End of Golden Era, an Era of Romanticism! [Part I]

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In the current situation, a realistic world is more desired than living in a hallucination. The constant use of internet also helped in this context. The virtual world is a virtue indeed, at least I consider so.  Today we are more practical than ever before but this pragmatic theory falls flat when it comes to the movies.  We still like to live in a dream world that was created by the unrealistic sequence. We Indians cannot think a movie without a half-dozen of songs and dance sequences. In this case, our preference is very far from the reality. How many people are there who remember Spencer Tracy in ‘old man and the sea’, rather will remember him in ‘Guess who’s coming for the dinner’. A realistic movie yet to strike the chord with the masses. Therefore, movie wise we are yet to accept a convenient thing. We still enjoy Julie Andrew’s  ‘Sound of Music’ than ‘10’ or Audrey Hepburn’s ‘Roman Holiday’ over ‘Blood Line’. Therefore, while living in a world where emotion has no value yet in heart we like to drive after an illusion. Living a couple of hour in a fantasy world is no harm, it is rather stress buster.

In Indian film industry, we have some unforgettable golden oldies and we still don’t get bored while spending time with it. Today, my page is a tribute to the stars of that golden era. With the sad demise of Dev Anand we are finally done with that golden period of romantic films. It also belongs to Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand. Frankly speaking, with respect to acting, none of them excites me very much but they left some unmemorable films. Specially music in Dev Anand’s film that was mostly composed by S.D. Burman and later by R. D. Burman was a treat.  Of course, we cannot forget the natural actors like Ashok Kumar and Motilal.

Motilal

 In 1934 at the age of 24, Motilal  was offered the role of the hero. He considered being one of the best actors of Hindi cinema. He and died almost penniless in 1965. Here is a interesting comment of his regarding film - "Married a 100 times, died almost twice, never born but always brought down by a parachute".

Filmography :    Waqt, Leader, Anari, Jagte Raho, Devdas, Mr. Sampat.

Balraj Sahni

Balraj Sahni was undoubtedly one of the greatest actors ever to come on the Indian screen: a highly natural actor who reminded the audience of the actors like Motilal because of his simple persona and a sophisticated style of acting. He was looked up to as a role model as he was never involved in any scandal. His acting in Do Bigha Zameen and Garam Hawa were the highlights of his career. He believed in what is known as Neo-Realistic cinema.

Filmography :  Anuradha, Do Bigha Zamin, Garam Hawa , Ek Phool Do Mali, Garam Hawa 

Ashok Kumar

Ashok Kumar born as Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur. He started his career in Bombay (Mumbai), albeit accidentally, with the Bombay Talkies production He started his career in Bombay (Mumbai), albeit accidentally, with the Bombay Talkies production.  The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his contributions to Indian cinema. He also did playback singing for a few movies. He died on 10 December 2001.

Filmography : Achhut Kanya, Kismet, Parineeta, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Hatey Bazarey, Aashirwad, Choti Si Baat, Mili, Khoobsurat, Khatta Meetha.

Raj Kapoor

Raj Kapoor was born in Peshawar to Prithviraj Kapoor. He was the eldest of six children.  At the age of eleven, he appeared in films for the first time.  Raj Kapoor's big break came with the lead role in film opposite Madhubala in her first role as a leading lady. In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, he established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time making his directorial debut with the film Aag. It was marked the first of many films in which he and Nargis appeared together. He acted and directed some memorable movies.

Filmography : Barsaat, Aag, Aah, Awaara, Boot Polish, Shree 420, Chori Chori,  Jagte Raho , Anari, Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, Teesri Kasam, Sapnon Ka Saudagar, Mera Naam Joker.

!!An anomaly? Sad, that the stars never know how to grow old with dignity!!!

To FDI or Not to FDI?

