Mostrando postagens com marcador India. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador India. Mostrar todas as postagens

quinta-feira, 9 de setembro de 2010

XIX CommonWealth Games - Delhi 2010

Although India is facing a corruption scandal, I am very proud of my Indian husband and I respect my hubbie's motherland. India can have several problems but is the country that gave me the opportunity to know what real love is. My husband is an amazing person, who fulfills all my needs.

People can say India has poverty, India is dirty, India has prejudice against foreigns, against different religious... or even that Indians are intolerant against themselves. This can all be true. But India is a wonderful nation, with several beauties and different cultures. India is Incredible!

terça-feira, 24 de agosto de 2010

News from India (4)




The southwest monsoon is almost over. It is green everywhere. The sun smiles again in “God’s Own Country” and it is time for Onam. There is a festive cheer all around. This, I feel, is the best time to pack your bags and head out to Kerala. 




There is a smile on almost every person’s face.  To the older generation, it is perhaps the only time when the entire family comes together under the same roof.  To the kids, it is time for gifts and outings. Every shopkeeper has a huge grin on his face and goes way out of his normal self to come up with ‘Onam special discounts.’  The general feel-good aura makes you happy too. And if you are a shopaholic, trust me, you will end up spending more on the ‘typical’ Kerala handicrafts than you thought you would.

Festivals in Kerala are colourful and vibrant. Onam season gives every traveller memories to take home.  There is a rush of adrenalin with sports like snake boat races and tug-of-wars. Suddenly, around the bend, you can hear the beats of the drums and folk dances like the tiger dances and Kummati on the streets. There is beauty in symmetry with floral carpets adorning most houses, offices and street corners. The state-sponsored festivals and tourism promotion events showcase the best art forms and festivities.  And for me, it is time to meet up with cousins who come home just for this season.




Ah! The Snake Boat races! Most of them are in and around Alappuzha (Alleppey) – well-connected by bus and train, but if you are planning to fly in, Ernakulam (Cochin) about 85kms away is your nearest spot.  My colleague Clint Thomas has written about the Nehru Trophy boat race, the most popular one. If you are feeling bad you missed it, you could always catch some of the not so famous ones during this season.  A local news paper or a chat with a chaiwala on the wayside is also a good way to know if there are races on schedule locally.




Ernakulam is one of the happening places this season. The commercial capital of the state becomes the shopping capital. Tripunithura just outside the city is a transformed place these ten days. The ‘Athachamayam’ festivities make this sleepy little town a hub of culture.  The procession on the last day of the festival is spectacular. For those religion-oriented, the ancient Thrikkakkara temple on the outskirts of the city is a must visit. The temple has some unique traditions associated with the festival.

Flower carpets are a common sight across the state.  In the good old days, when flowers were aplenty, each household used to compete with the neighbor’s and come up with designs, in a battle for uniqueness.

No festival is complete without a spread of mouth-watering delicacies. Onam is not different – there is the traditional Onam sadya on offer. It brings out the best of the Malayali kitchen.  The hotels copy the tradition with “packages” of native cuisine. And this may be the main reason why I am heading home.  Or is it a bit of all of the above, I wonder.  Anyway, my bags are packed and I am off to my hometown.

terça-feira, 17 de agosto de 2010

Caminhos da India...

domingo, 15 de agosto de 2010

Happy Independence Day


Happy Independence Day to all my Indian friends!!!

quinta-feira, 12 de agosto de 2010

New from India (3)

Marriage between minors valid: Delhi High Court
NEW DELHI, AUG 11

Marriage between minors is valid and it can be annulled only on the plea by one of the partners, the Delhi High Court ruled on Wednesday.

“A marriage in contravention of clause (iii) of section 5 (which fixes minimum age of twenty-one years for bridegroom and eighteen years for bride) does not fall in the category of void marriages nor does it fall in the category of voidable marriages. Consequently, by the process of elimination, it would be a valid marriage,” the court said.

A bench of Justices B D Ahmed and V K Jain said that even under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act the marriage involving minors has not been declared as invalid and the Act just says that the marriage can be annulled on this ground if plea is made by the minor partner.

