Laila – The Younger Sister Of Aila

Laila made landfall as a storm… all the while, as she was moving over water, she was cyclone; making landfall, she was just a storm that made Hurricanes Katrina and Rita look like strong storms…

Coastal Andhra Pradesh, north-coastal Tamil Nadu (while she lived), and now West Bengal are feeling the after effects of that storm… raining just like that around the last week of May, that really cools down the summer in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta for those still not used to this local name)… West Bengal is feeling the heat of the storm… have we ever wondered what would happen if Laila was of Aila category? The devastation that would follow would be what – 2 levels below an F5 category hurricane… F5 being usually described as ‘The Hand of GOD’… That’s the kind of damage we are talking of here.

Haiti

The recent catastrophe in Haiti came as a quite a shock to me. It was heart-wrenching to watch those videos and photos of bodies being brought out from under the rubble and debris and then being flung about for want of space. Yes, they should have anticipated a catastrophe of such magnitude and should have been prepared for it. But when you’ve not face such a thing as an earthquake in more than 200 years, you do tend to get a little complacent. But that is not an excuse for not being prepared.

The international group of nations – more importantly – The United Nations Organization (UNO) should not shy away from offering and providing any and all necessary aid / help to the nation. The US, it has been reported, has monopolized the airport at Port-Au-Prince for it’s use leaving no space for other aid to get through. How much of it is true (it at all) I do not know… I only heard about this in the news. But anyway, we should not be blaming anybody for anything right now. We cannot afford to. This is not the time. We should instead concentrate on the future of the aid agencies. The UN has lost it’s representative and his deputy in the country. Both of them were really high ranking officials. Sad. But their families should be proud. They knew the dangers that awaited them. Of course not the earthquake. With all the coups and in-fighting that the country had seen till the last 8 years or so, any peace-keeping force should be prepared for the ultimate test – that of sacrifice when the country we work for is not the country we were born in. When we can truly say that we are prepared for this test, only then can we be true representatives of the international group of nations.

I am a humble citizen of the planet. Have been witness to the 2 wars in Iraq (including the current one), the fight for Kargil sector in the disputed J&K region of the Indian subcontinent and such… I can only say I felt shocked to hear about Teddy Pendergrass. It was sad that he lost his life in this catastrophe.

When will they end?

Updates from the frontline ;) -

March 18, 2011 22:30 hrs IST

At such a given time, I hardly am using the fan during the day or the night... The weather is so wonderful. The name The Jewel of the East Coast, is very aptly justified... Our apartment block being just on the Main Beach Road, we have a really wonderful view of the coast from our home...

Guess it suffice to say that The Jewel of the East Coast is definitely ready to welcome her old residents. ;)

Sometimes called The Jewel of the East Coast, Visakhapatnam is a port city on the northern coast of the state of Andhra Pradesh, south of Srikakulam. Although this is a city of contrasts, it’s place in the historical pages of the country cannot be denied. This town-port city has a very high position in the annals of Indian History.

I spent many impressionable years in this city – mainly from when I was still a school student (Visakha Valley School, yes sir) till the day I left this city – October 2006. I reached this place in April of 1994. In these 12.5 years of residency, it was only in the last 2 years or so, that I really learnt the local language. The only reason for my learning the language was the fact that then, at that moment, the place I was residing, spoke mostly the local language, very (trace amounts) of Hindi… Also, I had wanted to learn the language once I knew that I would be able to pick it up without many errors. Let me state at the outset, that I have no regrets about having learned Telugu (the local language). What most North Indians call ‘Madrasi’ – the language, is originally a language of the Madras Presidency during the British Raj – you guessed it, Telugu…

So, coming to what I wanted to say originally, most Bongs and North Indians won’t be wrong when they ask us whether we speak Madrasi in Madras (now known as Chennai).

Now, you are going to ask me why this video? Good question. This is my answer:

In the three years that I have been away from this city, and during the visits to the city in these three years, I’ve been witness to changes unthinkable from my side. Never thought that such changes can come to Visakhapatnam. The spurt in vehicular and human population has been tremendous. Really felt nice to see some of these changes. The Dwarkanagar area of the city is the second busiest portion of the city after Jagadamba Junction. Dwarkanagar has some of the main offices and shops of many electronics merchants, service providers, clothing and some very good restaurants of the city. In the twelve years or so that I have spent there, I never thought I would have to wait at a traffic junction for nearly a minute! Is this partly because of the flyover that is coming up between Asilmetta Junction and Waltair station.

Sorry, some of you may not know the name Waltair. It is another name for Vizag. This name can be found on some old documents of the Indian Railways. The growth is not surprising when you have lived there and you know that Visakhapatnam is one the busiest ports of the country. It is also one of the oldest… Also present are industries such as fertilizers, petrochemicals, zinc smelting, not to forget – The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant built as a joint venture between Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited and Russian Steel federation… It covers some of the best portions of the city… the scenery within the plant and the living areas are awesome… Considering all these facets of the city, is it surprising that there has been such a growth?

methinks not

Good day