In India, every opposition party thinks that whatever decision taken by the ruling party is wrong but while they themselves were in the helm, whatever they did was right. Crores spent on each session of a parliament yet our MP’s always find a way to skip the session for one or other reasons. Current winter session also not an exception. Since it started, everyday there is something then other to stall the proceeding. First few days were for 2G Specterm and now it is for FDI. It is the decision that taken by the ruling government to allow FDI in retail. According to my knowledge once it was the idea of two timing BJP government too but as of now they are in the opposition so they decided to oppose it in a way so every MP can stay back to their respective place and enjoy the hospitality for free.

India enjoys a strong position as a global investment hub with the country registering high economic growth figures even during the peak of financial meltdown. As a result, overseas investors rested their confidence in the economy which eventually pushed foreign direct investments (FDI) in India.

All about FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] in retail – The pros and cons.

In India retail trade takes place through five types of outlets - local grocery shops, up market retail shops, departmental stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets. Local grocery shops are more popular with rural population as well as small towns as shop keepers known to the peoples and they often allow credit transactions. Goods available in most of these shops are unpacked and often quality wise below par. The fear expressed by some people is that allowing FDI in retail trade and the entry of international retailers could lead to a diminution of grocery shops and retail stores.

When we have near about a million such grocery shops when with our population of over 1 billion will be benefited with FDI in retail. It is obvious that the interests of the consumer should take priority over those of the retailer.

FDI will provide access to larger financial resources for investment in the retail sector and that can lead to several of the other advantages that follow. The larger supermarkets, which tend to become regional and national chains, can negotiate prices more aggressively with manufacturers of consumer goods and pass on the benefit to consumers. They can lay down better and tighter quality standards and ensure that manufacturers adhere to them. Many consumer goods manufacturers will find that supermarkets account for an increasing share of their sales and will be afraid of losing this valuable and reliable customer to competition. The fact that a well-known chain of supermarkets sources from a manufacturer becomes a stamp of quality. With the availability of finance, the supermarkets can invest in much better infrastructure facilities like parking lots, coffee shops, ATM machines, etc. All this will make shopping a pleasant experience. The supermarkets offer a wide range of products and services, so the consumer can enjoy single-point shopping.

Small-scale industries have not died. Instead, they have learnt to co-exist as suppliers to large-scale industries. In the case of retail trade, the grocery shops in large parts of the country will enjoy built-in protection from supermarkets because the latter can only exist in large cities. A possible outcome can be that Indian groups with strong local brand quality like the Tatas will collaborate with international supermarket chains like Sainsbury, to set up supermarket chains in India.

INDIA’s  TOP FIVE SECTOR WISE- FDI INFLOWS

FROM APRIL 2000 TO APRIL 2011

Sector	Amount of FDI Inflows (In US$ million)
SERVICES SECTOR	27,668.40
COMPUTER SOFTWARE & HARDWARE	10,821.18
TELECOMMUNICATIONS	10,610.77
HOUSING & REAL ESTATE	9,654.59
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES	9,490.96

!!!Development can take backseat where Mamata Banerjee, CPM and BJP exists!!!

In India, every opposition party thinks that whatever decision taken by the ruling party is wrong but while they themselves were in the helm, whatever they did was right. Crores spent on each session of a parliament yet our MP’s always find a way to skip the session for one or other reasons. Current winter session also not an exception. Since it started, everyday there is something then other to stall the proceeding. First few days were for 2G Specterm and now it is for FDI. It is the decision that taken by the ruling government to allow FDI in retail. According to my knowledge once it was the idea of two timing BJP government too but as of now they are in the opposition so they decided to oppose it in a way so every MP can stay back to their respective place and enjoy the hospitality for free.

India enjoys a strong position as a global investment hub with the country registering high economic growth figures even during the peak of financial meltdown. As a result, overseas investors rested their confidence in the economy which eventually pushed foreign direct investments (FDI) in India.

All about FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] in retail – The pros and cons.

In India retail trade takes place through five types of outlets - local grocery shops, up market retail shops, departmental stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets. Local grocery shops are more popular with rural population as well as small towns as shop keepers known to the peoples and they often allow credit transactions. Goods available in most of these shops are unpacked and often quality wise below par. The fear expressed by some people is that allowing FDI in retail trade and the entry of international retailers could lead to a diminution of grocery shops and retail stores.

