A candy shop sells a chocolate for $1 each and for every 3 empty wrappers gives one chocolate. How many chocolates can you get for $15?
Enjoy!!
Mussoorie, Queen of the Hills, located some 290 km north of New Delhi, is among the most popular hill stations of the country. At 6500 feet elevation, it has some of the most spectacular views of Himalayas. Some of the landmarks of this popular hillstation are the old graceful houses – Captain Young’s Mullingar Mansion, the oldest existing building in Mussoorie, Houses of Irish pioneers – Tipperary, Killarney, Shemrock cottage and the Tara hall, the houses of Scot pioneers – Scottsburn, Wolfsburn and of course the houses of the English rulers – Connaught Castle, Grey castle, Hampton court and Castle hill. There evidently were a lot of fans of the legendary writer Sir Walter Scott as we find old estates of the name of Kenilworth, Rockeby, Waverly and also Abootsford – the name of Sir Scott’s own house in England.
Mussoorie has lot to offer and fun retreat for a quick getaway from Delhi.
How to get there:
Air: The nearest airport is Jolly Grant at Dehradun (61 km). However, Delhi is the most convenient airport.
Rail: The nearest railhead is Dehradun 35 km, connected by rail with major cities and towns of India. Taxis and buses are available outside the railway station for transit to Mussoorie, there is a Mussoorie bus stand near the station.
Road: < 300 KM from Delhi. You can drive, take a bus or private cab to get there.
Where to Stay:
Here is a list of some of the good hotels in the area
Jaypee Residency Manor*****dlx,
Barlowganj,
Tel: 0135 2631800,
Fax: 2631022,
E-mail: reservations.jrm@jaypeehotels.com
Savoy Hotel (Heritage),
The Mall,
Tel: 0135 2632010/120,
Fax: 2632001,
E-mail: savoyhotelmussoorie@yahoo.com
(Rs. 1500-5000/-)
Country Inn Mussoorie***,
Nalapani House,
Hayacoolie Estate, Kincraig,
Telefax: 2631190/4,
E-mail: info@countryinn.co.in
Hotel Green Castle***,
The Mall,
Tel: 0135 2630987,
Telefax: 2632657,
E-mail: greencastle@vsnl.com
Hotel Solitaire Plaza***,
Kincraig Road,
Tel: 0135 2632164/5,
Fax: 2632147
What to do:
Sightseeing:
Cloud’s End
The resort is surrounded by thick deodar forests. The bungalow built in 1838 by a British major and one of the first four buildings of Mussoorie, has now been converted into a hotel.
Camel’s Back Road
A lovely promenade along the wooded slopes.
Children’s Lodge
A vantage point of Mussoorie, with extensive views of the northern hill ranges.
Gun Hill
The second highest point in the town, it offers a panoramic view of the surroundings and the snow covered mountains in the north.
You can find more information at the state site: http://uttarakhandtourism.gov.in/sections/mount_places/ZjY0ZjZhhnE1NHNkZg==/ZjY0ZjZoc2RmYTU=
Several times my colleagues asked me about rebuilding all indices in a database. While there are several solution available, I like to use the one below. Please note that sp_MSforeachtable is undocumented but internal so we can expect a much better performance than our own cursor.
None the less, this has helped me alot, I hope it helps you too!!
USE <DBName>
GO
EXEC sp_MSforeachtable @command1=”print ‘?’ DBCC DBREINDEX (‘?’, ‘ ‘, 80)”
GO
EXEC sp_updatestats
GO
I recently was asked by a colleague about finding the Nth highest value in a table. For example if there is an employee table then finding the 10th highest salary or something similar.
I thought about it and created a query below which obviously is not showing anyone’s salary 
Enjoy! and please comment.
