Hmmm, here goes another one...my passport came out without a surname inspite of me giving all first middle and last names! Turns out that you need to write them out in new lines for them to understand that these names are seperate!
Anyways, if you don't have a surname mentioned, your whole name would be taken as a surname while processing your US visa and your First name will be a nice FNU (sounds pretty cool huh? It actually means First Name Unknown) and you will have problems getting a license or SSN in US-so better fix it before you come here.
Well as you might have guessed, the Indian passport authorities dont make it easy for you to get that done. But if you follow some simple guidelines it is pretty easy to get it, and DON'T RELY ON ANY AGENTS unless you know them personally or through a trusted friend that they indeed are reliable.
1. Get your passport and two of the forms available on http://passport.gov.in/cpv/Forms.htm. You will need Form No. 2 and PP Form. Fill these out completely.
2. Go early in the morning (around 6.30-7am-earlier the better) to the Passport office. The token counter opens at 8am, but the queue begins to form at 5am I think (I haven't figured this out I went on three days-7am, then at 6.30am and finally at 5.45am and the queue was long all three times:(). Also stand in the right queue for Miscellaneous services.
3. At the counter they verify that you filled the forms and look at your passport before giving you a token that has a number and a time mentioned, you can go home now and come back about 15 minutes before the time mentioned.
4. If you are applying for a name change you might need an affidavit from a notary public, there would a bunch of jobless notaries with offices close to the PP office, you can get one from them. I gave my forms to a trusted agent and he got me the notary public signed document stating my name was actually so-and-so and was incorrectly mentioned so-and-so.
5. Also you will need an address proof if you are applying from a different address (my passport was issued in Chennai and I was applying from Hyderabad)-ration card, telephone bill, bank statement from a nationalized bank-any of these would do.
6. Get into the office (finally you have some air-conditioning!!!). Wait for your turn in your line and along the way put all your forms into a folder they give you (they wont accept it unless it is all neatly pinned up into that folder).
7. At last...your turn comes...make sure you explain everything clearly to the person at the counter and get an estimate of when to expect the passport. Mention it here if you want tatkal.
8. Now go and wait in another queue for paying the fee, if you want it back in two days, use Tatkal (I did)-the fee is 2500 for Tatkal. Pay it and get the receipt.
9. Go home sleep well for the next two days and go back to the passport office around 4pm on the second day and wait in another hall where they call out names one by one and hand out the new passport (if this is Tatkal, else it will be couriered to your address in a week or two).
Hope this helps someone out there have a better experience than what I had!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Getting an NOC in AP
Today I had to get an NOC to transfer my bike from AP to Tamilnadu and thought I would put down the process for the benefit of those who might have to do it...
1. Make sure your insurance, RC book, pollution certificate and license are in order.
2. Go to the nearest e-Seva counter and get something called a Police Commissioner form (cost Rs. 10).
3. Fill the form completely and give the number of two of your friends or relatives who can vouch for you (they will call these numbers to verify the details)-make sure those friends know about this and don't end up disowning you when the call comes:). Mention the name of your nearest police station-those guys will be ones to give you clearance.
4. Attach xerox copies of your license and RC book and take it to an e-Seva counter, hand over the form and get a receipt. (Cost: Rs. 200).
5. In two days time, you will get a call from the police station asking you to bring the original RC book and the vehicle. Get these to the police station and they will ask you to fill another form-then give you the clearance (Cost: supposed to be zero, but could be something propotionate to your negotiation skills:)).
6. Finally take this form to the commissioner office (Lakdi ka Pul in Hyderabad) and hand them over (here vehicle is not needed). They will make you wait for ten minutes and finally give you the NOC:) and you drive happily ever after!!
1. Make sure your insurance, RC book, pollution certificate and license are in order.
2. Go to the nearest e-Seva counter and get something called a Police Commissioner form (cost Rs. 10).
3. Fill the form completely and give the number of two of your friends or relatives who can vouch for you (they will call these numbers to verify the details)-make sure those friends know about this and don't end up disowning you when the call comes:). Mention the name of your nearest police station-those guys will be ones to give you clearance.
