Way to President's House, New Delhi
Busy & narrow streets of Old Delhi
Cloth shop in Paharganj
Vegetable shop in Paharganj
Jama Masjid, Delhi
Jama Masjid , Delhi
In this sprawling metropolis, there are jungles...natural jungles with trees and the other, which is more predominant, the urban jungle. Masses of houses, clustered against one another with no breathing space, tangles of wires, and the new ‘species’ who’s poached the rooftops, dish antennas. Yet there is order amidst this chaos, not noticeable to the ordinary eye. Life in this jungle goes on smoothly and for the residents in the urban jungle, these elements are not eye sores, rather necessities of life. Beauty is secondary, functionality is paramount. This is a view from outside the Metro Station in Chawri Bazar, near Chandni Chowk area in the old part of Delhi. Masses of small shops, thousands of people, all in a hurry, hand carts, rickshaws, vans, two wheelers & cars vie for the little road space that exisits. Yet, this is a bustling market, with millions of Rupees worth business being transacted every day. Looking up I froze...those tangles of wires....If there is a fire,....only GOD can help!
India's performance at the Beijing Olympics should inspire all those connected with Indian sport. Shooter Abhinav Bindra, boxer Vijender Singh and wrester Sushil Kumar exemplified what self-belief can do to sport in India. They all and a few other boxers and shuttler Saina Nehwal, who even if they have not been able to win medals, made the country proud.Bindra's shooting gold and the bronze each that Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar claimed triggered celebrations across the country. If a poised Bindra became India's new youth icon, then Vijender and Sushil gave hope to millions like them who nurture the dream of making it big.Young Saina reached the quarter-final in her debut Olympics, the first Indian woman to do so. Boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender might have missed a medal by a whisker but their gutsy performance gave the sport a big boost to bloom in rural India. Most of the Olympic boxers hail from the nondescript Haryana town of Bhiwani.The Beijing Olympics will also be remembered for some of the stars failing to live up to promise. The 2004 Athens Olympic silver medallist, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, could not qualify for the finals of the men's double trap event.
Read more...Though violent separatist insurgencies continued to rock most northeastern states in 2008, the region also saw mobilization of investments, the launch of the ambitious Vision 2020 and new governments in four states. After a three-year deliberation, the Vision 2020 document was released in July by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. The three-volume document promises to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in the region through a multi-pronged strategy that includes spurring private investment and industrial development, empowerment of the people by maximizing self governance, rural development, increasing agricultural productivity and augmenting infrastructure in the region.Pitching strongly for making the northeast region an economic hub, Minister for Development of the Northeastern Region Mani Shankar Aiyar said the region requires billions of dollars in investments and stressed that the development of the region will push India's growth rate to double-digit figure.
Read more... The year 2008 can be called a year of extremes: it saw huge trauma, beginning in the shadow of the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto just days earlier and ending with a global market crisis that has brought despair to millions across the world. Yet the worst is still to come.
The final months of the year were marred by attacks, with hundreds dead in India's bustling commercial metropolis Mumbai, chaos in Thailand, pirates in the Gulf of Aden and continuing violence in the world's top conflict regions, Iraq and Afghanistan.The Middle East is still far from a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians, or indeed between Palestinians and Palestinians.
Change, they say, is the only constant in life. The saying may not have been true for India's Rs.226 billion/ Rs. 22,600 Crores television industry for the past seven years but it certainly seemed apt for 2008.A nearly month-long workers' strike, the end of long-running serials from TV tycoon Ekta Kapoor like "Kasauti Zindagi Kay", "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii" and "Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi", the success of new channels...the TV industry had a lot of surprises and shocks during the year. And all these marked a departure from set norms.The strike by the apex body of cine workers, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), was for a hike in wages. They failed to reach a settlement with the producers' association and viewers had to bear the brunt by watching re-runs of shows.
According to Keertan Adyanthaya, general manager and executive vice president of STAR Plus, the strike had a significant impact on the industry.
The over $2 billion Indian film industry finally managed to lure Hollywood biggies like Warner Bros and Walt Disney to invest in it in 2008. What's more, some homegrown production majors also managed to penetrate Western projects.Among notable deals were Yash Raj Films collaborating with Walt Disney, Ramesh Sippy with Warner Bros for the next Akshay Kumar-starrer and Reliance BIG Entertainment with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG to produce 36 films. "People across the world are looking forward to Indian films. They are keen to watch Indian cinema. Our films are appreciated by both critics and audiences worldwide and for that good collaborations with good content will definitely work wonders in the future," Girish Johar, associate vice-president of UTV Motion Pictures, In 2007, Sony Pictures Entertainment-owned Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures was the first Hollywood studio to collaborate with an Indian production house. They co-produced "Saawariya" with Sanjay Leela Bhansali Films.
