THANK YOU !

A big 'Thank You' to all my friends, well wishers and relatives who took pains to wish me on my birthday. You guys really made my DAY.

Here's a bouquet of flowers to each one of you !!

Reserve Bank of India - Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

RBI Head Office at Mumbai

RBI, New Delhi

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was inaugurated on 01 April 1935 as a private shareholders institution under the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934. It was nationalised in January 1949. RBI entered its 75th year of existence on 01 April 2009 and thus started the year long celebrations. Various events marked the Platinum Jubilee year and the best is scheduled for 01 April 2010. The Bank is distributing Gold Coins to all its staff - serving and retired, on this historic occasion.I got a communication from the Bank asking me to personally collect my present from RBI, Bangalore. Nice gesture I must say - including retired employees in this largesse !! Well, I wont be able to make it on 1st April but am hoping my coin will still be there when I visit Bangalore in June this year !!

ReBlog from nationalterroralert.com: India’s New Terror Weapon – Hot Chili Peppers

I found this fascinating quote today:

The Indian military plans to weaponize the bhut jolokia, the world’s hottest chili pepper, by using it in tear-gas grenades against terrorists, defense officials there have announced.

nationalterroralert.com, India’s New Terror Weapon – Hot Chili Peppers, Mar 2010

You should read the whole article.

ReBlog from nationalterroralert.com: Mumbai – Terror Attack Thwarted, Two Arrested

I found this fascinating quote today:

Indian police have arrested two men suspected of plotting a series of terror attacks in Mumbai. The pair aimed to attack a market, a shopping center and a state-owned gas facility, according to anti-terrorism officers. Police said the men had links with terror groups in Pakistan and were acting on directions from handlers there.nationalterroralert.com, Mumbai – Terror Attack Thwarted, Two Arrested, Mar 2010You should read the whole article.

'POP' Day Anniversary !

Today happens to be the 'Passing Out Parade' day for SS - 25 (NT) and 16 (T) courses which passed out of OTS, Madras (now OTA, Chennai) on 18 March 1978. So me and my coursemates have completed 32 years of service today. Wow ! Doesn't seem like so many years have gone by. This day is being regularly celebrated by some of my enterprising coursemates at various places like Delhi and Mumbai. At Delhi the celebrations were held at AOC Officers Mess, Delhi Cantt courtesy Brig Kulbir Singh (COD, Shakurbasti, Delhi) on 14 March (Sunday) and the 'Mumbai Pune' chapter is celebrating on 20th March at the Army Officers Institute, Colaba. Our course also has a website www.ots25.com aptly titled 'shorty silver' since we were the silver jubilee course which passed out of OTS. So here is wishing all the best to all my coursemates and their families. Congratulations and may God shower you all with His blessings to scale newer heights of glory.

Anaqa Outreach

After having conducted 14 sessions of ‘Anaqa’ (SMART) Training Programmes for the national security guards and watchmen in Muscat, the first ‘Outreach’ programme was successfully conducted at Salalah on 08 March 2010. A total of 16 security personnel out of a strength of 19 at that location were exposed to the half day training module which has been very well received thus far. The team of faculty and administrative personnel travelled from Muscat to Salalah on 07 March and returned back to base the next day evening. Similar programmes are in the offing for various other locations where the company has its facilities with the aim of training all the 450 odd security personnel by the middle of this year. A booklet containing “Dos and Donts” for security personnel was also issued to all the participants on this occasion.

The Salalah Airport Roundabout

(breathtaking as ever)
Group Photograph
Class in Session !

Me Yakking and Mahfoodh Translating !!

Do's and Dont's - Bilingually.

The Handbook

Sink Hole !!

I was told that there was a sink hole at Hawiyat Najm Park (which is about 30 km from a place called ‘Quriyat’ on the Muscat –Sur highway) that is one of the famous tourist attractions of Oman. Intrigued at the name I tried to find out more and heard a lot of stories regarding the ‘hole-in-the-ground’ having been made by a meteorite hitting the ground ages ago. Some even said that the hole was made by ‘extra-terrestrial’ forces. Well, nothing could be farther from the truth ! A little research on the net revealed that ‘Sinkholes’ are a common geological phenomena. These holes are formed by the continued action of water on slightly soluble bedrock (like limestone) in the ground. Wherever there is underground water reacting with such elements, a cavern of sorts is created. Over a period of time this underground cavern becomes bigger and eventually when the roof caves in a sink hole is formed.

I visited the sink hole mentioned above recently and was amazed at the sight. The area is now being developed into a park with the cordoned off sink hole in the middle. There are steps leading to the bottom where crystal clear water can be seen (and swimming is allowed). The steps are fun to go down but a pain climbing up. The water (said to be more saline than the ocean but less than the Dead Sea by one traveller) is deeper at the far end (depth unknown). Since the seashore is not far away from this place I suspect there must be a connection between the water available at the sink hole and the sea. Anyway, the sink hole is a wondrous sight to behold and I was spell bound. Following are some photographs of this famous place (click to enlarge):

The Sink Hole is 20 mts deep and 40 mts wide !
Tourists enjoying a swim.