“It is clear that where, earlier, a child marriage may not have been voidable under personal law, as in the case of the Hindu Marriage Act, by virtue of the section 3 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, it has explicitly been made voidable at the option of the child spouse. But nobody other than a party to the marriage can petition for annulment of the marriage,” the court said.

It said the legislature while drafting the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act had consciously left out marriages in contravention of the age stipulation from the category of void or invalid marriages.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by a minor boy who tied knot with a minor girl against the wishes of their family members after fleeing from home.

18-year Jitendra Kumar Sharma approached the court after a criminal case was registered against him on the complaint of family members of 16-year-old minor girl Poonam Sharma who alleged the boy had abducted her.

The High Court had earlier directed the couple to be present in the court and they submitted that they were in love and got married without being forced by anyone.

The court, after recording their statement, said their marriage is valid and the minor boy is the lawful guardian of the girl.

The court said family members of Poonam cannot prevent her from living with her husband.

Font: http://www.oheraldo.in/news/Main%20Page%20News/Marriage-between-minors-valid-Delhi-High-Court/39807.html

terça-feira, 10 de agosto de 2010

News from India (2)

Guys, look what happened in Mumbai last week:


Cargo ship MSC Chitra partly submerged after a collision with another vessel MV Khalijia-111, off the Mumbai coast. The collision on Saturday caused an oil leak from two of the 12 tanks of MSC Chitra which had got damaged. By Monday around 500 tonnes of oil is believed to have leaked into the Arabian sea, threatening marine life and ecology along the Mumbai coastline.

terça-feira, 3 de agosto de 2010

News from India (1)

I just read these news from India and I've just started thinking about sharing some news from my husband country, with my followers friends from my blog.

45 % of Indians will live in cities by 2050
New Delhi, Aug 2

About 45 per cent of the country's population will be residing in urban cities and towns by 2050, up from 30 per cent now, nullifying the ''India lives in villages'' concept, says a study by thinktank NCAER.

"On a conservative estimate, 45 per cent of Indians would be living in towns and cities by 2050. This means that 379 million people may be added to the urban space over the next 40 years," the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said in its report ''How India Earns Spends and Saves''.


Fishing Village - Goa / India

"It is often said that India lives in villages. With nearly 70 per cent of the country''s population residing in over 6.20 lakh villages, rural India continues to wield a huge influence over the country''s policy makers," it added.

The study estimates reveal that the size of rural India is shrinking and 379 million people will be added over the next 40 years, indicating a rapid shift from rural to urban living.


Kerala Village / India

Urban areas include all places with a municipality or a corporation, besides having a minimum population of 5,000 and about 75 per cent of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits.

"India simply cannot afford urban development to languish...India needs to place urban development -- particularly infrastructure -- squarely alongside rural priorities, recognising in part that both are interdependent," the NCAER report said.

India's top 20 cities account for just 10 per cent of the country's population, but earn 31 per cent of its income, spend 21 per cent and are responsible for 60 per cent of the surplus income, it said. The study said that there has been an increase in the concentration of population in cities during the last century. While nearly 25 per cent of urban population lived in cities with a population of one lakh in 1901, the number increased to 45 per cent in 1951 and 69 per cent in 2001.


New Delhi, suffering with the amount increase of population.

The NCAER noted that the country's savings would grow only with further urbanisation. While the urban population accounts for 67 per cent of the country's surplus income, rural India accounts for only a third.

"India's savings can grow only as the country's urbanisation progresses...the promise of creating more urban centres would be a more effective way to progress rural India," it said.



Font:http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20100802/372/tbs-45-pc-indians-will-live-in-cities-by.html

quinta-feira, 22 de julho de 2010

Incredible India (4)

O maravilhoso, gostoso, superstar Aamir Khan está fazendo uma série de comerciais sobre a Incredible India, objetivando fazer com que os indianos passem a ter orgulho de sua nação (e a comportar-se de acordo). Obviamente, essa tarefa é e será árdua, mas o começo é sempre bem vindo.