declare @nth smallint
set @nth = 4
if (@nth <= 0)
begin
– default to 1 if inappropriate value is provided
set @nth = 1
end
set nocount on;
declare @t table (Id int identity(1, 1), Value decimal(18, 3))
insert into @t (Value) values (1234.56)
insert into @t (Value) values (5678.90)
insert into @t (Value) values (2345.67)
insert into @t (Value) values (3456.78)
insert into @t (Value) values (6789.10)
insert into @t (Value) values (7890.12)
insert into @t (Value) values (8912.34)
insert into @t (Value) values (4567.89)
select [Value] = max([t1].[Value])
from @t [t1]
left join (select top (@nth – 1) [Value]
from @t
order by value desc) [t2] on [t2].[Value] = [t1].[Value]
where [t2].[Value] is null
select [OrderId] = ROW_NUMBER() over (order by value desc)
, [Value] = value
from @t
set nocount off
After years of experience with SQL server, I have gathered some of the practices that are good for writing SQL queries, procedures and functions.I found this video on You tube. Make sure you watch it on HD mode on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EEu42L0ufBY
On 6th October 2013, Delhi region saw and experienced Devil’s Circuit, India’s First Obstacle Run Non Competitive Series. People looking for some adventure and fun, wanted to spend their Sunday in a different way soaked themselves up in mud, freezing water, climbed ropes and walls.. yesterday was for them!!! The day saw participants from various walks of life, students, young professionals, foreign nationals, families…just about everyone!!! The spirit of the participants was amazing!! After the race all the participants who completed the race got a beer(for refreshing yourself
You could google for pictures of the event and get prepared for the next Devil’s Circuit. For those of you who missed participating in this one, there’s another one scheduled in March 2014 in NCR, followed by next one in Pune, then Hyderabad and finally in Bangalore!!!
Go ahead and have some fun….
Here is tsql way of getting averages and also rolling up. Below example is using adventureworks database that is available with SQL server. It is getting average pay rate by each department and also overall by the company.
I recently attended the PMI 2013 National Conference hosted at “The Leela” Gurgaon. It was indeed a grand event that I enjoyed thoroughly. I was particularly intrigued by the presentation in the field of Healthcare in India from the Fortis group CEO Vishal Bali. Having the background in the field and experienced in the international market at the USA, I am really excited about the opportunities in this Sector in India.
Healthcare is directly or indirectly linked with the economic growth of the country, while it directly produces opportunity for healthcare professionals, it indirectly creates lot of opportunity in other fields like management, IT etc. Not only that, it helps in increasing the life expectancy thereby the overall working task force in the economy. While that is for the global vision, I am concerned about specifics in the healthcare industry in India. There is a lot to be done and opportunity to learn from the systems in other countries – what was done right and what can be done better.
I am particularly interested in hearing from the industry experts about topics like – Preventive care, Diagnosis standardization, Patient centric approach with information sharing and the most talked about topic for all insurance companies – fraud prevention.
These are some of the burning topics especially in healthcare in India. I have had some experience of working in these areas and seen both the good and the bad of systems.
Looking forward to hear from some of the experts….
Find the right candy jar…
We had a wedding in the family and had to visit the saloon for touch up’s!
Anyways, so we went to this saloon and here are the reasons I wouldn’t recommend ANYONE going there
- Hygiene Levels are POOR and
- Value for Money is ZERO!!
The saloon is narrow vertical shape and space is to cramped that it will be difficult not to rub yourself against the other person while moving from the entrance to the chair where I had to sit down for the services! I had to get myself arm waxing and pedicure to get some relief to my usual aching swollen feet due to pregnancy! The saloon ladies were trying to upsell all their services by suggesting better quality products, which I would say is a part of their job so I really don’t mind that. However, the point from where the bad experience started was the hygiene levels were pretty bad. Instead of using a warm wet towel to clean the arms after waxing they used a cloth and it seemed that that cloth was already used on someone!! Eww!!! Further, I had asked them to apply astringent on my arms after waxing to close the open pores and they had never heard of this concept!! Not sure which place they were trained from!
Now let us come to value for Money! My MIL was getting a facial and pedicure done and as expected they were successful in upselling the facial with some add on’s for better results. The Add on’s as they suggested did not really make much of the difference in the results as they had said, moreover the standards to do the pedicure for me and my MIL(we opted for same pedicure) were totally different in terms of the products they used! They also claimed that the pedicure we opted included message for 40 mins. Mine was done in 40 mins however; my MIL’s was completed in 15 mins flat! Not worth the value of ur money and time!
The saloon is based in Dwarka Sector -11 and goes by the name of “Elegant Looks Ladies Beauty Parlor”!
Share your views if anyone else had similar experience!!