4. Attach xerox copies of your license and RC book and take it to an e-Seva counter, hand over the form and get a receipt. (Cost: Rs. 200).
5. In two days time, you will get a call from the police station asking you to bring the original RC book and the vehicle. Get these to the police station and they will ask you to fill another form-then give you the clearance (Cost: supposed to be zero, but could be something propotionate to your negotiation skills:)).
6. Finally take this form to the commissioner office (Lakdi ka Pul in Hyderabad) and hand them over (here vehicle is not needed). They will make you wait for ten minutes and finally give you the NOC:) and you drive happily ever after!!
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
A brand new year!
Happy new year to all of you...while everyday could be a new start, a new year does give us the feel of a fresh start doesn't it?:).....just for the record I was sound asleep on the train from Kolkata to Hyderabad as the new year dawned in India. While the journey from Hyd-Kolkata by train is a bit tiring it is worth every bit of it for the awesome views as the train passes through Orissa and West Bengal lush green fields, the amazingly huge (but dry) Mahanadi river, and on the return journey some different views of Orissa, a lake just about a km away from the train extending into the infinite blue sky...reminded me of a song from a Maniratnam movie...great views.
As for other news, just before new year we had to witness the hanging of a dictator. Though the mind tells us that this fellow has committed so many crimes that make us shudder just to think of them...still seeing the frail old man getting the noose around his neck and the look on his face..the shiver on imagining what must be going through the man's mind those very moments, it is indeed difficult to come to terms with one human's right to end the life of another. Still my mother's final statement on the issue settled things right for me-"Vaikunda egadasi annikku thookula pottirukka da...nera sorgathukku thaan poga poraan paru:)." ("He has been hanged on Vaikunda Egadasi-day of opening of heaven's doors in Indian mythology-definitely he is on his way to heaven."
As for other news, just before new year we had to witness the hanging of a dictator. Though the mind tells us that this fellow has committed so many crimes that make us shudder just to think of them...still seeing the frail old man getting the noose around his neck and the look on his face..the shiver on imagining what must be going through the man's mind those very moments, it is indeed difficult to come to terms with one human's right to end the life of another. Still my mother's final statement on the issue settled things right for me-"Vaikunda egadasi annikku thookula pottirukka da...nera sorgathukku thaan poga poraan paru:)." ("He has been hanged on Vaikunda Egadasi-day of opening of heaven's doors in Indian mythology-definitely he is on his way to heaven."
Monday, September 25, 2006
Crass Marketing....
"Thank You Aunty...Thank You Uncle"-rings the sweet voice of a kid when a lady picks up a Saffola (hope I got the name right) oil packet, and the announcer declares that for every packet of Saffola bought the company would donate a rupee to Children's Heart surgery. Somehow I was revolted by the idea of selling a product on a sentimental value instead of any value-add to the customer. It was like saying, if you pick up any other brand you would be ignoring the voices of these children. If the company wants to do charity it should go ahead and do it. It is very cheap to make charity a selling point! Also I firmly beleive that any product should be sold on the strength of its value to the customer, and the differentiation it offers from other brands...but this add never talks about any of that...it just says you buy our oil and we will do charity in your name. Disgusting.
Then again there are those who argue that there are a hundreds of companies which do nothing about charity, atleast here is one which is trying to help and wants to make a buck on the way so it could be a win-win. I still cannot buy that argument.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
The Toy House stole my heart!
It is difficult to watch a Telugu movie. Not because of the loud noise that is so characteristic of every song, not because of the songs with damsels in multi-colored apparels dancing around a rotund hero, not even because of the antics the hero attempts (supported by some really poor graphics)-but mainly because the characters in the movie are all so forgettable-noone quite sticks to you once you are out of the theater! Ofcourse I do not claim to be an expert in Telugu movies nor do I decree that every Telugu movie is of the same genre, lets say all Telugu movies that I have watched fell in this category-until this one!