Read more...Indian politics can be said to have taken a giant step forward in 2008 by showing the politicians that their familiar exploitation of caste, religion and region will no longer yield dividends. It wasn't only that the high death toll in the terror attack on Mumbai was a devastating experience for the Indian public. The trauma caused by the sight of the carnage and the manner in which the city was held hostage by the killers was enhanced by a feeling of helplessness. Yet, nothing showed the maturity of the people more than the fact that in the midst of the unfolding of the horrendous events, elections to the Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir assemblies were held with high turnouts. Particularly gratifying was the rejection by the Kashmiri voters of the separatists' call for a poll boycott.
Read more...No other year in recent times saw such wild mood swings in the Indian economy than 2008, which started on a strong note but ended on a weak wicket in the wake of a general global slowdown and severe recession in some of the richest countries like the US and Japan. From economic expansion to performance of equity markets, and from export growth to industrial production, all indicators had the same story to tell: The year had started with a strong economic performance, but the momentum was lost as the months passed, as India faced the ripple effects of the gloom in the global economy. The indicator that captured the trend best was the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), often seen as a barometer not only for investor mood but also the overall performance of the Indian economy and its corporate sector.
Read more...For a country that stood at the bottom of the pyramid in terms of telecom penetration a decade ago, 2008 was a watershed when India's subscriber base topped 350 million users to make its network the second largest in the world after China, displacing the US. The significant achievement was made possible by the mobile telephony segment of communications, which was once thought to be a gizmo for the rich - what with a tariff of Rs.16.80 per call when the telecom revolution began in the country in the early 1990s. But with tariff falling to 40 paise a call and incoming calls becoming free, mobile telephony began to appeal to the masses. In fact, 2008 also saw Indian telecom operators add a whopping 8-10 million new subscribers to the network each month, making a host of global companies to look at the country as their next big market for growth, especially in the hinterland.
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The Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid can be a bewildering experience for those unfamiliar with its history. On one hand there is the beautiful, curvaceous Islamic calligraphy, the arabesque designs and then there are pillars with clearly pre-Islamic Hindu motifs. The reason is of course quite simple; the pillars were taken from the 27 temples of Qila Rai Pithora, the city of the Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan. This in fact has been recorded by Qutub-ud-din in his inscriptions, who calls it the Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque) in his inscriptions.
The Construction of The Mosque The mosque was started in 1192 by Qutub-ud-din Aibak, the first ruler of the Slave Dynasty (called so because the founder was once a royal slave). It was finished four years later. However the masjid, much like the Qutub complex itself, never stopped growing and many subsequent rulers, like Altamash in 1230 and Alauddin Khalji in 1315, added their own bits to it. 
The Extension of The Structure Later Qutub-ud-din's son-in-law and successor, Altamash had the prayer hall screen extended, and added three more arches besides the original five. The difference between the two arches is interesting: the earlier arches are not really the 'true' arch which is such a hallmark of Islamic architecture, Altamash's arches were built by workmen from Afghanistan and are stylistically quite distinct. They use Islamic motifs such as geometrical shapes rather than naturalistic designs (which were frowned upon by the Muslim clergy) that Hindus used. Ala-ud-din Khalji added a courtyard to the mosquethe entrance to which is the amazing Alai Darwaza.In the mosque compound is the small but pretty tomb of Imam Zamim, who was the Imam (head priest) of the mosque during Sikander Lodi's (1488-1517) reign. 
ShankatMochan- Jai Hanuman.At Shakti-peeth temple (Chattarpur Temole) by the side of the Mandapam, stands in splendor, the statue of Shree Hanuman (around 100 feet high), silently blessing the devotees.
Swastik- Symbol of Hinduism at 'Shakti Peeth', Chattarpur, New Delhi, India.“Hands off our sacred Swastika” must be the loudest roar of the followers of Vedic or Hindu Dharma and all its sects all over the world to save the divinity, purity, auspiciousness, serenity, prestige and position Swastika holds in human race, after the German members of European Parliament called for the total ban on the use of Swastika all over Europe in protest of Prince Harry’s provocation of international outrage by wearing Nazi outfits with a swastika arm band in a private fancy dress party. It is shocking and astonishing news for the lovers of Swastika, irrespective of their faiths, all over the world that the European parliament is in opinion of considering such a ban on this innocent symbol. What has Swastika done wrong? What is the crime of Swastika? Once the most popular, respected, beloved, revered and worshipped symbol of human being all over the world by all races and all faiths is facing socially, religiously and ethical discrimination in Christian dominated European Parliament. 
