Obama's Apple

"I Love Obama" is the most used phrase in India right now replacing "you want to make franship"? I really appreciate Obama for winning the election to create history and all. I, not knowing what it is like to be a black man, oops - African American in American politics makes him larger than life. Indians are going ga-ga over his victory and were "supporting" Obama right through the build-up towards voting day. Its like the modern day Diwali when prabhu O-Ba-Ma came home. Light the chillums and make some noise.
What I fail to understand is why the Indian middle class who don't have the right to vote in the US, have a right but don't vote in India and are nobodies in the entire US election context feel concerned (+ve) about Obama winning. Other than our matching skin tone we have nothing in common with Obaman.
Obama for me is like the Apple iThing - everybody loves it and nobody know what it does. People have been giving me dirty looks every time I tell them to get over the hype and wait for the guy to prove himself. Middle class Indians somehow feel that Obama being elected will somehow make the lazy plumber turn up on time and their dogs potty-trained without any training. Some say they "relate" to him...his struggles etc. He is "very much", ekdum like us desis. They say "he too does not switch off his mobile phone on a flight, says 2 into 2 and not 2 times 2, calls an eraser a rubber and thinks a used finger bowl is veg clear soup".
Frankly India does not register as a "friend" on the Obama list and outsourcing is something Obama is against. Bravo. If he keeps his word and does what he promised we may see another Saurav Ganguly in the making.....(love him-hate him).
Anyway....congratulations to Mr. Obama. You made me proud. (like he gives a shit)

Terror strikes

Another set of terror strikes in the form of bomb blasts. I felt the pain, anger and then discussed about it at the party I attended( for a b'day not this) that very night. Guess that sums up what we as a nation really feel about what happens to others in our country. At some time during our lifetimes we do realize that poverty, unemployment, hunger--these issues don't affect us. Brands, higher salaries, bigger cars and smaller cellphone-- these things bother us.
I saw a lot of politicians give the same old crap about how they would catch the perpetrators and help the affected. We have seen time and again that neither of them is true. Same government, different government....all the same. The noida police screwed up a simple murder investigation and the CBI had to step in to solve the case. Imagine these guys being pivotal in the homeland security network. IB, RAW or anybody else cannot answer a simple question of mine "will I come back home in 1 piece if I step out of my house today"? Answers to complex questions like "who is responsible" etc that my wife/folks/friends will ask after I become processed food are like the universally unanswered questions like "why are we here" and "who is god"?
I fail to understand how a government is elected with any performance commitments. Meaning...when anybody join a company or starts a business he/she has set parameter which will measure their value/performance at the end of a specific time period. Some are qualitative and some quantitative. All are actionable. No government can guarantee us the basics:
1) No farmer will commit suicide due to failure to return loans
2) Everyone will have 24 hrs of electricity/water
3) There wont be more than 10 civilian deaths due to terrorism this year
4) Inflation wont cross 8 %
etc...etc
How does a government not own up to anything or promise anything that benefits the nation rather than his constituency, caste, gender, religion etc.
Why do I have key result areas (KRAs) when the government dont?

Why should I pay taxes this month?????

The fastest Indian

Nope, not talking about Milkha Singh. He is the "Flying Sikh"

Finally saw the movie "The Fastest Indian" last night. Its about Burt Munro a racing enthusiast and his 1920 Indian motorcycle. Indian is America's oldest motorcycle brand and was once the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world.
The entire movie revolves around Burt's drive to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA to set a land speed record. He bought the Indian in 1920 and modified it to set a New Zealand record in 1938.
The movie is set in the sixties with focus on - his travels, meeting interesting people, money shortfall, race registration hurdles, heart problems and ultimately smashing the land speed record. Anthony Hopkins plays Burt with the utmost ease. Easy going, old timer who everyone seems to like and has an uncanny knack of getting people to like him. He gets support from unlikely quarters when least expected - a transvestite, a Red Indian and snooty white Americans.
Overall I personally thought this was Anthony Hopkins best role to date, beating Hannibal Lecter hands down. Its a must watch for anyone who remotely like Antony Hopkins, Motorcycles or inspirational shit.
The real Burt Munro:



Some stats:
Burt Munro -25 March 1899 to 6 January 1978
* In 1962 he set a world record of 288 km/h (178.97 mph) with his engine bored out to 850 cc (51 in³).
* In 1967 his engine was bored out to 950 cc (58 in³) and he set a class record of 295.44 km/h (183.59 mph). To qualify he made a one-way run of 305.89 km/h (190.07 mph), the fastest ever officially recorded speed on an Indian. The unofficial speed record is 331 km/h (205.67 mph).[3]
* In 2006 he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

He was 68 year old when he set the world record.

I was fortunate enough to see an "Indian" right here in Hyderabad. The connection I now feel with it is indescribable.





This is a 1944 Indian, with a 1200cc engine. Dug up from the earth and restored....