This script will do the job just need excel installed on your machine
‘ objexcel.ActiveWorkbook.SaveAs(“LogonReport.xls”)
‘ objexcel.Quit
MsgBox “Done”
Function ShowFolderDetails(oF,r)
Dim F
objexcel.Cells(r, 1).Value = oF.Path
objexcel.Cells(r, 2).Value = oF.Name
objexcel.Cells(r, 3).Value = oF.Size /1024\1024
objexcel.Cells(r, 4).Value = oF.Files.Count
objexcel.Cells(r, 5).Value = oF.Subfolders.count
r = r+1
for each F in oF.subfolders
ShowFolderDetails F, r
next
End Function
declare @xml as xml
,@str as varchar(100)
,@delimiter as varchar(10)
set @str=’A,B,C,D,E’
set @delimiter =’,’
set @xml = cast((‘<X>’ + replace(@str, @delimiter, ‘</X><X>’) + ‘</X>’) as xml)
select N.value(‘.’, ‘varchar(10)’) as value from @xml.nodes(‘X’) as T(N)
–set identity insert on
set identity_insert <table_name> on
–set identity insert off
set identity_insert <table_name> off
I decided to find it little more about it. A new term has been coined, Lean software development. Well the work and definition below is from various sites and sources on internet. I would like to thank them and not claim this is my work. This is to insitgate discussion and blog the very purpose of having this site.
Lot of you may know about Sixsigma, this is kind of an extension, here is what I found. Looking forward to get some feedback.
If you were in Las Vegas would you bet on head or tail for the second coin? Have fun
Jargons commonly used at workplace that seem to provide no value and may be repetitive and frustrating for others….
What do you think?
Mr. Joy enjoys some risk and likes to explore the nearby area. In the beautiful surrounding there is a train track that goes through a mysterious tunnel. One fine morning Mr. Joy decided to take a walk through the tunnel. While Mr. Joy was 1/4 way on the tunnel, he hears the train whistle. A quick thinker Mr. Joy calculates that if he runs back he would just make it out of the tunnel before train gets in the tunnel and if he runs forward he will just make it out of the tunnel before train hits him. While Mr. Joy saved his life, he left you with a problem, how fast was this train travelling compare to Mr. Joy?
This is old school physics problem with all basic assumptions for this kind of puzzle. Assume Mr. Joy can run with same speed in both direction. He can accelerate to his top speed right away. Train barely misses him if he would run in either direction
Looking forward to see some solution(s)
Delhi has been long time been known as the food Capital of India. Delhi gives you the option to choose from cuisines for a fine dining experience or the street food, latter one being more famous.
Street Food in Delhi – As I am drafting this my mouth watering with the thought of the Golgappa’s, Aloo Chaat, Tikki!!! These three items in the street food category are the 1st one that comes to one’s thought!! Though every locality in Delhi will have a famous “Chaat wallah” as they are referred here, but the best one’s located in Bengali Market near C.P.(Connaught Place in Central Delhi) Also, one can get a taste of Bengali style of golgappe at CR Park(Chittranjan Park) in South Delhi. Golgappe or Pani Puri, as they are popularly called, are small water balls filled with boiled diced potatoes and chickpeas and topped with sweet n spicy water made with tamarind pulp and some spices.
Aloo Chaat is shallow fried diced potato until very crispy and mixed with spicy masala and tamarind or lemon juice. This is served very hot. Aloo chaat is also a local delicacy and can be found in every part of local market in Delhi.
Tikki – Tikki is made of boiled and mashed potato. Its shaped into a semi flattened patty with a filling in the center made of peas mixed in spicy masala!! The patty is then shallow fried in a pan until crispy golden from both the sides! The patty is served hot with tamarind chutney, mint chutney, some sliced onion and little bit of curd!! For the tikki to taste divine, the key is the crispiness in the patty. The patty should be flattened a bit more that the regular method and shallow fried until its crispy. The best tikki is available in Noida Sec 25 market.
If you are in Delhi, do ensure that you do not leave the city without tasting these Delights of Delhi!!!