Abaixo, os vídeos dos comerciais. Enjoy it!









And to finish, a beautiful ad from India, that I simply loved!!!!!!!!!!!

domingo, 11 de julho de 2010

Incredible India (3)

Anexo para vocês algumas belas fotos sobre a Índia. Não estive em todos os lugares, apenas em Goa e Mumbai... e ainda quero conhecer alguns desses lugares com meu marido. Na realidade, as fotos são mais para iniciarmos nossa meditação sobre a realidade da Índia... ou seja, lanço novamente a mesma questão: como pode, um país tão rico culturalmente e de belezas naturais notáveis, ter tamanha corrupção e pobreza?


Taj Mahal, Agra.



Calcuta.


New Delhi.


Hebbal Flyover, Bangalore.


Hyderabad.


Garota indiana, em Jeypore.


Dimapur, Kachari.


Kohima, Nagaland.


Koraput, Orissa.


Mumbai.


The Gate of Mumbai.


Rajgir.


Lago Shilloi, Phek.


Sonepur, Orissa.

Incredible India (2)

O país de meu marido é um lugar de contrastes que sempre me deixa com opiniões distintas e, muitas vezes, contraditórias. Um país de belezas naturais e de grande cultura, com setores da economia em crescimento veloz (indústria têxtil, cinema, música, indústria farmacêutica, etc) que apresenta enormes índices de pobreza, corrupção, terrorismo, com resultados alarmantes no grau de desenvolvimento do país.

Obviamente, nao é minha intenção vir aqui e falar mal de um país que já existia, antes mesmo do Brasil ter sido descoberto pelos portugueses. A minha intenção é tentar entender como, um país de grandes dimensões, com riquezas exemplares, se perde na corrupção, no abandono de sua população, no abandono de seus recursos naturais, entre outros detalhes.

Primeiramente, deve-se entender a importância da religião para a população. A Índia é composta basicamente de 6 religiões distintas: o hinduísmo, com 80% de seguidores, o islamismo com 13%, o cristianismo com 3%, o sikhismo com 2%, enquanto os outros 2% de seguidores estão divididos entre budismo e janismo. A importância da religião para os indianos é muito grande e sobrepõe as próprias necessidades físicas, culturais, éticas e morais que uma pessoa precisa para viver em boas condições. Isso significa que, na Índia, desde que se possa viver em harmonia com suas crenças, tudo vai bem... mesmo que a população viva nas ruas, em casebres, não tenha o que comer, ou viva em condições miseráveis.





Infelizmente, os indianos nao sabem exigir de seus governantes, melhores condições de vida. E o pior... além de não saberem exigir, eles também não tem interesse em exigir. Obviamente, o governo indiano também não se esforça em melhorar a vida de seus habitantes. O país tem excelente agricultura e minérios... as principais produções são o arroz, a cana de açúcar, o amendoim, a mostarda, o grão de bico, o milho, a batata, o coco, a banana e o chá enquanto que na mineração, encontram-se ferro, bauxita, manganésia, cromite, zinco, cobre, chumbo, ouro e diamantes. Os recursos energéticos englobam carvão e petróleo e gás natural. Tudo destina-se ao uso interno e a exportação. Mas, mesmo assim, o país é pobre, com mais da metade de sua população vivendo na pobreza.

Uma vez, eu ouvi uma frase que me deixou meio injuriada: "A religião é a escória do mundo". Na época, não concordei. Hoje, concordo. Uma população que somente vive em função da interpretação radical de livros religiosos (Afeganistão, Paquistão, Iraque, Irã, todos os "stão", países do Oriente Médio presos a interpretação errônea e radical do Corão) não consegue crescer culturalmente e, consequentemente, social e economicamente.

Outra coisa que me deixa louca!!! Os indianos não tem interesse nem dinheiro para melhorar suas condições de vida, mas dinheiro para assistir a todos os filmes de Bollywood e, pior, se intereram da vida pessoal de Salman Khan, de Aamir Khan, de Satrina Kaif e tão muitos outros, ah!!! isso eles têm. Pergunte a um indiano alguma coisa sobre a política interna de seu próprio país? Ele não sabe! Mas, pergunte a ele onde estava o Salman Khan ontem a noite, que ele te responderá com detalhes!





