Monday, April 12, 2010
64bit ODBC Driver
Run SQL Job from website on 64bit machine
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Tuesday, April 06, 2010
SSIS Package on 64 bit machine
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Your riot was worse than mine
| When double standards take charge, it is the victims of communal violence who suffer, be they the Sikhs of Delhi, the Muslims of Gujarat or the Pandits of Kashmir. |
India's polity has an unerring taste for the irrelevant. That is why the controversy over a sitting Chief Minister being summoned to answer questions about mass murder has made way for an unseemly debate about the morality of an ageing actor. After his embarrassing, nine-hour appearance before the Special Investigation Team, one would have thought Narendra Modi presented a large enough target. Instead, the Congress has chosen to launch a full-throated campaign against Amitabh Bachchan for choosing to become a brand ambassador for tourism in Mr. Modi's State. The party has accused the Bollywood superstar of being indifferent to allegations of State complicity in the massacre of Muslims which took place there in 2002. And it has started boycotting him in a manner that is as crude and mean-spirited as it is ineffective and pointless. Thanks to this, the mass media are today discussing Big B rather than the Little Men whose role the SIT is now investigating.
As can be expected, the Gujarat Chief Minister is thrilled. The spotlight which was earlier on him is now being trained elsewhere. Instead of being forced to rally others to his own defence, Mr. Modi has happily mounted the barricades on behalf of Mr. Bachchan. In keeping with his party's fondness for technology and Islamophobia, he has blogged that the actor's critics are ‘Talibans of untouchability'.
If Mr. Bachchan is guilty of overlooking mass violence today, it is because equally illustrious gentlemen, including some industrialists, did the same when they declared Mr. Modi prime ministerial material. For that matter, the actor himself has done this sort of thing before. In his movies, Mr. Bachchan was a crusader for the underdog. In real life, he is attracted to the kind of powerful men he once fought on the big screen. His fans have a right to feel cheated. Political parties, especially the Congress, do not have that right.
The party finds fault with him for representing Gujarat in the wake of 2002. But in 1984, barely weeks after the blood in the streets of Delhi had dried, the actor accepted a Congress ticket for Allahabad and got elected to Parliament. “As a brand ambassador does he endorse or condemn the mass murder in Gujarat?” Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari asked the other day, adding: “It is high time Amitabh Bachchan came out and said what his position on [the] Gujarat riots is.” Despite the party having ‘apologised' for its role in the massacre of Sikhs following Indira Gandhi's assassination, I doubt Mr. Tiwari or any other Congress spokesman will ever ask Mr. Bachchan what his position on the Delhi riots was or is.
But if the Congress prefers to forget the history of 1984, the BJP and its leaders act as if history ended that year. In their telling, 2002 either didn't happen or pales in comparison with what preceded it. And so begins the sordid exercise of weighing the suffering of victims and, worse, of playing the plight of one set against another. Mention the suffering of the Muslims of Gujarat and the BJP will start talking about the plight of the Pandits, driven by terrorism from their homes in the Kashmir Valley in 1989 and 1990. Try talking about the injustice done to the Sikhs of Delhi and the Congress will insist on speaking only of Gujarat. And the minute the microphones in the studio are switched off, the politicians are quite happy to forget about the shared travails of all victims.
The reality is that the Delhi and Gujarat massacres are part of the same excavated site, an integral part of the archaeology of the Indian state. Eighteen years separate 2002 from 1984. Eighteen is normally the age a human being is considered to have become an adult. Inhumanity also seems to take 18 years to fully mature. In an act of conception which lasted four bloody days, something inhuman was spawned on the streets of Delhi in 1984; by 2002, it had fully matured. Paternity for the ‘riot system' belongs to both the Congress and the BJP, even if the sangh parivar managed to improve upon the technologies of mass violence. Both knew how to mobilise mobs. Both knew how to get the police to turn the other way. Both knew how to fix criminal cases. Both knew what language to speak, even if one set of leaders spoke of a ‘big tree falling' and the other paraphrased Newton. Both had the luxury of not being asked difficult questions by criminal investigators. Until now.
There is one school of thought that Mr. Modi's summons and interrogation have come eight years too late. There is a lot of merit in that point of view. But the reality is that the call for a leader to render account for mass crimes committed on his watch comes 18 years too late. Veteran journalist Tavleen Singh said recently that if Rajiv Gandhi had been interrogated in 1984 about what happened to the Sikhs, Gujarat would not have happened. She is right. Had the courts and the entire edifice of the Indian state not failed the victims of 1984, many, many politicians, police officers and officials would have gone behind bars. Had that happened then, every leader would have been forced to think a hundred times about the legal consequences of instigating mass violence or allowing mobs to go on the rampage.
The debates on Mr. Modi over the past two weeks have been so incredibly divisive because neither the Congress nor the BJP is interested in a discussion on systemic remedies. Justice is about punishing individuals, rehabilitating victims and dismantling the infrastructure of communal terrorism. But our biggest parties want nothing to do with any of that. Gujarat 2002 should go unpunished because Delhi 1984 never saw justice, says the BJP. ‘No SIT ever interrogated Rajiv Gandhi so why is Mr. Modi now being interrogated?' is the party's self-serving refrain. On its part, the Congress is unwilling to incorporate in the draft Communal Violence Bill clear-cut legal provisions that could deter politicians and policemen from again abusing their power as they did in 1984 and 2002.