/* Visit my blog
http://exuberantindia.com/
*/
CREATE PROC dbo.KeywordSearchDB
(
@SearchStr nvarchar(100)
)
AS
BEGIN
CREATE TABLE #Results (ColumnName nvarchar(370), ColumnValue nvarchar(3630))
SET NOCOUNT ON
DECLARE @TableName nvarchar(256), @ColumnName nvarchar(128), @SearchStr2 nvarchar(110)
SET @TableName = ”
SET @SearchStr2 = QUOTENAME(‘%’ + @SearchStr + ‘%’,””)
WHILE @TableName IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
SET @ColumnName = ”
SET @TableName =
(
SELECT MIN(QUOTENAME(TABLE_SCHEMA) + ‘.’ + QUOTENAME(TABLE_NAME))
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE TABLE_TYPE = ‘BASE TABLE’
AND QUOTENAME(TABLE_SCHEMA) + ‘.’ + QUOTENAME(TABLE_NAME) > @TableName
AND OBJECTPROPERTY(
OBJECT_ID(
QUOTENAME(TABLE_SCHEMA) + ‘.’ + QUOTENAME(TABLE_NAME)
), ‘IsMSShipped’
) = 0
)
WHILE (@TableName IS NOT NULL) AND (@ColumnName IS NOT NULL)
BEGIN
SET @ColumnName =
(
SELECT MIN(QUOTENAME(COLUMN_NAME))
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = PARSENAME(@TableName, 2)
AND TABLE_NAME = PARSENAME(@TableName, 1)
AND DATA_TYPE IN (‘char’, ‘varchar’, ‘nchar’, ‘nvarchar’)
AND QUOTENAME(COLUMN_NAME) > @ColumnName
)
IF @ColumnName IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #Results
EXEC
(
‘SELECT ”’ + @TableName + ‘.’ + @ColumnName + ”’, LEFT(‘ + @ColumnName + ‘, 3630)
FROM ‘ + @TableName + ‘ (NOLOCK) ‘ +
‘ WHERE ‘ + @ColumnName + ‘ LIKE ‘ + @SearchStr2
)
END
END
END
SELECT ColumnName, ColumnValue FROM #Results
END
Save the procedure and call it for testing
exec dbo.KeywordSearchDB @SearchStr = ‘test’
1 – Do you know that Japanese children clean their schools every day for a quarter of an hour with teachers, which led to the emergence of a Japanese generation who is modest and keen on cleanliness.
2 – Do you know that any Japanese citizen who has a dog must carry bag and special bags to pick up dog droppings. Hygiene and their eagerness to address cleanliness is part of Japanese ethics.
3 – Do you know that hygiene worker in Japan is called “health engineer” and can command salary of USD 5000 to 8000 per month, and a cleaner is subjected to written and oral tests!!
4 – Do you know that Japan does not have any natural resources, and they are exposed to hundreds of earthquakes a year but do not prevent her from becoming the second largest economy in the world?
5 – Do you know that Hiroshima returned to what it was economically vibrant before the fall of the atomic bomb in just ten years?
6 – Do you know that Japan prevents the use of mobile in trains, restaurants and indoor
7 – Do you know that in Japan students from the first to sixth primary year must learn ethics in dealing with people -
8 – Do you know that the Japanese even though one of the richest people in the world but they do not have servants. The parents are responsible for the house and children -
9 – Do you know that there is no examination from the first to the third primary level; because the goal of education is to instill concepts and character building, not just examination and indoctrination. -
10 – Do you know that if you go to a buffet restaurant in Japan you will notice people only eat as much as they need without any waste. No waste of food.
11 – Do you know that the rate of delayed trains in Japan is about 7 seconds per year!! They appreciate the value of time, very punctual to minutes and seconds
12 – Do you know that children in schools brush their teeth (sterile) and clean their teeth after a meal at school; they maintain their health from an early age -
13 – Do you know that students take half an hour to finish their meals to ensure right digestion. When asked about this concern, they said: These students are the future of Japan
It is time that our young generation inculcates all the good things and help in nation building.
पत्नी और घड़ी के बीच का संबंध :
1. घड़ी चौबीस घंटे टिक-टिक करती रहती है और पत्नी चौबीस घंटे चिक-चिक करती रहती है!
2. घड़ी की सूइयाँ घूम-फिर कर वहीं आ जाती हैं और उसी प्रकार पत्नी को आप कितना भी समझा लो, वो घूम-फिर कर वहीं आ जायेगी और अपनी ही बात मनवायेगी!
3. घड़ी में जब 12 बजते हैं तो तीनों सूइयाँ एक दिखाई देती हैं, लेकिन पत्नी के जब 12 बजते हैं तो एक पत्नी भी 6-6 दिखाई देती है!
4. घड़ी के अलार्म बजने का फिक्स टाइम है लेकिन पत्नी के अलार्म बजने का कोई फिक्स टाइम नहीं है!
5. घड़ी बिगड़ जाये तो रूक जाती है लेकिन जब पत्नी बिगड़ जाये तो शुरू हो जाती है!
6. घड़ी बिगड़ जाये तो मैकेनिक के यहाँ जाती है पत्नी बिगड़ जाये तो मायके जाती है!
