Tales of the Wanderlust

As the eclectic smells waft through the air Of salt, sweat and the Cooum river And if the smells of the sea and Jasmine win Yes Machan ; it is Madras you are in! The roaring of machines & blaring of trains With a splash of kollywood and music it rains And if notes of Carnatic rise above the din Yes Machan ; it is Madras you are in! Fluffy soft idlis or hot molaga bajji With piping hot, strong, degree filter coffee   If that’s what the world is having for tiffin Yes Machan ; it is Madras you are in!   Residential flats, Glass Towers, pristine And temples of yore share the sky line If it is Medley of old and new herein   Yes Machan ; it is Madras you are in! Hot, hotter, hottest are the three seasons Blame the humidity and various other reasons If the same warmth is in air and also its men Yes Machan ; it is Madras you are in! No matter where you come here from If you feel at home and always welcome If the cit...

The largest black out in human history, which India faced shall remain the largest for quite some time to come as it is quite impossible to replicate the same anywhere else, unless China also fails in an equal miserable way (the chances of which aren’t remote as China’s demand for power is also more that its capacity to generate). This blackout had left millions stranded in the dark for a long time, there were miner trapped, hospitals disabled. Those who could afford ran their back up systems and could maintain the status quo but what about those who are dependent solely on the power supplied by the government? They had no choice but to suffer silently.   In a typical reactive mode our government is now talking of reforms in the power sector. But one needs to ask what kind of reforms? Privatization? Even if the UPA government gathers enough courage to usher in such changes, at best it would benefit a few large corporates who will walk away filling their coffers at the cost of...