One of the questions the SIT was expected to ask Mr. Modi during his interrogation on March 27 was what exactly he said when Ehsan Jaffrey called him up on February 28, 2002, asking for help. The question is important because soon after the former MP put down the telephone, he was killed by a mob along with 58 other innocent people. I have no idea whether that question was put to Mr. Modi, let alone what his answer was. But when the same question was put to Jai Narayan Vyas, official spokesman of Mr. Modi's government, in a televised debate a few days ago, the answer was atrocious. Ehsan Jaffrey had been a Congress MP, said Mr. Vyas. “So I demand to know what the Congress party did to help him.”
There was, of course, nothing the Congress could have done to save the doomed member then. The BJP was in power in both Gujarat and the Centre. But the party has a chance to do something now: Pass a law with real teeth. It's been more than a quarter-of-a-century since a big tree came crashing down upon us. It is time for the earth to stop shaking.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
True skill
By Paulo Coelho
The yogi Raman was a true master of the art of archery. One morning, he invited his favourite disciple to watch a display of his skill. The disciple had seen this more than a hundred times before, but he nevertheless obeyed his teacher. They went into the wood beside the monastery and when they reached a magnificent oak tree, Raman took a flower which he had tucked in his collar and placed it on one of the branches.
He then opened his bag and took out three objects: his splendid bow made of precious wood, an arrow and a white handkerchief embroidered with lilacs.
The yogi positioned himself one hundred paces from the spot where he had placed the flower. Facing his target, he asked his disciple to blindfold him with the embroidered handkerchief.
The disciple did as his teacher requested.
‘How often have you seen me practise the noble and ancient sport of archery?’ Raman asked him.
‘Every day,’ replied his disciple. ‘And you have always managed to hit the rose from three hundred paces away.’
With his eyes covered by the handkerchief, the yogi Raman placed his feet firmly on the ground, drew back the bowstring with all his might – aiming at the rose placed on one of the branches of the oak tree – and then released the arrow.
The arrow whistled through the air, but it did not even hit the tree, missing the target by an embarrassingly wide margin.
‘Did I hit it?’ said Raman, removing the handkerchief from his eyes.
‘No, you missed completely,’ replied the disciple. ‘I thought you were going to demonstrate to me the power of thought and your ability to perform magic.’
‘I have just taught you the most important lesson about the power of thought,’ replied Raman. ‘When you want something, concentrate only on that: no one will ever hit a target they cannot see.’
Monday, April 27, 2009
Find Success by Doing the Things You Dislike
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
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There is a famous saying that Health is Wealth and Healthy mind lives in a healthy body. But today most of the people find it difficult to reduce their weight and are becoming more prone to Blood Pressure, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes and the core reason behind this is Obesity. In this fast moving life we do not get much time to spare for physical exercise so in such a situation a healthy and nutritious diet can solve the purpose. Early Morning Start your day with lemon juice and honey in lukewarm water; this helps your body to get rid of harmful acids produced by the body. Breakfast Choose any one or two from the following options Egg white omelet (2) + 2 slices of brown bread, Milk (Skimmed Milk) +Cornflakes/ Oats /Wheat bran Fruit salad / Sprouts. Vegetable Poha / Upma Skimmed milk cottage cheese + Brown Bread Pre Lunch Take black coffee before the afternoon meal this helps in boosting metabolism. Lunch Boiled / Roasted Chicken/ Soyabean (200 grams) +Brown Rice (1/2 plate) / Chapatti (1) Boiled Dal +salad + Brown Rice (1/2 plate) / Chapatti (1-2) Take Probiotic curd (100grams) as it helps in digestion. Vegetable Daliya Evening Take some citrus fruits to satisfy the hunger pangs in the evening, Green tea with two Marie Lite biscuit Boiled Channa Dinner Choose any one or two from the following options Boiled Soybean Nutrela/ soup + salad, Boiled Egg White (3) + Vegetable clear soup Chicken or Tuna salad. Boiled Dal Vegetable Daliya Pre Bed –time 150 -200 ml of skimmed milk. Beside the above diet keep in mind the following points- • Avoid heavy dinner; maintain at least 3 to 4 hours of gap between meal and sleep. • Replace cold drinks with coconut water, vegetable soup or butter milk • Drink at least 2 to 3 liters of water everyday • Fibre is excellent for weight loss , so consume more of raw vegetables and fruits • All carbs are not bad; avoid simple carbs like sugar, sweet and processed food. • Never skip meals. • Avoid Bakery products. • Replace Chicken Tikka with Chicken Salami • Avoid taking water along with the meal. . Follow the above mentioned points for 6 days in a week and once in a week please your taste buds with one meal of your choice but don’t forget only one. Try to take out some time for physical exercises at least thrice a week Pursue the above mentioned rules and fit in your old clothes again but don’t forget the results may vary from person to person and don’t try to bully your body. (With inputs from Yogaditya Singh Rawal, fitness trainer and Pinki, dietician)) |
Monday, April 06, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Gulaal Review
Friday, March 27, 2009
Penguin books - Ad campaign
Cool advertisement campaign for Penguin books, where the idea should be “there is nothing else when you start reading books”. Click to see the larger versions.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Shekhar Gupta - The chatteranti
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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Indian Television Hall Of Fame
- Pranav Roy
- Siddhartha basu
- Ekta Kapoor
- Gajendra Singh
- Harsha Bhogale
- Shekhar Suman