When we have near about a million such grocery shops when with our population of over 1 billion will be benefited with FDI in retail. It is obvious that the interests of the consumer should take priority over those of the retailer.

FDI will provide access to larger financial resources for investment in the retail sector and that can lead to several of the other advantages that follow. The larger supermarkets, which tend to become regional and national chains, can negotiate prices more aggressively with manufacturers of consumer goods and pass on the benefit to consumers. They can lay down better and tighter quality standards and ensure that manufacturers adhere to them. Many consumer goods manufacturers will find that supermarkets account for an increasing share of their sales and will be afraid of losing this valuable and reliable customer to competition. The fact that a well-known chain of supermarkets sources from a manufacturer becomes a stamp of quality. With the availability of finance, the supermarkets can invest in much better infrastructure facilities like parking lots, coffee shops, ATM machines, etc. All this will make shopping a pleasant experience. The supermarkets offer a wide range of products and services, so the consumer can enjoy single-point shopping.

Small-scale industries have not died. Instead, they have learnt to co-exist as suppliers to large-scale industries. In the case of retail trade, the grocery shops in large parts of the country will enjoy built-in protection from supermarkets because the latter can only exist in large cities. A possible outcome can be that Indian groups with strong local brand quality like the Tatas will collaborate with international supermarket chains like Sainsbury, to set up supermarket chains in India.

INDIA’s  TOP FIVE SECTOR WISE- FDI INFLOWS

FROM APRIL 2000 TO APRIL 2011

Sector	Amount of FDI Inflows (In US$ million)
SERVICES SECTOR	27,668.40
COMPUTER SOFTWARE & HARDWARE	10,821.18
TELECOMMUNICATIONS	10,610.77
HOUSING & REAL ESTATE	9,654.59
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES	9,490.96

!!!Development can take backseat where Mamata Banerjee, CPM and BJP exists!!!

The Device that enliven me!!

About twenty-one years back, in 1990, a Parsee Lady from Mumbai complimented me by saying ‘You simply know how to talk to a computer’. I think she exceeded the limits while assessing me and definitely over estimated my capabilities but one thing is true that you can call me a technology savvy and crazy or better word is tech freaky. People like me sometime are too good for the machines and often too dangerous. Involving with a device for me means break or make. Therefore, I preferred to ignore if approached by someone to look at their machines.

I am very old fashion regarding this theory as for me Job satisfaction is before money and the attitude of mine directed me to this field. It was somewhere in 1985, I saw a real computer, that time it was a petty unknown things to me. While in Singapore, my friend’s nephew having one but I never saw it in healthy condition. My friend was a teacher and one day she told her nephew that she wanted him to get some answer from the computer. For your kind information, internet was not yet in picture at that time. I was wondering for many days that how a machine can answer her queries. Soon I back to India, first thing that I decided to get an instant answer for my queries, that is how I joined a course in Davar’s. After few months and a few programming languages I found my hunger grew with every program I wrote and wanted to know more. I joined a full time course in F.P.H. and believe me or not my class was 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., one good thing was there in FPH that the canteen over there used to provide food for very cheap rate, of course quality wise you cannot expect much. Therefore, I ventured to this world unknowingly and never knew that twenty-five years I am doing same thing, which I done that time means studying hard everyday, and teaching others, that too is very hard.

Before I could finish my Diploma I got a job, first one was part-time and immediately after that I landed in a  full-time job, it was a Parsee concern and we were developing software in COBOL. Even spending time with computer which was the best past-time for me but I never enjoy much my working days with the concern ‘Digital Abacus’. When I was just thinking to leave it, I got the job I was looking for and I stayed there until 1998. I left it because I wanted to return back to Kolkata but I stayed back there for another two years. It was one of my close friends wanted to start a computer setup somewhere in Thane and she wanted my help. So I stayed back to look after it, I still regretted decision later. Finally, June 2000 I returned back to the place where once I born and last eleven years I am running my own establishment mainly meant for BPO job. It is now turned to a training center and I am to the teaching.

