Punch the keys

So the talks stall again.... I first came to know of the Lokpal and the Anna Hazare movement from all the tweets and link sharing going on in twitter and Facebook. The online community was backing it up to the hilt and it was great. So I did the least I could and signed up a petition and shared links etc. But then after a couple of days, I realized I knew close to nothing about what all this hue and cry was all about. From the social networking sites to the media all were talking of Anna Hazare and the Janpal bill. It was a cause for the nation and I actually didn't know a thing about what exactly the bill proposed or what it would do except that "remove corruption by punishing the corrupt", which sounded great to me. Come on, who wouldn't support or want that? I have made fun of people in other countries who don't have a clue why their government does some things but supported them anyways, and here I was sitting and supporting a movement, when I had no clu...

It seems like everyone is waiting for the verdict by the Allahabad High Court on Ayodhya. The topic is trending on twitter worldwide, politicians, media, tweeps, etc are calling out for peace and harmony. The troubling part to me is that behind all these plea's, from the common man, is the fear that something horrible would be unleashed on the nation. And more depressing to me seems the reality that, no matter what the verdict, the problem is still not going to go away. It is going to come back one way or another. Don't really know why, but have been feeling down looking at the tweets since yesterday.

The Common Wealth Games 2010 has been in the news for quite some time. I went to the main site and found a ticker marking the beginning of the games. 11 days to go it says. Hope for the countries sake that things go well. By the looks of things, it seems as if the CWG 2010 will continue to be in news after it is over too. I personally do not expect anything to great to happen. But is it too much to hope that the games go off without causing an embarrassment to the citizens? Pink:   This colour has also been introduced to the palette adding an element of surprise and luxury to the Games look programme. It plays to the crowd and truly reflects India in all its resplendent glory.  Thats the statement for the description on colors in the logo.

The "first-ever web browser for India, the world's only antivirus browser" read the banner on the site  http://www.epicbrowser.com/ . Since it was based on mozilla, I quickly tried it on to see what the browser was about. The first impression was good. The layout, although a dark setting, was impressive. The shortcuts to various settings at the left side, the short-cuts to sites on the new tab page and also the resize anchors at the four corners were different from the other browsers. Overall the content of the browser, as the claim goes, is centered around India. Right from the logo, which is tri-colored to the font support for various Indian languages, there are a lot of skins also pre-loaded to chose to customize the look. The first claim of a "browser for India" is definitely right on. Will be trying out the browser more in the coming days to see how it goes. Update: Here is a news link to the release on The Hindu

Today the cabinet of India made up its mind on the symbol that would represent the Rupee. Detailed information on this can be found at the site link  India picks symbol to rival the €£¥$ . So many associated stuff would be needed to be done with regard to this.. Wow! the enormity of it is super. Right from getting this print on the notes and coins, to getting a new key on the keyboard. Operating systems and other softwares would need to support the new character and hardwares where the printer is dependent on this too would need to be adjusted. It is sure to take time to be absorbed into mainstream usage. Maybe I can start of by practicing to write (or is it draw?) the symbol properly. A new character is introduced! Picture courtesy: from http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2010/07/15/62286/

Today we celebrate the 60th anniversary since the day India turned into a Republic on 26th Jan 1950. This is the day the constitution of India was adopted. Reading through Republic Day page on wikipedia , the following quote caught my eye. "During recent years, it has become fashionable among some citizens to disparage the founders and their document. These individuals disappointed by the developments in the country since 1950, have called for changing the constitution explaining that it has not 'worked'. Such thinking, in my view, is misguided. Constitutions do not 'work', they are inert, dependent upon being 'worked' by citizens and elected and appointed leaders" Wishing all Indians a wonderful Republic day.

It almost feels like Déjà vu! I lose count on how many times I have come across the debate on forums, mail chains, bulletin boards and of course in groups of people, when ever there is an "Indian" being awarded or recognized. That guy may not have stepped on Indian soil at all, but that does not stop us from arguing if he/she is an Indian or not and to claim the prize as our own! The latest set of debate was triggered when the Nobel price for Chemistry was awarded to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan. I seriously do not understand the urge that people have to say be proud because they are Indian. I mean, I am proud enough about other things that India is about. I am ashamed at some things like corruption and all. But what do they mean to say there is something wrong if I don't feel proud that Swaraj Paul or Zubin Meheta or Laxhmi Mittal is of Indian Origin. Heck! I am not even thinking in that angle. We have a local language paper, Malayalam Manorama, which is known to search ...

Happy Independence day to all Indians.