I jumped at the chance to watch "Bommarillu" (approximately meaning Toy House or கொலு in Tamil) simply because I was tired and wanted to let my brain go numb for a while-what better recipe to do that than a Telugu movie! Boy was I mistaken! The movie held me in rapt attention right from the word Go. "Love makes life beautiful"-is the caption of the movie and the director, Genelia PrakashRaj and Sidharth really make the movie beautiful.
I will not reveal the story here-but it is about a boy who reels under his strict father and lives a double life, playing the obedient son at home and being ranting rebel outside. Enter Genelia, who wins him over with her innocence. and the same innocence is so repulsive to Sidharth's 'obedient' side. Who wins in the end and how is told in a very interesting sequence of events!
Genelia, fills the screen with her presence. That the director could have conceived such a character and brought her alive with Gene is so amazing. For the first time we really see what a talented actress she is. Picture of innocence, then a bundle of emotions (one scene where she breaks up with Sidharth, she dominates the audience totally!). Prakash Raj is setting new standards with every movie! Very few actors are endowed with such incredible natural reactions, you just love this fellow for the ease with which he plays the role! Sidharth too plays a very mature role and peaks in climax.
Now coming to the real reason for this post-Hasini (Genelia), WoW what a character! You really have to see her to beleive it. Such a bubbly charm, such a child-like innocence, such unbeleivable straight-forwardness! She is called "Bommarillu" in a song and this toy house really stole my heart!
I jumped at the chance to watch "Bommarillu" (approximately meaning Toy House or கொலு in Tamil) simply because I was tired and wanted to let my brain go numb for a while-what better recipe to do that than a Telugu movie! Boy was I mistaken! The movie held me in rapt attention right from the word Go. "Love makes life beautiful"-is the caption of the movie and the director, Genelia PrakashRaj and Sidharth really make the movie beautiful.
I will not reveal the story here-but it is about a boy who reels under his strict father and lives a double life, playing the obedient son at home and being ranting rebel outside. Enter Genelia, who wins him over with her innocence. and the same innocence is so repulsive to Sidharth's 'obedient' side. Who wins in the end and how is told in a very interesting sequence of events!
Genelia, fills the screen with her presence. That the director could have conceived such a character and brought her alive with Gene is so amazing. For the first time we really see what a talented actress she is. Picture of innocence, then a bundle of emotions (one scene where she breaks up with Sidharth, she dominates the audience totally!). Prakash Raj is setting new standards with every movie! Very few actors are endowed with such incredible natural reactions, you just love this fellow for the ease with which he plays the role! Sidharth too plays a very mature role and peaks in climax.
Now coming to the real reason for this post-Hasini (Genelia), WoW what a character! You really have to see her to beleive it. Such a bubbly charm, such a child-like innocence, such unbeleivable straight-forwardness! She is called "Bommarillu" in a song and this toy house really stole my heart!
Friday, August 4, 2006
The Trip
Bala was anxious to get home. He was returning from his first trip away from parents and was so anxious to tell amma all about it.
Bala was in fifth standard, apple of his mother’s eye, average in studies, a bit below average in sports, but with a gentle heart that drew all his classmates and even many seniors to him naturally. His circle of friends was pretty big so to say and every cricket match, every school excursion, every gathering of debaters on topics ranging from the nagging social teacher to practical solutions for Indo-Pak problems, would include Bala. So it was one of these friends from a senior batch who decided that they would go on a tour to Kodaikanal for two days over a weekend. Bala of course was included in the plans by default and he too went along without worrying too much about how exactly he was going to convince his parents for this.
Father wouldn’t hear about it-“Bala, you can go anywhere when you a bit elder, not now. You can’t manage on your own for two days! I will take you to Tirupparankunram instead this weekend.”
