Indian Moon Mission Chandrayaan-1 Launched

India's Moon Mission Spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 has Textbook Launch

India has launched a moon mission designed to create the highest resolution 3D maps of
the moon's surface and complete chemical mapping of the lunar soil. The Chandrayaan–1
spacecraft launched from Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh at 06:22
local time. Lunar orbit is expected to commence in 5 days on 27th October.

The Chandryaan–1 craft cost $83 million and is expected to last two years. It will orbit
the moon 62 miles above the surface to perform experiments in the infrared, visible and
X–ray frequencies.

The spacecraft, which is carrying 11 instruments, weighs over 1300 kg — 5 scientific
Indian payloads and 6 from other space agencies. Chandrayaan–1 also has an impactor with
the Indian flag, that will hit the surface, thus throwing up dust to be analyzed by a
mass spectrometer built in India.

The two main objectives are to outline the lunar surface at a spatial resolution of 5–10
m and look for elements such as magnesium, uranium, iron and thorium.

Parameswaran Sreekumar, Head of Space Astronomy and Instrumentation at the ISRO
satellite centre in Bangalore said many of the instruments are unique. “Chandryaan–1
provides a new national thrust in scientific research in space science, ...it will
energise the public and enthuse the academic community to take up planetary sciences.”

Overpriced i_Phone Launched in i_India

iPhones hit iIndia - Guru Steve Says only the Rich are Worthy

Apple's 3G iPhone has finally been launched in iIndia, with a price tag of $700 (seems iexpensive to me – Ed.) but without the mass hysteria seen in the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia. Indians are far too sensible to indulge in such ridiculous iposturing for what is, after all, just a telephone ! Guru Steve Jobs has certainly done a fine job brainwashing his disciples, but Indians have seen far too many overweight middle-aged gurus to be swayed by a geek in a black turtle neck sweater.

$700 is three times the U.S. retail price, and two months’ salary for middle managers, so really it’s all a bit of a con, trying to convince people that they need to be really irich to be worthy of such a magnificent iitem as a telephone. (Didn't Steve Jobs used to be a surfing hippy dude ?)

(............ mmmmmmmmmmmmm iPhones)



The telephone was nevertheless launched at midnight in Delhi, but drew only a small (albeit enthusiastic) crowd to Connaught Place. They weren't selling Harry Potter books after all!

In Jaipur, things got a little iposher when the local Maharaja queued up along with the hoi polloi to get his regal hands on a ‘telephone’.

"I can't wait to show it off at school, it's way better than having a PlayStation," said Rudra Khurana, a 14-year-old Delhi schoolboy. So really that’s what it’s all about – kids showing off their Christmas presents. Why don’t they just grow up instead ?

India is the fastest-growing wireless market in the iworld. Nearly 300 million subscribers make it the second-largest market for such services, after that other big place a bit further east.

Customer numbers have been rising by more than 8 million a month, but most of them are low-paying users, who use their telephone for making telephone calls, not for impressing their neighbours.

For the country's nouveau riche, on the other hand, new mobile telephones are a status symbol and black-market iPhones have been available in India for months (possibly supplied by Apple themselves to create even more ihype, who knows ? – Ed.).

"Indians tend to buy the most fancy cell phones, and the iPhone has a massive fan following everywhere," said Pinaki Mishra, head of retail & consumer practice at Ernst & Young.

"It is seen as a status symbol, an aspirational product, so you can expect to see not just the rich, but also tech-savvy youngsters and people in small towns buying it." This opinions is not however borne out by the small crowds actually lining up to buy the telephone.

The phone costs $199 in the U.S., so expect to see prices drop sharply in India, which is what happened in the U.S. about 1 month after the much-hyped launch. In addition to the cost of the actual telephone there are also the subscriptions and service plans to pay for. The 8GB model is selling for around 31,000 rupees ($716) even there are no 3G services yet.

Nishant Arya, a man with a fair amount of money, said he bought six iPhones, one for himself and 5 for his friends.

"We can't change phones on a daily basis. We have to keep the future in mind and 3G will come to India soon," he said. He might have added that by the time 3G gets there the actual price of the phone will have dropped significantly and the specifications will have increased, so his 6 phones might be out of date and sooooo last year, but he probably doesn’t care.

Analysts expect there could be 10.5 million such telephones sold worldwide this year.