However, these twenty-five years journey was very exciting and full of transformation. I like to remember all those processors that I worked with. There were computer that was only worked with Basic programming. Then came the big ‘O’, I mean operating system and all we needed was a 5 ¼ floppy disk to start and to store. In 1988, we got a machine with 286 processor, hard to believe but true that we had our first hard disk, capacity was six-forty megabyte. Until 1994 we used some of its modified versions like 386 and 486. Then finally Pentiums arrived and also Windows operating system (Windows 95).

This relentless upgrading of hardware was amazing but it was painful too. With keeping competition with new hardware in the market software companies too never failed to produce varieties of new software, be it application software or programming languages. Keeping pace with the change was stimulating, painful and miserable. It was too hard for the people like us, as I always explored with all sort of software. At the end of the day, I am not complaining and very much satisfied with my strive yet I am sad, I know how much effort I had given to learn COBOL, Fortran, Pascal etc. but today these are worthless piece of knowledge because those are  outdated.

!!!The computer, I am living in it, with it and simply loving it.!!!

Fast & Furious!!

In the personal front we always put our self before anyone and anything. We like to feel superior and always think that what I can do no one does it better. Our perception changes when we think about our country. We prefer to mention India as a failed state. Fair share of our citizen ends up saying  ‘In India? Impossible’. If one ask, how people of our country having such negative feeling against their own country then most of these blames must goes to our  politicians, administrator, minister and for the level of corruptions exits in all department. Recent past we acknowledged two international sports events and its shows that India is well equipped to conduct such extravaganza. First one was the Commonwealth Games and second was the just concluded Indian Grand Prix. For Commonwealth Games it is known factor that how Suresh Kalamdi and company made mess out it for personal benefit but Formula One was totally free from all controversies and it was one of the most successful sports event to-date.

The formula One is one of my favourite item among various sports events. My liking very much related to the success of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. Last couple of years Ferrari is down but it never hamper my interest. Here is a few facts about this sport :

History

The Formula One World Drivers' Championship is awarded by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to the most successful Formula One racing car driver over a season, as determined by a points system based on Grand Prix results. The Drivers' Championship was first awarded in 1950, to Nino Farina. The first driver to win multiple Championships was Alberto Ascari, in 1952 and 1953. The current Drivers' Champion is Sebastian Vettel, who won his first World Championship in 2010 and successfully defended it in 2011. He is only the second German to win the title, after Michael Schumacher who won seven titles, highest by any driver.

The Race

The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking, although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground provided he has not fallen to the back of the field. The warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, gives the tyres a chance to get some heat in them to get some much-needed traction, and gives the pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid.

The Men and Machines

The first Formula One World Championship was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina in his Alfa Romeo during 1950, barely defeating his Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. However Fangio won the title during 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 & 1957. His record of five World Championship titles stood for 45 years until German driver Michael Schumacher took his sixth title during 2003. The machines are the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned FIA. The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which all participants' cars must comply.

Indian Grand Prix

The inaugural Indian Grand Prix, which hosted at the Buddh International Circuit, part of Jaypee Greens Sports City near New Delhi.  India is the fifth new Formula One venue in four years  after Singapore and Valencia 2008, Abu Dhabi 2009, Korea 2010.

Originally known as the Jaypee Group Circuit or the Jaypee International Circuit after the circuit's owners, the circuit was officially named the Buddh International Circuit in April 2011. The new Circuit is the part of the 2,500 acres, which also includes a 100,000 seat cricket stadium, 18-hole golf course. Jaypee Greens Sports City has similarities to Turkey, with a long main straight and a very long, sweeping corner. However, while Turn Eight was taken with an average corner speed of 270 kph, in India the corners are expected to be taken at 170 kph (Turn 10) and 210 kph (Turn 11) respectively. The lap time and speed will be very much dependent on the grip level achieved by the Pirelli tyres on the new asphalt surface.