It was his amma who helped him out here-“We can go to Tirupparankunram any day. Kodaikkanal is beautiful this time of the year and it is just 5 hours from here. Also you can give him your cellphone for the two days. I know Vignesh very well; he told me his father has arranged accommodation at his own guest house. How else will he learn to be independent?” His father shook his head observing Bala closely as if wondering how a kid so diminutive in size could be let go so far away from sight. But amma always had a way of reasoning with father which he could never refuse. And so it was decided after a lot of debate that Bala was to go to Kodaikkanal.
“Give him food for the journey and enough money to purchase a return ticket. Don’t put all the money in one pocket, he might lose it. Distribute it in the bag purse and shirt pocket and you, Bala, don’t go spending like crazy I want you to keep an account of how much you spend and where. Call me once you reach there and again call us in the night from the cellphone. Keep the cell safe in your pant pocket; don’t drop it from the top of the mountain!”-Father was now giving instructions to Amma and Bala as she packed three sets of dresses in two neat layers in his suitcase-his own suitcase-Bala felt such elation when his father gave him the black suitcase and said with a smile-“Keep this suitcase for yourself from now on wherever we go.”
“Don’t worry pa, Bala will be a good boy, wont you Bala?” she asked with the twinkle in her eyes that Bala loved so much!
“Of course amma!”
And off he went to the tour and now as the van was entering the foothills near the village called Vathalagundu, he felt the blast of hot air for the first time in the last two days! “Why cant the whole world be like Kodaikkanal, whoever asked God to make sunlight so hot!”
Slowly his thoughts wandered to the conversation with his amma that was going to take place in a few hours. He always enjoyed talking to her. Every time he told her something, she would really listen, comment at appropriate places and ask the right questions. He would never feel the day complete without telling her all the stories that happened in school. He often wondered how she always found his stories interesting while father either asked him questions that made him uncomfortable or was too tired from work to listen to him, but that’s what fathers are meant to do he told himself, work all day at office, take him out on weekends and decide on important matters. Amma was different though, she was meant to listen to his stories, feed him at the right time and plead with him when the curry was not one among his favorites and of course sing lullabies at night.
Now he was having an internal conversation with her in his mind, deciding on what things he would tell her. He cried both nights missing her lullabies, but he wouldn’t tell her that. Also he would let go the parts where he went boating on the lake in spite of father’s stern warnings not to do it. He visited so many places-he had noted down the names so he would remember later. Vignesh and other seniors, though almost ten years elder to him were so kind and helpful. The bathroom in the guest house was not that great though, maybe they didn’t use the pungent liquid amma used every week to clean them at home.
However there was one thing that he had to tell her, in fact that had happened just a few minutes before and he felt as though he would never forget it for a long time, at least not till he heard his mother’s reaction to it. “How could they do such a thing!”-he told himself.
On reaching home, Bala flung the suitcase over the sofa and went inside shouting “Amma, I’m home!”
Amma came rushing out of the kitchen and hugged him-“Oh baby, I was so worried about you all the time da kutty. How was the trip?”
“Great ma, I missed you though, so much that I cried in the night. Next time we will go together ma.”-in the hugs, fighting tears all along, Bala had let it slip, but he didn’t care now.
“So come first and have something to eat. You have become so lean in two days.” Bala couldn’t remember having been fat anytime to become lean now, but of course if Amma said it, he thought he must indeed have become leaner.
Now, happily settled in her lap while she fed him the small bits of Dosa dipped in coconut chutney, Bala regained his cheer and started on the stories. Amma listened to it, all the while making sure at least two pieces of Dosa went in with each story and adding Dosas to the plate almost magically without Bala knowing it.
“Amma something very bad happened when we were coming back. We were traveling in a big van like the one Somu uncle has, what do they call it?”
“Tata Sumo?”
