Atanu Dey on India’s Development

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Entries from February 2007

Trains and the Transportation System

February 27th, 2007 · 23 Comments

Some of the hazards of traveling around India by air include over-crowded airports, delayed flights, and lost baggage. I was in Bangalore for three days last week and then came back to Mumbai with a day’s stop at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. How I wish I had the option of not flying […]

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Tags: Solutions · Transportation

The Renaming of Things

February 25th, 2007 · 4 Comments

Hugh Fitzgerald over at Dhimmiwatch says in an article titled “Aurangzeb Road” (hat tip: Tushar) :
“The Danish Embassy in India is located on Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi. So there is still a road in India that is named after the most ruthless and cruel of the many ruthless and cruel Muslim rulers, oppressor […]

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Tags: Alternative Viewpoint

What Leads to Success

February 24th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Here’s a three minute answer from TED.

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Tags: Random Draws

Saturday Silliness: Cat Listening to Music

February 24th, 2007 · No Comments

Some people have way too much time on their hands. Of course, you have got to admire their creativity. Only on the internet can you find such a potent mix of silliness and creativity. Cats listening to music. My favorite is the one listening to Stevie Wonder.

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Tags: Random Draws

Hell and Censorship

February 23rd, 2007 · 15 Comments

News from Abroad
Gordon Dryden wrote with an update on the Hell billboards which I had written about here:

“Today, the New Zealand Council of Advertising Standards upheld, in part, a complaint against Hell billboards - with the photo of George W Bush, and saying “Even hell is too good for some bastards”.
“Its ruling (seriously) did […]

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Tags: Random Draws

Indibloggies Results

February 23rd, 2007 · 12 Comments

The results of the Indibloggies are in. Thanks for the votes.

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Tags: Blogging

Air Indian

February 22nd, 2007 · 16 Comments

Imagine a restaurant where the number of employees exceeds the number of seats. Would be a very expensive restaurant indeed. Now imagine an airline where the number of employees exceeds the the number of seats. Actually, you don’t have to imagine that one as India has two such airlines where all the […]

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Tags: You might be a third world country if ...

Markets work

February 21st, 2007 · 3 Comments

You know what the secret of a great economy is? Markets. Why? Because voluntary trade is beneficial and welfare improving. As if you really needed to be convinced of that, here is an item that my friend Saheli from Berkeley alerted me to: free lodging in exchange for breast milk.
Markets rule. And not just in […]

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Tags: Random Draws

How to be an expert

February 21st, 2007 · No Comments

Legend has it that Arthur Rubenstein was once asked on the street for directions to Carnegie Hall. “Pardon me sir, but how do I get to Carnegie Hall?” He said, “Practice, practice, practice.” Here’s something you may enjoy listening to. A Scientific American podcast (mp3 download ~9.5 MB) on what it takes to become an […]

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Tags: Education

Some are Born to Sweet Delight

February 20th, 2007 · 15 Comments

Hi from Mumbai. Been here for a couple of days, and tomorrow I go to Bangalore for a few days.
Mumbai is not too unpleasant at this time of the year weather wise. Spent last evening in Colaba meeting with a friend. Best way to get there from my office in Lower Parel is to take […]

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Tags: Sex Selection

Feynman Rocks

February 20th, 2007 · No Comments

Liked this email I got from Uday. With his permission here it is:

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Tags: Education

Roger Waters in the Flesh

February 19th, 2007 · 9 Comments

It began with
So ya thought ya
Might like to go to the show.
To feel that warm thrill of confusion,
That space cadet glow.
I’ve got some bad news for you sunshine,
Pink isn’t well, he stayed back at the hotel
And they sent us along as a surrogate band
We’re gonna find out where you folks really stand.

I was there […]

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Tags: Music

Challenge to Indian Entrepreneurs

February 16th, 2007 · 2 Comments

SaaS: How About a Middle Ground?
Guest post by Sramana Mitra
Last Fall, I wrote a widely read piece called Venture Capital in India, in which I pegged the Indian venture boom to be largely in Real Estate, Retail, and to an extent in Consumer Internet, not much in actual technology.

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Tags: Globalization · Guest Post

India, the Lamb State

February 16th, 2007 · 10 Comments

Don’t know much about history. Thanks to the government control of education, we are not told inconvenient truths. Fortunately, in this day of free information flow, one is slowly getting wise. I think it is just a matter of time before Indians figure out the truth. I find it bitter irony that India’s national motto […]

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Tags: Why is India Poor?

US to Deport Indian national

February 15th, 2007 · 5 Comments

Just in case you were getting carried away reading Indian newspaper reports about how wonderfully Indians in the US were doing, here is a report that will give you pause. One can be fairly certain that this will not be reported by the main stream Indian press. After all, we cannot imagine home-grown jihadis, can […]

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Tags: Islamic Terrorism--Jihad

Take a Time Out

February 15th, 2007 · 5 Comments

I worry about the kids. The kids I know hardly have any time for themselves. They are always busy with school, homework, tuitions, tennis lessons, tabla lessons, and preparing for this or that exam. There is no unstructured time for them to just do what they feel like doing, or for just doing nothing. I […]

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Tags: Education

When the Apple Blossoms Bloom . . .

February 14th, 2007 · No Comments

When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind, I’ll be Your Valentine!
Happy Valentine’s Day.
And speaking of the windmills of your mind, here is one of my Top Favorites: The Windmills of Your Mind — the title song from “The Thomas Crown Affair.” The original movie was made in 1960. That clip […]

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Tags: Random Draws

Vote at the Indibloggies 2006

February 14th, 2007 · No Comments

Vote early and vote often

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Tags: Blogging

Mystic India

February 13th, 2007 · 3 Comments

I want to see Mystic India. (I think that voice over is Peter O’Toole. What do you say?)

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Tags: Public Service Announcement

Indibloggies 2006

February 12th, 2007 · 17 Comments

Competitions are good. Spoken like a true market economist. Not just economists but biologists would also proclaim the benefits of competition. After all, the great diversity of our living world is the result of intense competition among the gene carriers or living entities. And the great diversity of human artifacts we enjoy is the result […]

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Tags: Blogging