The Statistics [ Top Three ]

Total Races Started

         

Constructor	Races Started	Seasons
Ferrari	829	1950-2011
McLaren	702	1966-2011
Williams	557	1978-2011

Top Three Championship winner By drive

Driver	Team	Total
Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	7
Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	5
Alain Prost	McLaren	4

Total podiums

         

Constructor	Podium	Seasons
Ferrari	653	1950-2011
McLaren	469	1966-2011
Williams	296	1978-2011

Total pole positions

Constructor	Seasons	Poles
Ferrari	1950-2011	205
McLaren	1966-2011	147
Williams	1978-2011	126

Total Championships

Constructor	WCC	Seasons
Ferrari	16	1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
Williams	9	1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997
McLaren	8	1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998

This Year Winners

Driver	Team	Points
Sebastian Vettel	RedBull	375
Jenson Button	McLaren	255
Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	245

Listed as one of the most dangerous sport yet exciting, one hour total entertainment. Hope without fail we can repeat it and show the world that it is possible.

!!!India can do it, Matter of fact India done it!!!

Silver Jubilee - On the piles of Silverwares!!

An achievement is not an easy package, it is not a pick and walk away objects. To achieve a goal one should enjoys certain qualities. All needed are hard working, dedication, passion, loads patients and bit of luck. Of course, a certain quotients of supports also require from the people around you, without it often all the efforts could ends up in a failure. 

Today I am writing about a man who is sitting on the pile of achievement and he is doing it for last twenty-five years. His job is tougher as he is competing at the highest level. Managing a world famous football club and at the same time he have to manage a bunch of worlds richest, famous and head strong footballer. This page is my tribute to the Sir Alex Ferguson, man who is having all qualities that a man need to achieves the goal, my god I am talking about goals yes scoring goals his first priority and he is having thousands in his kitty.

Sir Alexander Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He was a Scottish association football manager and former player too. In 1969, after twenty-four extra-ordinary years when Sir Mat Busby retired, Manchester United struggled to find a proper manager and worst result was that the relegated in 1974 but promoted back within a year. Ron Atkinson was then given the job and after a brief success, he failed to achieve what needed from him. Finally 1986, 6th November Alex Ferguson appointed as Manager of the club.  His tenure has seen the club go through an era of success and dominance both in England and in Europe, giving Ferguson a reputation as one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game. Under him, Manchester United's 1998–99 season was the most successful in English club football history as they became the first team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League – "The Treble" – in the same season.

Stats

                                                                                               

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
East Stirlingshire	J1974	1974	17	9	2	6	36	28	+8	52.94
St. Mirren	1974	1978	169	74	41	54	292	222	+70	43.79
Aberdeen	1978	1986	459	272	105	82	914	374	+540	59.26
Scotland	1985	1986	10	3	4	3	8	5	+3	30.00
Manchester United	1986	Present	1,409	836	326	247	2,579	1,262	+1317	59.33
Total			2,064	1,194	478	392	3,829	1,891	+1938	57.85

On 11 October 1999, a special testimonial match was played in honour of Ferguson's contribution to the team. Manchester United played against a team dubbed "Rest of the World XI", managed by Ottmar Hitzfeld, with his team consisting of names such as Henrik Larsson, Gianluca Vialli, Cafu, Paul Gascoigne, George Weah, Peter Schmeichel and Eric Cantona, but with 20 minutes to go there was a mass substitution of their players, who were replaced by a former Manchester United XI; Peter Schmeichel, Paul Parker, Clayton Blackmore, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Darren Ferguson, Mark Hughes, Lee Sharpe, and three number sevens: Bryan Robson, David Beckham and Eric Cantona. The World XI won the game 4–2. On 6^th November 2011, when he completed twenty-five years in Old Trafford, the North stand was named after him.

Ferguson lives in Wilmslow, Cheshire, with his wife, Cathy Ferguson, Lady Ferguson. They married in 1966 and have three sons.

Sir Alex also having a fair share of controversies throughout his life but every successful man had a few or more. So, leave that few we awed by the man and his awesome achievements.

!!!Being a diehard MANUTD fan, looking forward to Sir Alex and many more silverwares!!!