“Yes, that was the one, initially we five people climbed into it and there was a small boy sitting in the backseat. The poor boy didn’t even have proper clothes to wear ma. Then as we were going along, the driver let more people in and now we were eight people. And now the driver tried telling something to the kid and then I realized that he was deaf and dumb ma. I felt so sad! Now the driver wanted to add one more passenger and he asked the boy to go outside and stand on the steps to the backseat holding the extra tire they have-what is that called?”
“Stepney?”
“Ha yes, he was hanging on the stepney ma, all the while when we were climbing down. It was so cold outside but the driver didn’t seem to be bothered about it. At every bend the boy let out a muffled scream, and one lady sitting next to me was actually laughing at it! Then came the worst part, there was a car following us and one guy from that car actually started waving and making signs to this boy who was hanging from a car at this height! And this boy was so excited and he was waving back and responding to it while the passengers of that car were laughing. How could they do it ma? I felt so bad; in fact all the while I was praying to Ganesha that he shouldn’t fall down. I just couldn’t do anything else ma…”-now he was almost on the verge of tears.
Even Amma was so moved she had almost stopped feeding Dosa.
“Its ok da kutty. Things like this do happen” she said finally. But Bala was not convinced. “Could I have done something ma?” She thought for a while and said-“Nothing da, you did the right thing praying for the kid”. But Bala persisted “Really?”
After a long pensive pause she said-“Maybe Bala you could have told the driver and Vignesh anna you will not come in the van if they didn’t let the boy inside. But you are a small boy now right? When you become bigger and stronger you can tell the driver that he is doing a wrong thing and make him get the boy inside.”
“Hmm…” Bala said “That is what even I thought ma, if I were a bigger boy I would have fought with the driver right there.”
“I know da kutty...”
Suddenly Bala’s face brightened-“You know what ma, the driver stopped the van for tea and snacks at Vathalagundu, and some people got off the car, so he let the boy in the backseat again. And I used up all my pocket money to buy chocolates and biscuits and gave them all to the boy ma.”
“That’s my sweet boy! How thoughtful of you!!” and she gave him the affectionate kiss on the cheek that he always yearned to earn from her and went into the kitchen to drop the dishes.
Bala sat lost in the warmth of the hug and kiss before he remembered something and off he went saying-“I am going out to play cricket now ma, Ravi will be waiting for me…”
Bala was in fifth standard, apple of his mother’s eye, average in studies, a bit below average in sports, but with a gentle heart that drew all his classmates and even many seniors to him naturally. His circle of friends was pretty big so to say and every cricket match, every school excursion, every gathering of debaters on topics ranging from the nagging social teacher to practical solutions for Indo-Pak problems, would include Bala. So it was one of these friends from a senior batch who decided that they would go on a tour to Kodaikanal for two days over a weekend. Bala of course was included in the plans by default and he too went along without worrying too much about how exactly he was going to convince his parents for this.
Father wouldn’t hear about it-“Bala, you can go anywhere when you a bit elder, not now. You can’t manage on your own for two days! I will take you to Tirupparankunram instead this weekend.”
It was his amma who helped him out here-“We can go to Tirupparankunram any day. Kodaikkanal is beautiful this time of the year and it is just 5 hours from here. Also you can give him your cellphone for the two days. I know Vignesh very well; he told me his father has arranged accommodation at his own guest house. How else will he learn to be independent?” His father shook his head observing Bala closely as if wondering how a kid so diminutive in size could be let go so far away from sight. But amma always had a way of reasoning with father which he could never refuse. And so it was decided after a lot of debate that Bala was to go to Kodaikkanal.
“Give him food for the journey and enough money to purchase a return ticket. Don’t put all the money in one pocket, he might lose it. Distribute it in the bag purse and shirt pocket and you, Bala, don’t go spending like crazy I want you to keep an account of how much you spend and where. Call me once you reach there and again call us in the night from the cellphone. Keep the cell safe in your pant pocket; don’t drop it from the top of the mountain!”-Father was now giving instructions to Amma and Bala as she packed three sets of dresses in two neat layers in his suitcase-his own suitcase-Bala felt such elation when his father gave him the black suitcase and said with a smile-“Keep this suitcase for yourself from now on wherever we go.”