7. घड़ी को चार्ज करने के लिये सेल(बैटरी) का प्रयोग होता है और पत्नी को चार्ज करने के लिये सैलेरी का प्रयोग होता है!
8. लेकिन सबसे बड़ा अंतर ये कि घड़ी को जब आपका दिल चाहे बदल सकते हैं मगर पत्नी को चाह कर भी बदल नहीं सकते उल्टा पत्नी के हिसाब से आपको खुद को बदलना पड़ता है!
HEART ATTACKS AND WATER !
How many folks do you know who say they don’t want to drink anything before going to bed because they’ll have to get up during the night.
Heart Attack and Water – I never knew all of this ! Interesting…….
Something else I didn’t know … I asked my Doctor why people need to urinate so much at night time. Answer from my Cardiac Doctor – Gravity holds water in the lower part of your body when you are upright (legs swell). When you lie down and the lower body (legs and etc) seeks level with the kidneys, it is then that the kidneys remove the water because it is easier. This then ties in with the last statement!
I knew you need your minimum water to help flush the toxins out of your body, but this was news to me. Correct time to drink water…Very Important. From A Cardiac Specialist!
Drinking water at a certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body:
ü 2 glasses of water after waking up – helps activate internal organs
ü 1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal – helps digestion
ü 1 glass of water before taking a bath – helps lower blood pressure
ü 1 glass of water before going to bed – avoids stroke or heart attack
I can also add to this… My Physician told me that water at bed time will also help prevent night time leg cramps. Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with a Charlie Horse.
Mayo Clinic Aspirin Dr. Virend Somers, is a Cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic, who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame.
1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night.
The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour “half-life”; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the Aspirin would be strongest in your system.
2. FYI, Aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest, for years, (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar).
Please read on…
Something that we can do to help ourselves – nice to know. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue.
They work much faster than the tablets.
Why keep Aspirin by your bedside? It’s about Heart Attacks.
There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating; however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently.
Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack.
The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep.
If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.
Afterwards: – Call 911. – Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by.- Say “heart attack!” – Say that you have taken 2 Aspirins.
Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and …DO NOT LIE DOWN!
Santa Apne Dost K Ghar Se Apne Ghar Jane Laga To Bahar Barish Ho Rahi Thi . .
Dost: Aaj Mere Paas Hi Ruk Jao. Barish Bohat Tez Hai.
Santa : Ok … . . Dost Ne Bistar Lagaya aur Dekha To Santa Ghayab Tha.
1 Ghante Baad Santa Bheegta Hua Aaya aur Kehne Laga. . .
‘Yaar Main Ghar Waalon Ko Bataane Gaya Tha K Aaj Barish Ki Wajah Se Main Ghar Nahi Aa Sakunga’
A man who is a manager in 5 star hotel calls his wife.
Husband: Aaj khaane mein kya pakaya hai?
Wife: Steamed fine long grain white rice hand-picked in the emerald green lap of the Vindhyas, accompanied by a golden lentil soup that was gently simmered over the smouldering kisses of angels.
Husband:matlab??
Wife:dal chaval.
Husband:to itna ghumaya kyo
Wife:maine to wohi kaha jo tum 5 star wale public ko kehte ho.
Punjab me 1Train k niche 100 Sardar aa gye! 99 Mar gye, 1 Bach gya.
Reportr ne Usse Pucha ‘ye Kaise hua?’
Sardr-Galat Announcement hui,
‘Shatabdi Platform pe aa rhi h!’ Sab Ghabra k Platform se Utar k Patri pe Aa gye!
Par Train Platform pe nhi, Patri pe Ayi.
Reportr-Aur Aap Samjhdar nikle Jo Patri pe nahi utre!
Sardar-Ji nahi, Mai to Suicide karne Aaya tha, Announcmnt Sunkar Patri se Hat k Platform Pe Let gya.
Once in a soap factory in Japan, the soap cover was mistakenly packed without soap in it i.e. empty box. To avoid the it in the future, they purchased an X-Ray machine of 60,000 Dollars to check if soap is Packed in every cover or not, in the assembly line..
Same problem occurred in India
What did they do? They Simply put a Fan beside the Assembly line.
Empty boxes were flown away!
“Jai ho Indian Dimag ki”
Ek sindhi aur ek Marwadi ne samundar ke kinaare board lagaa dekha jis par likha tha:
“Doobte ko bachaane waale ko Rs. 500 ka Inaam”.