The zeal to succeed is always ennobling; more so in the time of terror and recession. Saluting the undying spirit of West Delhiites, West Delhi showcases some thrilling success stories scripted by them in the year 2008. To remain optimistic and happy is a congenital human attribute. This is the reason why amid the gathering gloom over recession and the threat of terrorism, everyone is looking for a reason to smile and whoop it up this New Year Eve. There is no doubt that these are, to quote, Dickens, "the best of times and the worst of times.’’ But there is no taming the resilient spirit of West Delhiites. Their greatest asset is their ability to bounce back instead of getting bogged down in the quagmire of defeatism.
With the New Year’s Day being observed as a ’No Honking Day’, would North Delhiites play it safe? North Delhiites are not happy at the recent decision of the Delhi Police to celebrate January 1 as ’No Honking Day.’ Now, you may call it a typical case of status deprivation to use the educational jargon. How can it be possible? They are, after all, governed by the seat of their pants. In other words, they believe in instincts rather than logic or knowledge. You may cavil at their impertinence in having their way, but do you have the right to grudge them their freedom of choice and expression? If they don’t honk, they won’t be able to avoid collateral damage on roads. In fact, foisting such facile justifications come easy to North Delhiites. Rash driving is their besetting sin. After all, when all you have is hammer, everything looks like a nail.
This New Year’s Eve, North Delhiites would travel to Swiss beaches, African jungles and to the sets of Bollywood. Thanks to the theme parties that would give them a taste of the world, right at home. Gone are the days when New Year’s Eve was a very personal affair, restricted to either a small get-together at home or a terrace bon-fire party with friends. The concept of theme parties is now catching up amongst the party freaks in North Delhi. The bigger, the better is the tagline for North Delhiites who are going all out to get the world home in their New Year parties. From Goan Beaches to the beaches of Switzerland, you name it and it is all there, right at your home. The beachside ambience is simply perfect for the New Year’s Eve, exclaims Sumit Sethi of Shalimar Bagh. Beachside Party was the theme of his last year’s New Year bash. "We had a beach created at home and the dress code was obviously beach wear. It was quite chilly outside and we got the entire venue covered. We made sure that even the temperature was perfect for those dressed up according to the dress code. It was sheer fun.
It’s that time of the year when commitments comes from within to set right individual mistakes and shortcomings – towards changes that are generally interpreted as advantageous. We call it ’New Year’s Resolution’—the name comes from the fact that these commitments normally go into effect on New Year Day and remain until fulfilled or abandoned. However, a pragmatic look reveals that those resolutions are rarely maintained in the long run. A day or maximum of a month, not many resolutions find their place for more than this. At a time, when the serious kind of resolutions are soon lost and forgotten, there are some that can be amusing yet one don’t have to take pains to remember them. Says Apoorva Jain, BSc. (Applied Sciences) student from Hansraj College, "I have realised that resolutions cannot be strictly adhered to. So, I have resolved that I will help break the resolutions of all my friends, who have set any. This is fun, but something that needs no strictness can be achieved easily." Siddhant Jain and Shobhit Baijal, residents of Model Town-II, have brought out their fun quotients in New Year resolutions. Shobhit is all set to break rules this year, before they are even formed! And Siddhant’s resolution has already found a place in his room quite early that reads, ’I hope to be able to make people think happy thoughts when they think of me’. Likewise, first year BCom(H) student Ritika Gupta from SGTB Khalsa College says she resolved to attend all lectures at her college, which have everything to do apart from studies. No matter how successful one has been in following resolutions in previous year, one makes fresh resolutions for the next year with determination. To materialise the things thought of may be difficult, still some people manage to do so. New Year resolutions offer a sense of direction to people to lead the coming year. With crossed fingers, let’s wish to maintain our resolutions, just like these young North Delhiites.
Wishing every one Merry Christmas & praying that peace and prosperity comes to each and everyone's life this christmas. God bless all
Two thousand years ago the King of Kings was born.'
Try to remember and keep in your heart and mind
So when you’re Christmas shopping for family and friends, 
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