But in India, not everyone was impressed, one autorickshaw driver looking at the hyped-up launch said "What's the big deal?" clearly he is a genius, but genius is rarely rewarded.

Monkey God Named Chairman of School

Visit India : Hanuman Named Chairman of Business School

Hanuman the Hindu monkey god has been chosen as Chairman of the Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management, an Indian business school in northern India.

Hanuman is known for his strength and bravery. In the college he will get his own office and incense, a desk and a laptop computer. There will be 4 chairs before the empty seat set aside for Chairman and visitors must remove their shoes before entering the office.

Vivek Kangdi, Vice-Chairman of the company says "It is our belief that any job that has the blessings of Lord Hanuman is bound to be a success."

Hanuman is well-know to Hindus for his ability to lift mountains and leap across oceans, but his business acumen is not specifically one of his attributes.

"When we were looking for a chairman for our institution, we scanned many big names in the field of technology and management. Ultimately, we settled for Lord Hanuman, as none was bigger than him," Kangdi said.

Hanuman is a very popular god for Hindus who have a vast number of gods to choose from. He is famous for leading a monkey army to assist Lord Rama and rescue a kidnapped princess from demon King Ravana .

The Sardar Bhagat Singh College is located in Lucknow, and awards bachelor's degrees in engineering and management.

Vikas Yadav Sentenced to Life in Prison

Vikas Yadav was convicted earlier this week by a court in New Delhi for the abduction and murder of Nitish Katara in 2002. Vishal Yadav, his cousin, was also convicted. Today Vikas Yadav was sentenced to life in prison.

They apparently killed Katara because they did not approve of his relationship with Vikas Yadav's sister, Bharti.

Vikas Yadav's father is Dharam Pal Yadav a wealthy lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh, where state politics are apparently dominated by money, power and harassment.

Yadav's lawyer, K.N. Balgopal said they would be appealing against the conviction.

The case shows the courts' willingness to take on powerful figures who often resort to bribery to escape punishment.

This was the second time Vikas Yadav has been implicated in a murder case.

In 2006 Manu Sharma, also the son of a wealthy politician, was sentenced to life in prison for the killing of a former model. At the time Vikas Yadav was found guilty of helping Sharma, he was sentenced to four years in prison.

India Second Fastest Growth in the World

India and China Two Fastest Growing Economies in the World

It is hardly a surprise but India and China are the two fastest growing economies in the world and they are top of the the list of best places for investment and development. In Grant Thornton's International Business Report 2008 into emerging global markets, India, China and Russia are the top 3 preferred destinations for investment and development. China’s economy will move ahead of the USA by 2027 and India will catch up by 2050. Full story here : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_China_lead_as_investing_destinations/rssarticleshow/3074965.cms

Condoleezza Rice on Tibet

Condoleezza Rice Urges China to Change Tibet Policy

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-24-voa35.cfm

In an unprecedent move, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is encouraging China to reconsider its policy towards Tibet and to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Secretary Rice says there should be a peaceful resolution to the problems in Tibet, and says the Dalai Lama could help.

"We believe that the Dalai Lama could play a very favorable role, given his belief in nonviolence, given his stated position that he does not seek political independence for Tibet, and given his unassailable, authoritative moral stature, not just with the people of Tibet, but with people from around the world," she said.

This is hardly likely to go down well with the Chinese who recently described the Dalai Lama as a 'jackal'. Presumably because he is not too pleased that Mao Tse Tung sent the Chinese army to invade his country.

Condoleezza Rice met with Pranab Mukherjee the Indian Foreign Minister on Monday. She told reporters that it would be unacceptable if violence were to be used in the Tibet conflict, and that China should try to evolve a more sustainable policy. She did not mention the fact that the Dalai Lama has stated that 130 people have been killed in Tibet.

Foreign Minister Mukherjee agreed that it could be helpful for the Dalai Lama's to be involved in negotiations. He also said that the 180,000 Tibetans living in India are free to practice their religion as they see fit, but they should refrain from taking part in political activities in India. This is rather difficult as their very presence in India is a political activity, as they are there to escape from Chinese oppression in their own country.

China's reaction so far is the same as it has been for the last 50 years. They know that they have a population of over a billion and the largest army in the world, so in typical Chinese inscrutable fashion they restrict themselves to repeating "Mind your own business!".

