Puneet's Page

Politization of terror The crisis at Mumbai had built up to its peak.  Word spread that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition LK Advani would visit Mumbai together to review the situation.  In a crisis situation when all other considerations party ideologies and other differences should have been overlooked and the leaders should have stood together representing not their parties but India - one Nation. They went their separate ways. Mr. Narendra Modi of the BJP and the Chief Minister of Gujarat and expressed his desire to come and visit Mumbai Modi was very politely requested to not come as this was not the right time. A time when the anti terrorist operations were underway and the entire team of the Government and the administration was preoccupied with the massive operation. He chose to ignore the request and landed up near the Oberoi Hotel, delivered a 'bhashan' and announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the families of the brave police officers who ...

Forty two hours have gone by. And the nightmare continues.  Spouses, relatives and friends wait outside the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels, in what can be termed as desperate anxiety. They don't know if their near and dear ones are alive or not. Every moment of that wait being painful. The media camps at a safe distance from the place of the real action. Communicating meaningless reports. Speculating. And then a hoard of them - reporters and camer persons alike pouncing upon any VIP who happens to visit the scene of action. "Was there a massacre?" or "Didn't you have any clue that the terrorists would come by sea?" they ask... More than a hundred innocent people are dead. Hundreds have died earlier - in Mumbai itself. Yet, India - the magnanimous India, wants to forgive and forget every time. Proud in the thought that the terrorists are dead and democracy has won.  So are the hundreds of people. Don't those hundreds of lives mean anything to the wise old po...

Terror in Mumbai ! In what can easily be termed as the most audacious terrorist attack on India, a reasonably large number of terrorists landed in Mumbai by sea - undetected. And in the hours that followed, unleashed terror of an unprecedented magnitude, in South Mumbai, targeting two 5-Star Hotels, a cinema complex and the one of the busiest railway stations of the Country.  Wednesday (last) night - will be one which the World in general and Indians in particular will not forget in a long time. Two prestigious Hotels, one of them a National landmark slowly burned to almost complete destruction. Hundreds of people - Indians and foreigners taken hostage by the terrorists or trapped inside their rooms. Many innocents killed in the indiscriminate firing and grenade blasts on VT Station.  Three senior and very dedicated police officers who rose above the call of duty and chose to defy the perpetrators of terror, made the supreme sacrifice and laid down their lives.  Over a hundred people d...

We all have experienced it, through the loss of some near and dear one. A very emotionally distressing experience. The question is how does one deal with death? One way  to come to terms with death is to understand it philosophically. The one inevitable fact in our lives is that we will all die- or, "pass over" from the physical to the spiritual world. The transition from the physical realm to the spirit is not an ending, it is a transformation - to another state of consciousness. Physical life can best be described by the Sanskrit word "maya". An illusion. According to Hindu philosophy, everything that is changeable and subject to decay and has a beginning and an end is 'maya' Everything that is indestructable and eternal is reality. Since our life on Earth is temporary, it is 'maya'. Mistaking the facade for reality, we are in a state of 'maya'  Believing that physical life is the only form of existance is an illusion. And thinking we are d...

Anil Kumble - Jumbo to his teammates and fans, announced his decision to quit professional cricket, at the end of the 2nd test match in the current series against Australia. Jumbo was one of the most celebrated and respected cricketers in the history of World cricket. The third largest number of wickets taken - 619, in the history of the game.  One of the only two players to have taken all 10 wickets in an innings. Jumbo played 132 test matches for his Country, in a long and illustrious career spanning 18 years. Numbers apart, Jumbo was always respected for his professionalism  and fighting spirit. In the age of 'sledging' and agrressive behavior he stood out as a gentleman. For these qualities, he will remain a 'role model' for many young aspiring cricketers. Many so called 'experts' of the game are surprised at Jumbo's decision which was made right in the middle of a test series. Others have wisely commented, that it was the right time to go. He was though...

The sea has always held a fascination for many and I am one of them. That it can offer an absolutely unbelievable, breathtaking spectacle, was a learning and one of the most fascinating experiences of a life time. In Langkawi, Malaysia, there are a countless number of beaches. Each one that you visit will provide a different view of the sea face. Nature's miracle begins to unfold at sunset time. As the sun begins to set, the sky changes many colors - one after the other with each scene created transitioning into the next one. You will for instance see the sky painted grey and the water surface filled with streaks of silver which is the water reflecting the sunlight of the setting sun. You turn you attention away for only a few moments, and the next scene unfolds which could be a bright orange sky - almost as if it is on fire. And very quickly you see the entire expanse of the horizon - the sky and the sea water turning bright orange. And, as the sun slowly goes down, the orange li...