Aliás, convém dizer que os filmes indianos, apesar de garantirem uma excelente diversão, não retratam em nada a realidade do país, que ainda está preso a convencionalismos religiosos e que força sua juventude a perpetuar o absurdo cultural e religioso em que está inserida. Na tentativa de modificar essa realidade, alguns atores estão produzindo filmes mais radicais, com o objetivo de introduzir na mente dos indianos a necessidade premente de se modificar pensamentos e atitudes para o alcance do desenvolvimento social e cultural do país (ex: Taare Zameen Par com Aamir Khan ou My Name is Khan, com Shah Rukh Khan).

Gostaria muito que o país de meu marido fosse um lugar melhor e que o êxodo de indianos rumo aos USA, Austrália, South Africa e UK fosse menor. Gostaria que as pessoas de lá tivessem melhores condições de vida e que se orgulhassem de um país justo, com tolerância religiosa, com qualidade de vida e crescimento cultural e social. Quem sabe isso ainda venha a acontecer num futuro próximo? Espero que sim. Eu, sinceramente, sou super orgulhosa de meu marido e amo dizer a todos que tenho em casa um indiano maravilhoso, que me completa, que me ajuda e que me ama.  

Enquanto isso não acontece na longínqua Índia, eu abraço a causa e tento, através de meus textos, fazer com que a minha opinião chegue aos indianos e as brasileiras(os) com eles(as) envolvidas. Quem sabe, eles venham a entender o recado.



Incredible India

Indian Companies in Fortune 500 Global List

NEW YORK: Eight Indian companies, including oil major Indian Oil Corporation and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, have made the cut in the list of the world's 500 largest companies compiled by Fortune.

The league of 500 elite companies for 2010 is topped by US retailer Wal-Mart Stores, followed by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and another oil major, Exxon Mobil, in that order.

Besides IOC and RIL, the other Indian companies in the list are steel-maker Tata Steel, auto company Tata Motors, oil entities Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Oil & Natural Gas and public sector bank SBI.

Tata Motors has made an entry into the list for the first time this year, while seven other Indian entities, which were part of the list in the previous year as well, are also featured in this list.

The list also features Citigroup, ArcelorMittal, Pepsico and Motorola, four companies led by people with Indian roots.

IOC has the highest rank of 125 among the featured Indian companies, followed by RIL at the 175th spot, SBI (282), BPCL (307), HPCL (354), Tata Steel (410), ONGC (413) and Tata Motors (442).

According to the magazine, IOC had revenues to the tune of $54.28 billion, RIL $41.08 billion, SBI $28.21 billion, BPCL $26.59 billion, HPCL $23.88 billion, Tata Steel $21.58 billion, ONGC $21.44 billion and Tata Motors $19.5 billion.

Vikram Pandit-led Citigroup is at 33rd place, with revenues of $108.78 billion, while NRI billionaire L N Mittal's ArcelorMittal bagged the 99th position with revenues worth $65.11 billion.

Pepsico, run by Indira Nooyi, was ranked at 171st place with revenues of $43.23 billion and Sanjay Jha's Motorola is at the 391st place, with $22.06 billion in revenues.

Interestingly, American companies have cornered 139 seats in the list, followed by Japan with 71, and then China, with 46 seats. This year, there are 12 Fortune Global 500 companies run by women, compared to 13 last year.

The magazine said that Wal-Mart Stores had revenues to the tune of $408. 21 billion, while Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil raked in revenues worth $285.12 billion and $284.65 billion, respectively.

Others on the list include BP at fourth place, followed by Toyota Motor (5th), Japan Post Holdings (6th), Sinopec (7th), State Grid (8th), AXA (9th) and China National Petroleum (10th.)

Font: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/IOC-RIL-among-8-Indian-cos-in-Fortune-500-global-list-/articleshow/6155258.cms