Chattisgarh government allows khakhi knickers- news

Chattisgarh government has allowed its government servants to put on khaki knickers, if they so like (news)

'Panchkula Spring festival 2015 - a curtain raiser' by K.J.S.Chatrath

"Chandigarh Rose Festival-2015" by K.J.S.Chatrath

"Who wrote 'Shaheedon Ki Chitaon Par'...Question by K.J.S.Chatrath

Who wrote 'शहीदों की चिताओं पर ( Shaheedon Ki Chitaon Par') - Shri जगदंबा प्रसाद मिश्र ‘हितैषी’ ( Shri Jagdamba Prasad Mishra 'Hitaishi') or Shaheed Bismil? Any reference on the net?

'Hi Brad!' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Hi Brad!
Fooling around in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, India, January 2015.

'The talkative Indian (With apologies to Prof. Amartaya Sen)' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Photo taken in Hyderabad, India in January, 2015.

Age of Dr. R.K. Pachauri

Any idea how old is Dr. R.K. Pachauri?

'Comfortably numb (with apologies to Pink Floyd)' by K.J.S.Chatrath

'No official record of Modi being tea seller: RTI reply'

'No official record of Modi being tea seller: RTI reply'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/No-official-record-of-Modi-being-tea-seller-RTI-reply/articleshow/46325234.cms

'The sheer joy of not doing anything' by K.J.S.Chatrath

You don't know what it is till you actually reach the higher stages of idleness. Pure Nirvana!

'Conduct Rules prohibit government servants from accepting gifts worth more than Rs.5,000'

Government servants are not permitted by the 'Conduct Rules' to accept gifts worth more than Rs.5,000.

'O.P. Nayyar's Ukkad dukkad bamba' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Here is another interesting one from O.P. Nayyar. The lyrics are partly Panjabi (Ukkad dukkad bamba bow, asee nabay pura sau). See and hear the music which he wove around it....Do try to listen to the wordings.....This is from 1960 film starring Shammi Kapur & Nutan. The film had got into censor trouble because of the wordings of a number of songs....These are the partly changed wordings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOI-xoyGFTA

'Bravo ladies....' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Last month Ms. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic was sworn in as the first lady President of Croatia.

In India, the prestigious English newspaper 'The Hindu', now has a lady Editor- Dr. Malini Parthasarathy.

Bravo ladies....Good to see pure merit being recognised.

Actor Ashraful Haque...R.I.P.

(Photo source: moviespictures.org)

Actor Ashraful Haque Dies in Mumbai.....I remember his acting in Fukrey.. he was great ....R.I.P.

'Go home and relax....unsolicited advice to all busybees' by K.J.S.Chatrath

All those who have had a busy work life and have retired need to respect what retirement offers......

My unsolicited advice through this blog to Anna Hazare ji, after the collapse of his movement was, 'Sir, take care of your health...go back to your vaillage Ralegaon Siddhi and  lead a tension free life'.

I have been giving the same unsolicited advice to my retired/retiring IAS colleagues-'Dont accept any post retirement assignment, even it is offered to you- let alone try to manage one....and try to relax.'

Now I have the same unsolicited advice for Ms Kiran Bedi, 'Madam, having had an extremely busy work life, you should consider taking it easy now and leave the onerous responsibilities of Swachta Abhiyan to be borne by younger shoulders.

No body is indispensable. Period.

The brave fighters

'Valentine's Day & Madhubala's birthday- February 14' by K.J.,S.Chatrath

About the author

'A man has beaten a lady with a jhadu..'

Thank you for sharing this gem Supreet Dhiman:

"Delhi elections made history.........

First time a man has beaten a lady with a jhadu..."

Baja baj gaya!

Baja baj gaya!

'Champagne improves with age? Hell No' by K.J.S.Chatrath

I had a small bottle of champagne lying in my frig for ages....I decided to open it and share it with my son today...

Alas...Alas...it had not improved with age but had badly deteriorated- like me.

Sad moral of the story- Not everything improves with age!

No, I am not a fan of Mr. Sri Ravishankar...

No, I am not a fan of Mr. Sri Ravishankar....

Should they resign?

Should Mr. Narendra  Modi and Mr. Rajeev Gandhi resign from their Lok Sabha seats owning moral responsibility for their parties' rout in Delhi elections?

Ab tera kya hoga, Kalia?

Ab tera kya hoga, Kalia?

'A dog's life' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Got this handbill in my daily newspaper.

'Charlie Hebdo- semantics & pronunciation' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Charlie Hebdo first appeared in 1970 as a successor to the Hara-Kiri magazine, which was banned for mocking the death of former French President Charles de Gaulle. In 1981 publication ceased, but the magazine was resurrected in 1992. It  is published every Wednesday. 

 No, I am not going to talk about the controversy and sad happenings related to Charlie Hebdo. I just want to write a few sentences about its semantics and pronunciation.

While Charlie is a first name, Hebdo is the short form of  'hebdomidaire' meaning 'weekly' in French. So it is 'Charlie Weekly'.  Charlie Hebdo is pronounced as 'Sha(r)lie Ebdo'.

'Je suis Charlie', meaning 'I am Charlie' is intended to demonstrate solidarity with this Weekly.

By the way, there is another quite popular satirical weekly in France-  Le Canard Enchaine' . In English it could be translated as The Chained Duck or The Chained Paper ('canard' is French slang meaning 'newspaper'). It  is a satirical weekly  founded in 1915 during World War I.  It it features investigative journalism and 'leaks' from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as many jokes and humorous cartoons.

'One of my favourite books-Alice in Wonderland' by K.J.S.Chatrath

 Jessie Willcox Smith's illustration of Alice surrounded by the characters of Wonderland. (1923)

One of my favourite books is Alice in Wonderland. Click at the following link to access a new article on 150 years of this masterpiece. 'Alice in Wonderland' at 150, more than child's play and tea parties

By Jon Herskovitz

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/08/us-usa-alice-texas-idUSKBN0LC0IO20150208

O P Nayyar's made lilting tunes out of even the most banal lyrics...

I had put up a short post a few days back "Today is O P Nayyar's birthday. His music is incomparable and lives on.  More on him a little later.".

So as promised here is something more. Nayyar Sahib had the rare gift of making a lilting tune out of the most banal of lyrics. I had earlier mentioned about his song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhOEAFmTt5Q


Here is another song with the lyrics saying "Hongkong, China Mina Singapore...   ..." . And look what he made out of it. Compliments to Asha Bhosle ji too. Listen...   ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku59XpjUdmw

Barack Obama: Religious intolerance in India would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi

'Papa don't preach!'

'Delhi Elections' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Not that I dislike Party-'ABC' less, but that I dislike Party-' XYZ' more (Sorry Shakespeare Sir!)

'Et tu, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, Sir?' by K J S Chatrath

'Andhra CMs 'produce more kids' advice'....news

'Et tu, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, Sir?

'Haldiram's Revenue More Than McDonald's and Domino's Combined!' (news)- Bravo Indian companies

Haldiram's Revenue More Than McDonald's and Domino's Combined!- News

Bravo Indian companies.

'Alternate bands of Orange and Green on footpath sides' by K.J.S.Chatrath

While travelling in a taxi from New Delhi airport to New Delhi railway station on 26th January 2015, around 10.30-11 am, I found the traffic flow to be excellent. Then suddenly something caught my eye.

Somewhere around Connaught Place I noticed some painters painting the foot path sides in stripes of Orange and Green colours. Normally these are in bands of black and white or mustard/yellow and white. The taxi sped away towards its destination.

Well?