U.S. Speaker Visits Dalai Lama

U.S. Speaker Travels to Dharamsala to Meet with Dalai Lama

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will meet with the Dala Lama today at his headquarters in Dharamsala in India in an attempt to bring international pressure on China to show restraint in Tibet.

The Dala Lama is appealing to countries around the world to "tell China to settle the Tibet issue through dialogue.'' Full story here : http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aXozib.LsGqM&refer=asia

It also appears that protests are far more widespread in China than the Chinese government will admit, including some protests in Beijing itself - see map of protests here : http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org/2008/03/17/map-sites-of-tibetan-demonstrations/

BoingBoing meanwhile has a roundup of all the bloggers blogging about Tibet and the Chinese repression - http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/16/tibet-china-blocks-y.html

Many Deaths in Tibetan Demonstrations

Unconfirmed sources have reported that about 100 Tibetan demonstrators have been killed by Chinese police and many more have been injured during protests against the Chinese invasion.

Full story here in the Times of India - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Tibetan_exile_group_claims_100_killed_in_Lhasa/rssarticleshow/2868792.cms

and also here
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/03/15/news/doc47db5db609792849622426.txt

Gandhi Turns in His Grave

India Bans Peaceful Tibetan March

In a speech today the Dalai Lama said to supporters in Dharamshala, to mark the anniversary of the uprising in Tibet :

"Repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom and politicisation of religious issues," he said.

His comments contrasted with what, according to his critics, has been a "soft" approach to China over the years.

The Dalai Lama said however that he will not abandon his call for autonomy in Tibet, despite Chinese intransigence and the claim that the country they invaded belongs to them and their violation of human rights.

He also said the Beijing Olympics will be a golden opportunity for the international community to expose China's treatment of Tibetans.

India, on the other hand has decided to side with China, and has banned about 100 Tibetan exiles from taking part in a protest march to the Tibetan border.

Police in Dharamsala say the marchers have been prevented from leaving the area on their trek home, as part of pro-independence protests ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

District police chief Atul Phuljile said authorities issued a restraining order to the marchers not to leave the Kangra district, and "all necessary actions will be taken" if the order is violated.

This is very disappointing from the country which gained its own independence by carrying out its own peaceful marches in their bid to get the British out of India. The India government in a hypocritical move has decied that what was good enough for them is not good enough for Tibetans. A clear case of a democratic country kowtowing to a dictatorship. What kind of democracy is that?

What would the great Mahatma Gandhi have said we wonder ?

Beaches in India

Tourists flock from all over the world to visit India’s amazing beaches, from the Arabian sea in the West to the Bay of Bengal in the East.

Goa is probably the best known of all the beach resorts, in the West at least. Its landscape is dotted with Portuguese architecture, and the way of life has enchanted and retained many visitors from the West who have refused to go home and decided instead to settle in Goa.

Anjuna or Calangute Beach, and Miramar Bay in Panjim are popular, while the beach at Calangute is rocky. At Anjuna however the waters are fairly placid and there are opportunities for boat rides, sea scooter rides, trips to see the dolphins etc.. Colva and Benaulim are quieter and not so crowded as Anjuna. Sinquerim and Candolim are beaches that offer a degree of seclusion.

Away from Goa, Kovalam in Kerala is one of India's most popular sea resorts. There has been an influx of tourists in recent years, with all the associated ills, but this will hardly come as a surprise as you yourself may be one of these prospective tourists. It is hard for a tourist to find a secluded spot as it the tourists themselves who put an end tot he seclusion they are looking for ! Such is life.

There are four sandy bays in Kovalam separated by rocky outcrops. To the north there is Samudra Beach, which at high tide became just a narrow strip of sand, this is separated from Kovalam Beach, popular with local tourists, by a cluster of rocks.

Hawah Beach, is where the fishermen ply their trade and Lighthouse Beach is where the package tourists soak up the sun.

There are plenty of guest houses and hotels but don’t expect prices to be particularly cheap. Also as there is a lot of stagnant water in the area mosquitos abound and no doubt are very appreciative of the influx of delicate foreign flesh. So be prepared.

For further information take a look at the official Indian Tourism Site – Beaches of India - Beaches of India or for a more personal view have a look at Marianne’s description of Kovalam - Kovalam Beaches

For information on getting visas for India see Do I need a Visa to Visit India?

Indian Beaches Goa Beaches Kovalam Beaches