Measures to Net the Internet

So IIT Bombay has decided to curb internet access in its student hostels. What next? A military boot camp to cure Net addicts like the one in Beijing.

Happy Birthday Osama

Yes, al Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden turns 50 today. Wonder if he's cutting a cake. Or is he too busy plotting his next strike against the US.

Is he alive at all? Well, I did eavesdrop on the following conversation so you can make up your mind.

(Inside a cave on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border)
Henchman: Happy birthday, boss
Laden: Thank you, my dear Ali
Henchman: We have placed an online order for a cake from Wenger's
Laden: Ooh! I love Wenger's chocolate cakes
Henchman: And we have also arranged a belly dance by Mallika Sherawat
Laden: (weeping) You guys are the best any dude could ask for
Henchman: We love you too, boss

Hasn't bin Laden done pretty well for himself. I guess he's the youngest ever to merit the 'Most Wanted Person in the World' title. That's the kind of publicity most Hollywood stars can only dream of. After all, there's no such thing as bad publicity. Right?

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An Ode to the Delhi Metro

There was a time when relatives from Kerala would troop in at the city railway station, all agog at their first glimpse of Delhi. And the Red Fort, Qutab Minar and Lotus Temple were the usual suspects on their must-see list.
Now, I simply take them for a ride on the Delhi Metro.

This world-class transit system has upped Delhi's prestige and in my opinion has helped it replace financial hub Mumbai as India's hippest city.



A friend tells me that commuters go crazy trying to get a mobile signal on the New York subway and the London Underground. But mobile conversations are loud-and-clear on the Delhi Metro no matter how many metres below the Earth's surface I descend. Amazing, huh?

True, there used to be chaos at busy stations like Rajiv Chowk (Connaught Place) with passengers finding it difficult to disembark due to the sheer numbers waiting outside. But last month, authorities started a queue system with guards to oversee the process. And it has worked really well. Now, it's a pleasure to watch people wait patiently for me to get off first.

All my pals know I dig the Metro experience and lose no opportunity to wax eloquent about it. So this blog post won't come as a surprise. I just hope more Delhiites and visitors from abroad try this world-class experience. And get hooked.

I won't say it's all hunky-dory though. Authorities should consider stepping up security. I entered the Pragati Maidan station early one morning last week and there was no security guard there.


Some baggage-laden men got in behind me and entered the train. The memories of the horrific Mumbai train blasts were still fresh in my mind. What if their suitcases contained explosives? Well, things now seem to be moving on the security front as this newspaper report says.

As for the photos, I clicked them with my mobile camera during my 7 am journeys to office. That's why the compartments look so empty. Don't try this yourself coz you need special permission to take photographs/videos inside the Metro stations and trains.

Wanna know more? Click here for their official site.

View my Delhi Metro montage

Afterwards...

It's hard to believe Afterwards has been written by a woman. Simply because it's written from the point of view of a man. And because Jaishree Misra has captured so well the nuances of what a man goes through during the loss of a loved one.

Misra's third novel is set in Delhi, Kerala and London and explores the many facets of love, tradition and sorrow.

In conversation with Jaishree Misra
Afterwards: The Hindu review
Buy the book

How Xena faced her attackers

My Blank Noise Project Action Hero is a former colleague. Let's call her Xena coz she chooses to remain anonymous.

On her way back home from work last month, journalist Xena was walking down a deserted street in central Delhi when two men tried to grab her. It took her a few seconds to react to the sudden assault and then Xena fought for her life.

She bit, she screamed, she elbowed, she kicked and sure enough - the two men left her and ran away. She hadn't even seen their faces in the dark.

Knowing there was little she could do about the incident, Xena enrolled for a martial arts programme the next morning.

It's only been a couple of days since she began the course but now Xena is confident she can handle any attacker (and kick him where it really hurts).

There had been a pepper spray in Xena's handbag but the sudden attack had rendered it useless as she had no time to take it out. Does that mean picking up karate skills is the only way to combat street sexual harassment?

This Women's Day, do visit the Blank Noise Project blog for a cross-cultural chain of shared experiences on sexual harassment.

India outsources to the U.S.

The Indian government plans to outsource processing of visas from its embassy in Washington to a U.S.-based company. Don't believe me? Read full story here