“Don’t worry pa, Bala will be a good boy, wont you Bala?” she asked with the twinkle in her eyes that Bala loved so much!
“Of course amma!”
And off he went to the tour and now as the van was entering the foothills near the village called Vathalagundu, he felt the blast of hot air for the first time in the last two days! “Why cant the whole world be like Kodaikkanal, whoever asked God to make sunlight so hot!”
Slowly his thoughts wandered to the conversation with his amma that was going to take place in a few hours. He always enjoyed talking to her. Every time he told her something, she would really listen, comment at appropriate places and ask the right questions. He would never feel the day complete without telling her all the stories that happened in school. He often wondered how she always found his stories interesting while father either asked him questions that made him uncomfortable or was too tired from work to listen to him, but that’s what fathers are meant to do he told himself, work all day at office, take him out on weekends and decide on important matters. Amma was different though, she was meant to listen to his stories, feed him at the right time and plead with him when the curry was not one among his favorites and of course sing lullabies at night.
Now he was having an internal conversation with her in his mind, deciding on what things he would tell her. He cried both nights missing her lullabies, but he wouldn’t tell her that. Also he would let go the parts where he went boating on the lake in spite of father’s stern warnings not to do it. He visited so many places-he had noted down the names so he would remember later. Vignesh and other seniors, though almost ten years elder to him were so kind and helpful. The bathroom in the guest house was not that great though, maybe they didn’t use the pungent liquid amma used every week to clean them at home.
However there was one thing that he had to tell her, in fact that had happened just a few minutes before and he felt as though he would never forget it for a long time, at least not till he heard his mother’s reaction to it. “How could they do such a thing!”-he told himself.
On reaching home, Bala flung the suitcase over the sofa and went inside shouting “Amma, I’m home!”
Amma came rushing out of the kitchen and hugged him-“Oh baby, I was so worried about you all the time da kutty. How was the trip?”
“Great ma, I missed you though, so much that I cried in the night. Next time we will go together ma.”-in the hugs, fighting tears all along, Bala had let it slip, but he didn’t care now.
“So come first and have something to eat. You have become so lean in two days.” Bala couldn’t remember having been fat anytime to become lean now, but of course if Amma said it, he thought he must indeed have become leaner.
Now, happily settled in her lap while she fed him the small bits of Dosa dipped in coconut chutney, Bala regained his cheer and started on the stories. Amma listened to it, all the while making sure at least two pieces of Dosa went in with each story and adding Dosas to the plate almost magically without Bala knowing it.
“Amma something very bad happened when we were coming back. We were traveling in a big van like the one Somu uncle has, what do they call it?”
“Tata Sumo?”
“Yes, that was the one, initially we five people climbed into it and there was a small boy sitting in the backseat. The poor boy didn’t even have proper clothes to wear ma. Then as we were going along, the driver let more people in and now we were eight people. And now the driver tried telling something to the kid and then I realized that he was deaf and dumb ma. I felt so sad! Now the driver wanted to add one more passenger and he asked the boy to go outside and stand on the steps to the backseat holding the extra tire they have-what is that called?”
“Stepney?”
“Ha yes, he was hanging on the stepney ma, all the while when we were climbing down. It was so cold outside but the driver didn’t seem to be bothered about it. At every bend the boy let out a muffled scream, and one lady sitting next to me was actually laughing at it! Then came the worst part, there was a car following us and one guy from that car actually started waving and making signs to this boy who was hanging from a car at this height! And this boy was so excited and he was waving back and responding to it while the passengers of that car were laughing. How could they do it ma? I felt so bad; in fact all the while I was praying to Ganesha that he shouldn’t fall down. I just couldn’t do anything else ma…”-now he was almost on the verge of tears.
