The day when you wake up and find that your city, no, your street has become a state unto itself is not a big impossibility now. But I would not simply close my eyes, and oppose or condemn anyone who asks for a separate state. We need to look at the history and the legitimacy of the demand, examine both these factors carefully and consider the sentiments and stifled voices of the people in that region. Only then can we make a call about any demand for statehood of any region. This brings us to the most hyped – and in the news – subject of Telangana.

Today, India mourns as we remember the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack on 26.11.2008. The nation is clamouring for justice for the martyrs – in the form of Kasab’s speedy trial and punishment – and for taking effective steps to prevent such things from happening in the future.The one thought in the mind of a majority of the people in India is – Kasab is the only one of the attackers who survived, and got caught – it is only fair that he meets the same fate as those of the victims of the crime perpetrated by him.

“Make him an offer he can’t refuse,” is an iconic line from an equally iconic book, The Godfather. The same principle probably applies to Amitabh Bachchan – give him an exorbitant amount of money and he wont refuse your offer, even if it involves hosting one of the crassest reality shows on television.

Once a legend, always a legend, they say. But, whether this applies to Amitabh Bachchan, who doesn’t seem to want the title anymore, is doubtful.

Last night I had a discussion with two of my closest friends. A debate that we generally have only in the confines of our home, and mostly in good humour. It’s said that religion, politics and sex should not be discussed in the public domain, therefore we try avoiding a debate on these issues publicly. The topic of the debate this time, however, was not any one of the three, but something related that is probably being discussed all over the world today. Something like a “clash of civilization” debate, where my friends were on one side teasing me for being a pseudo-secular.

During the journey of one’s life, one meets with, and hears about scores of personalities, but there are only a few who leave an indelible impression on one’s heart – former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday (September 2nd, 2009), was one such personality. Four others, traveling with him on that fateful day, also died in the crash over Nallamalla forest area in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.

Every now and then, a news channel or a news paper will have a piece on Economy – Recession, Bears, Bulls, Revival and other such economic mumbo-jumbo. But how many of us truly understand the Economy? It is not a thing that we can bind in rules and theories. Every Economics paper ever presented is basically based on the experiences and learnings of an individual, and how he or she feels while understanding the philosophy of economy. Economicsis not mere mathematics, it’s a spontaneous reaction of human kind to the situations they have created for themselves, knowingly or unknowingly, for better living, or for what their perception of better living is.

This so called black money affects the inflation in the country. It defies all the theories of economics. Thus whatever action the Reserve bank of India takes to curb the inflation, it is never effective as it has no effect on the amount of black money floating in the market, and as a result the prices of the commodities keep increasing in spite of the steps taken by the central bank to curb them. And no one is immune to price rise, regardless of the amount one may be earning.
However, despite its side effects we Indians are involved in this black money market in one way or another. Some of the ways in which we contribute to this black market are:

Indian Premier League , the money spinner for BCCI, courtesy Lalit Modi, is expanding and how. With the huge success of the tournament , IPL organizers have decided to rope in more teams for more excitement, more matches and – not to forget – to rake in more moolah. So, as of now, Nagpur and Kochi are up for grabs, and the news has been conveniently leaked to the media. “Discussions” regarding the auction have started, and the remaining Bollywood bandwagon who missed the bus last time are all geared up to jump in. Heading the list is Salman “Sallu Bhai” , closely followed by Ajay Devgan and the lovable-but-gone-astray-Munna Bhai, Sanjay Dutt.

The advent of the internet and the mobile has increased the pace of communication, and has also made communication easier. The news about a plane crash, or an earthquake, in any part of the world spreads all across the world in a matter of a few minutes. Log in to Twitter and you are instantly apprised of what the world is talking about. Communication with our near and dear ones, who are now spread all over the world, has been facilitated by these new gadgets.
Though connecting with friends and family has become trouble-free,

Off late, the swine flu virus aka H1N1 has been everywhere. The one place you can always always find it is your TV set. Some channel, or its cousin, is sure to be saying one thing about it, or another. No one, however, tells you that if you look at the facts, you will find that the swine-flu has a lesser mortality/death rate than diarrhoea, pneumonia or TB. Yes, H1N1 has caused mass-hysteria, but can you blame the poor virus for that? Our friendly, neighbourhood reporter has done his very best to ensure that you are scared of catching the virus if you so much