Note the clear water.

The Deep End.

A View of the Heavens from Below !

ReBlog from Jay Ganz: Intl. Assassination Team Responsible for Dubai Killing?

I found this fascinating quote today:

Dubai police Monday identified 11 people suspected in the killing of a top Hamas official last month and vowed “to hunt them down.”Jay Ganz, Intl. Assassination Team Responsible for Dubai Killing?, Feb 2010

You should read the whole article.

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque at Muscat

The ‘Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque’ at Muscat is one landmark which no visitor to Oman can afford to miss. Adjectives like ‘awesome’, ‘fantastic’, ‘magnificent’, ‘superb’, 'majestic', 'incredible', 'stunning', 'amazing' have been used to describe it by various visitors on ‘Trip Advisor’. I can vouch for the fact that they are not exaggerating by using such terms to describe the monument. It is aptly called ‘Grand’, which it is in every sense of the word. It is grand in appearance, architecture, ambience and aura. This mosque is very close to my residence but I got the opportunity to visit it only recently when some relatives from India visited us.

The Grand Mosque took six years to build and was inaugurated in May 2001. The whole complex with landscaping covers an area of 416,000 sq mts, of which 40,000 sq mts is the area of the mosque itself. The main prayer hall has a capacity of over 6,0000 worshippers. With the surrounding prayer areas the capacity is over 20,000 worshippers. The surrounding gardens are beautifully landscaped.

Five impressive minarets mark the outside of the mosque which symbolise the five pillars of Islam. The central minaret towers over 90 meters while the other four are 45 meters each. Besides being a place of worship, the Grand Mosque is also a center of Islamic education and literature. The complex houses a three story library which holds over 20,000 books on Islamic religion and culture.

Until recently the mosque had the largest carpet in the world. It is a single spread Persian carpet that covers the floor of the main prayer hall. It measures 70 X 60 meters and is made of wool and cotton yarn. It consists of 1700 million knots and weighs 21 tonnes. It took four years to complete and 600 women weavers worked tirelessly to create this magic. The carpet is made up of 28 colours and was made in 58 pieces which were then joined and laid inside the hall by special weavers. Most of the colours were obtained from traditional vegetable dyes.

The main prayer hall has 35 chandeliers made of Swaroski crystal and gold plated metal work. The grand Central Chandelier is 14 meters high and is eight meters wide. It weighs 8 tonnes and the radiance it produces comes from 1122 lamps that constitute it. It is said that this chandelier is also the second largest in the world.

The interiors will take any visitor's breath away. The dome comprises of a series of stained glass triangles within a frame work of marble columns. Intricately carved wooden doors each of which is topped with Quranic verses. The inner sanctum is magnificent in size and grandeur.

The interior spaces have white marble courtyards and the panelling is made up of off white and dark grey marble. The Grand Mosque symbolizes the coming the coming together of traditional Islamic art and architecture that is set in a contemporary mode.

Following are some photos of this breathtaking mosque (click on the photos to enlarge to see the finer details):

A view of the Grand Mosque in the afternoon
The mosque at night

A view of the Dome and the Central Minaret from

within the complex

Note the carving on the frame work

Intricately carved wooden door inside

the main prayer hall

A view of the grand carpet

The sanctum sanctorum

The dome from within

The Grand Central Chandelier

6/8 Gorkha Rifles - Raising Day

Today happens to be the 62nd Anniversary of the Raising Day of my paltan - 6/8 Gorkha Rifles. The battalion was raised on 04 February 1948 at Clementown, Dehradun. When India achieved Independence, all the British forces had to leave and the 2nd and 6th Gorkha Rifles were earmarked to go along with the British troops to Britain. Before leaving India, troops of both the 2nd and 6th Regiments were given the option to either go to Britain or merge with the newly formed Indian Army. My paltan was thus raised from those soldiers who did not want to go to Britain. The battalion was raised by Late Lt Col (Later Brig) J.D.Nadirshaw, VrC, SC (of 2/8 GR) and within six months of its raising it was launched into battle in Poonch, Rajauri as the first strike force of 19 Inf Bde for "Op Easy" in J&K. It won a major victory at the 'Batttle of Naghun' on 04 November 1948 for which it was awarded the Battle Honour - Naghun 1948 (J&K) and Theatre Honour - J&K 1948.

On this occasion I wish to felicitate all ranks of the paltan (past and present). May 'Maa Durga' bless the paltan in all its ventures. Jai Gorakh !