Even Amma was so moved she had almost stopped feeding Dosa.
“Its ok da kutty. Things like this do happen” she said finally. But Bala was not convinced. “Could I have done something ma?” She thought for a while and said-“Nothing da, you did the right thing praying for the kid”. But Bala persisted “Really?”
After a long pensive pause she said-“Maybe Bala you could have told the driver and Vignesh anna you will not come in the van if they didn’t let the boy inside. But you are a small boy now right? When you become bigger and stronger you can tell the driver that he is doing a wrong thing and make him get the boy inside.”
“Hmm…” Bala said “That is what even I thought ma, if I were a bigger boy I would have fought with the driver right there.”
“I know da kutty...”
Suddenly Bala’s face brightened-“You know what ma, the driver stopped the van for tea and snacks at Vathalagundu, and some people got off the car, so he let the boy in the backseat again. And I used up all my pocket money to buy chocolates and biscuits and gave them all to the boy ma.”
“That’s my sweet boy! How thoughtful of you!!” and she gave him the affectionate kiss on the cheek that he always yearned to earn from her and went into the kitchen to drop the dishes.
Bala sat lost in the warmth of the hug and kiss before he remembered something and off he went saying-“I am going out to play cricket now ma, Ravi will be waiting for me…”
Monday, July 31, 2006
Lebanon-A lesson in Nuclear Politics
I used to really doubt whether a nation really needed a nuclear arsenal, I believed that the Pokhran explosions and the subsequent minimum deterrent we built were unnecessary provocations. But now I think I understand the dangers of being or atleast appearing weak. The continuous bombing in Lebanon by Israel with scant regard to human life is a case to the point, had Lebanon been a nuclear power the equations would be vastly differen!
Undoubtedly anyone who has followed the events of the past weeks would agree that Israel has defied every international convention with complete impunity. But why? Because they are strong, because they have the US president wagging his tail in their courtyard, I am not mincing words here, the US has done absolutely NOTHING to prevent this from happening, they send Ms. Rice over, but not to press Israel for a ceasefire because they know Israelites wouldn’t listen, but to bulldoze Lebanese government into reigning in Hezbollah. And understandably she has failed. It is undeniable that Hezbollah is a major threat to the region and its act of mounting attack on Israeli territory was nothing short of declaration of war. But that just doesn’t give Israel the right to bomb civilians indiscriminately with the hope of terrorizing Hezbollah into surrender and as an added benefit show other nations including Syria and Palestine who the boss of Middle-East is.
They have killed UN observers, women and children and the heart-rendering scenes brought from Lebanon speak volumes of how low a nation can stoop!
One of the offshoots of this war (which would not be apparent in the immediate future) will be the mass recruitment of the survivors of this tragedy, into terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. Infact reports from South Lebanon talk about how Hezbollah is working to provide relief for the civilians.
I am not half as enraged by Israel as I am by the United States of America, Mr. Bush, who goes around the world talking of bringing lasting peace to Middle East, has done nothing but watch from the sidelines. This war has exposed the double standards that he adopts when the “terrorists” are not some Islamic fundamentalists hiding in caves, but bomber aircrafts from Jerusalem blazing the sky killing innocent civilians! His reaction to yesterday’s bombing in Quana village (killing 37 children among 57 civilians) is classic, does our joker call for complete ceasefire and cessation of Israeli hostilities? Nope, all he says is-"(Yesterday's) actions in the Middle East remind us that the United States and friends and allies must work for sustainable peace," The Middle-East would be better-off if you go back to fending cattle in your Texan ranch Mr.Bush!
All we can do is pray for the people of Lebanon, who through no fault of theirs are held up in such a treacherous impasse! May there be peace in middle-east!!
PS: As I am publishing this I see news feeds that Israel is continuing its air-strikes despite the “two-day ceasefire” it had declared for civilians to flee, thanks to a loop-hole in their commitment-so much for human life!
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