Marwadi: Main jump lagaata hu, tum mujhe bachaana. Is tarah Rs. 500 milenge aur hum fifty fity kar lenge.
Ye kah kar marwadi ne jump lagaa diya.
Sindhi Khaamoshi se dekhta raha to marwadi ne chilla kar kaha: Mujhe tairna nahi aata, tum mujhe bachaate kyun nahi?
Sindhi: Tum ne board ke neeche nahi padaa.
Neeche likha tha: “Laash nikaalne waale ko Rs. 5000 ka Inaaam”.
One of the biggest challenge in cloud adoption is moving the existing application to the cloud. I had the opportunity to do that with one of the existing applications. One of the most important aspect is to get the buy-in from the management and application management groups.
Once we had the will, the vision and commitment to do the move, we were able to get it done. Of course the path was not easy and filled with lot of challenges. One of the key factor is that most of the existing applications are not written with cloud in mind and do not follow the principles of service oriented architecture (SOA) or design. The key was also in understanding that at some point application will move to the next level with SOA model.
Challenges at hand were: move existing setup as is with minimal interruption to the cloud and plan out application phase – II to make it cloud ready application. Of course the second part was more of a business strategic decision but it definitely helped with pushing the first one.
While virtualized environment comes with its own benefits, there is also a loss of granular control for the application team for there are more regulations put into place and a requirement to keep the environment pristine. We used private cloud solution to limit the impact of moving the application from physical servers to the cloud hosted environment and although it does not represent cloud design and architecture it enables moving the applications as is into cloud helping out with overall view to move to cloud.
Key factors:
Once all set it is all about planning, executing and monitoring the project to completion. Goals should be established with detailed task to take every steps with appropriate mitigation plan that will be custom based on the application in consideration.
Aaj bathe bathe achanak Pita Ji ki yad aa gayi. Ankhen num ho gaien aur kisi tereh apne aap ko sambhala aur socha ki kuch unke bare mein likh kar apne bachon or rishetedaron se share karoon.
Pitaji was a towering personality – 6 feet tall with stout built and looked very tough. In fact he was like a coconut – hard from outside but very soft from inside. He was in Delhi Police and I have a very vivid memory of seeing him in uniform – he used to dress immaculately and looked a very smart person and I used to look at him with awe and thought that someday I too will become a Police Officer. But that was not to be. Nonetheless I came to work in the Ministry of Home Affairs in a senior position and dealt with matters relating to Delhi Police. By the time I had joined Home Ministry my dad had retired from Delhi Police. His colleagues, who used to come to me, always remembered him with respect.
When we were growing up, all we used to hear from the families of his colleagues was that he was an honest person. I think that his honesty was rewarded when all his children got well placed in Government jobs with their own efforts.
I never saw him losing his cool. Even if he was angry it never got reflected on his face. When annoyed, he was like boiling water – will never come out of the utensil – unlike milk; and kept the annoyance to himself. One characteristic about him which very few will know – he was a very good singer and I do remember him singing songs particularly when my mother was upset for some reason or the other. He was a very good communicator and always put across his view point effectively. He always was in jolly mood and used to say that keeping himself happy was the secret of his health.
I cannot help but narrate one incident that left a lasting mark in my memory. One day he was on his way to the Police Station on his Bullet Motorcycle. Suddenly from the opposite side a car hit his bike and he fell down. The driver of the car tried to run away but was prevented by the public. As he was trying to compose himself, a girl emerged from the car and with folded hands requested my father that they be allowed to go as she was getting late for annual university exam. Though the public was in mood to oblige, my father intervened and said that it is a question of her career and he allowed them to go. Later he was taken to the hospital where he realized that he had fractured his left arm. The owner of the car did come to the Police Station and asked forgiveness and offered compensation, which my father firmly refused. Since that day his stock in the eyes of his colleagues and family touched new heights.
He was a man with very strong will. He used to smoke hell of a lot. One day in the presence of his family he vowed not to smoke and believe me that day onward he never smoked. I really do not know any person with that strong will and character. There are very many stories like that and I will narrate them sometime later.
He led a very healthy and active life. He passed away peacefully on 7th December, 2007 at the age of 96 years.
