Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthanbore, best hotel in the world..

The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambore, has been ranked the best hotel in the world. The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, Rajvilas Jaipur and Udaivilas Udaipur have been ranked second, third and fourth respectively in Asia and positioned number five, 13 and 15 (in the same order) in world ranking, according to a readers' poll by 'Travel+Leisure' magazine. 

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Kudikayattathile thidukkam .. or the mad rush to Immigrate ..

My thinking on the matter of immigration has been necessitated by Joel Stein's article belittling Indians who have been immigrating in large numbers to US and other countries of less population and less competition. Though the article has invited harsh criticism from the Indian community for using the terms geniuses and and non-geniuses also passing thru, we all know it is vayattipizhappu ...

Why do we immigrate ( kudikayaruka or is this derogatory or is there any better word ) in such large numbers to other countries ? Are we fed up of life here in India ? Is it a healthy thing to do ? Are we looking at our immediate comforts / life  or do we really care for the future of our children too ? Or are social pressures preventing one from reversing this trend at the individual level ? Would a self respecting American citizen think of immigrating to another country ? They look to taking birth and dying in the same land , unlike we from India ..

Are we "kudikayarunnathu" (immigrating) thinking of the better "bhaavi" (future) of our children or we want them to lose their identity and merge in the mosaic of cultures and become non-entities ? Kudikayattam (immigration) to some countries is looked upto while to some others is looked down on (though the process by itself is an expression of the basic insecurity and non-confidence in oneself and the existing setup) .. Is it a conscious activity or something forced by the social setup to which we belong ?

If all good law abiding citizens kudikayaruka (immigrate) to different countries, what will happen to this land of our forefathers ? Is my response going to be indifferent and ignorant like, " who cares or why should I bother " or "everyone is doing, why not myself?"

Even within India when we move from one state to another, our children are denied the luxury of the rich and cultural upbringing which we enjoyed as children. For example my wife and myself enjoy each and every episode and song of Asianet Star Singer, while our children think it boring and want to switch channels .. If within India the gap is so open, one can imagine the condition in a different land ..We are critically aware of the identity crisis they are passing through in their day to day activities and mingling with friends.

Man as a social being wants to elevate his standard of living and hence is looking to be laterally and upwardly mobile all the time ..Is there any guarantee that lateral mobility ( kudikayattam) will essentially bring upward mobility. On the contrary, can no kudikayattam maintain status quo or halt any downward mobility ?

Does a community look down upon immigrants from another country or do they look up to them ?

Some pressing questions for which I wish to seek answers from thinking and willing individuals.. 

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Racist anti-indian article , Time magazine..

" For a while, we assumed all Indians were geniuses. Then, in the 1980s, the doctors and engineers brought over their merchant cousins, and we were no longer so sure about the genius thing. In the 1990s, the not-as-brilliant merchants brought their even-less-bright cousins, and we started to understand why India is so damn poor .." Joel Stein, Time magazine, July 05, 2010.

The passage which has enraged the Indian American community in US. 

Is it not a fact ?? Why should anybody object to such bare statements of truth .. we have seen incidents where people have been taking their immediate relatives, far relatives and so on in the name of immigration, especially around New Jersey area .. Geniuses, semi-geniuses and non-geniuses ..

Looking at the other side of the coin, does John Stein forget the fact that once upon a  time he too, or his forefathers, were immigrants like anybody else on American soil ? The irony is that the original owners of the land have been killed, sidelined, cheated and pushed to the outskirts by the immigrants to exploit the land and its resources for centuries .. And they call July 4 as the day of independence from the British !!

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Among the world's best airports ..

IGI term 3 is the world's eighth largest passenger terminal in the world after Dubai T3, Beijing, HongKong, Bangkok, Mexico, Barcelona and Dubai T1 http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/05/stories/2010070551840800.htm With a capacity to handle 38 million passengers annually and 78 aerobridges, this terminal was completed in just 37 months by the GMR group. GMR requires to be lauded for the speed whith which they have completed this terminal just before the Common Wealth Games in October as PPP initiative. when Emirates sends it A 380 to land here on July 14 after an Air India lands, the IGI term 3 will be operational for the public. Dr Manmohan Singh summed it all up in this short messIt would signal the arrival of a new India, committed to join the ranks of the modern industrialised nations of the world. :

Lokayuktha in Karnataka withdraws resignation ..

Justice Hegde , Lokayuktha in Karnataka yesterday withdrew his resignation, and will now be given a free hand to rein in the mining mafia in the Karnataka cabinet.

The Governor, Lokayuktha, Supreme Court and the common man on one side and CM BSY, BJP leadership on the side of the mining mafia, we will finally have to wait and see who will win ..

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Dow's double standards ..

Looks like playing double standards is the birthright iof a privileged
few.. The difference between feigned ignorance and learned ignorance
!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bhopal-gas-tragedy-Dows-double-standards-exposed/articleshow/6122640.cms

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Sharad Pawar as ICC President ..

Sharad Pawar as ICC President ..What are his credentials, other than being an Indian and President of the richest cricket body in the world ??

Hope he works for the better administration of the game than playing politics in ICC.

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