January 26, 2009: The saffron brigade seems to have launched an all out online assault on Republic Day.. tons of ads everywhere… and even an email in my Hotmail inbox last evening, which reads,

Invitation from Shri L K Advani’s Office to visit www.lkadvani.in?

From:	lkadvani.office@list.lkadvani.in
Sent:	25 January 2009 16:18PM
To:	a****@hotmail.com

Dear Friend, 

You may be aware that BJP-NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate, Shri
L.K. Advani, has launched India's largest political portal. 

We would like to invite you to view Advaniji's website:

http://www.lkadvani.in/

Regards, 

LK Advani Communications

office www.lkadvani.in

The transition to Obamadvani / Advobama is nearing completion….

Atul Karmarkar.Com» Thoughts

Obama gets Nobel Peace Prize – Surprised?

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