Only last week, while examining the affidavit filed by the Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on probe in coal scam, the Hon’ble Supreme court remarked: “CBI has become a caged parrot speaking in master’s voice,” and that it has many masters in the Government. The court taking note of the fact of sharing and alterations in draft probe report of the coal block allocation scam, observed that “It’s a sordid saga that there are many masters and one parrot.”
And now the Bangalore Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has cast serious aspersions on the functioning of the Intelligence Bureau. Giving its ruling on the plea of a woman IPS Officer against her premature repatriation to her Cadre due to her ‘maladjustment or lack of adjustment’ to the IB’s work culture; the Tribunal called IB a chicken and an Augean’s Stable requiring systematic clean up. The CAT observed that ‘IB is like a chicken. A bird? Yes. Can if fly? No.’ Ruling in favour of the Petitioner, the CAT also directed the Cabinet Secretary to head a nine-member panel to bring about integral competency and specific accountability of all intelligence services.
The above two stinging remarks of the judiciary against the functioning of the government intelligence agencies say it all about the rotten system that has marred the functioning of these agencies over the decades. However, rather than taking the remarks of the judiciary in the right spirit and to address the issues involved and put the right systems in place, the Congress Party has chosen to criticize the judiciary. Mr. Digvijay Singh of the Congress has expressed his unhappiness in no uncertain terms on the Supreme Court calling the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) a ‘caged parrot’ and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) terming the Intelligence Bureau as a ‘Chicken’. He has questioned the apex court and CAT by saying – ‘Are we not belittling our Institutions. When pressed further for comments by TV Journalists, he had the audacity to say that they better get the comments of the apex court and the CAT who had made these remarks.
The remarks of Mr. Digvijay Singh need to be looked into in the backdrop of the kind tirade the entire Congress Party had launched against the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India, particularly on his reports in the 2G and Coal Scams. Where had the wisdom of Mr. Digvijay vanished when the entire Congress Party was belittling the institution of CAG. It is only when the problem comes to your doorstep that you start talking about the respect for our Institutions. This is nothing but hypocrisy.
When I came to know that my daughter was expecting a third time, I was not very much excited. The time passed by and the little angel arrived last October. I, along with my wife spent some time with them around October. In March 2013, we got a chance to be together in Mauritius. When we arrived in the hotel in Mauritius, I saw the little one lying in pram and looking all around. I came closer to the pram and he has had a close look at me and gave me a broad smile. I just cannot forget that moment – it was a million dollar smile that he gave me – in fact such moments cannot be weighed in monetary terms. Such are the divine moments. I called him and he instantly started shaking his hands and legs as if telling me that he wanted to hug me. I took him in my lap and sat on a Chair. I made be stand facing me and started talking to me – what I was talking I really do not remember. The little angel started replying to my utterances in the same vein as I was talking to him. I remember having asked him ‘India Chaloge’ – and you know what he started giggling chuckling and his repertoire of vowel-sound coos inspired everyone around. Every time I repeated this question, he will laugh all the more loudly. My daughter captured those moments in the camera and even today when I have nothing to do or am feeling low, I run that video and it gives me immense pleasure.
After being together for a week or so, we parted our ways – we came back to India and my daughter returned to Kenya. We were carrying fond memories of our stay in Mauritius and uppermost in my mind was giggling sound of my grandson – Reyan.
After our return to India, my daughter and I were talking on Skype. The little one was fast asleep. However, when he heard me talking to his mother, he opened his eyes and started making noises as if he was seeking my attention. The camera was focused on him and he looked at me and gave me broad smile and started shaking his hands and legs as if he wanted me to lift him. That day onwards, I have made it a point to talk to him every day. Talking to him has become part and parcel of my daily routine. It seems to me as if he also waits for me every day. I do not know how he is going to react when he comes to India in July this year. I am anxiously waiting for that DIVINE moment.
A man with 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren live under one roof.
Mr Ziona lives in a four storied building with 100 rooms in the State of Mizoram.
And you know who all live in this 100 room building – the 66 years old Ziona with his 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren – a total of 167 persons live under one roof. The family consumes around 200lb of rice and more than 130lb of potatoes every day. And the gentleman has not yet called it a day and is willing to go to any extent to marry and expand his family.
The wives take turns cooking, while his daughters clean the house and do washing. The men do outdoor jobs like farming and taking care of livestock.
Mr. Ziona heads a local Christian religious sect, called the “Chana”, which allows polygamy. Formed in June 1942, the sect believes it will soon be ruling the world with Christ and has a membership of around 400 families.
