ChinmayC Blog

This is unthinkable, even unpardonable. That the helicopter carrying the topmost military officer of India—the first ever Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) next only to the Supreme Commander of the India Army, the President of India—should crash in spite of the highest security being attached to the trip and the fool-proof technical checks being obviously carried out by the best of pilots before the trip. But it has happened still—a monumental national tragedy. CDS General Bipin Rawat, one of the bravest and the most decorated military officers of the country, had left his Delhi residence around 9 this morning and boarded a special Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft for Sulur Air Base near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu along with his wife and seven others including senior military officers and security commandos. Arriving at Sulur around 11.30 AM he boarded a Mi-17V5 helicopter, supposedly the most advanced one being manufactured and delivered to India between 2013-16 by the Republic of Russia, wit...

It was inevitable that India would beat New Zealand in the Test Series decider in Mumbai after the Kiwis were bowled out for a pathetic 62 in their first innings giving India a lead of 263 runs; only the margin of the victory was of interest. It could have been by an innings and some runs had India enforced the follow-on at the last session of the second day. That surprising decision was somewhat explained by the Head Coach Rahul Dravid, happy with his first series win as a coach, that it was to give some batting experience to the Indian young guns and that there was no worry at all as India had ample time to bowl New Zealand out in the second innings. Perhaps, the decision was also to enable the inconsistent Pujara who came out to open in the second innings with Mayank and captain Kohli to have some batting practice too ahead of the South Africa tour starting from 26 th of this month. And more importantly, considering the fact that India’s top order or middle order or both has been fa...

photo: espncricinfo.com History is repeated at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai today, the second day of the second and last Test match between India Vs New Zealand, when the New Zealand left-arm orthodox spinner Ajaz Yunus Patel captured all the 10 wickets in the India first innings total of 325, to become only the third bowler to take 10 wickets (10/119) in a Test innings after Jim Laker in the 4 th Test between England and Australia at the Old Trafford in England in 1956, and Anil Kumble did in the second Test between India and Pakistan in 1998-99 at the Firoz Shah Kotla ground, Delhi. However, both Laker and Kumble achieved the incredible feats in the second innings of the opponent’s batting respectively while Ajaz becomes the first bowler to do so in the first innings of a Test in world test cricket history. The 33-year-old spinner made his Test debut in 2018 against Pakistan and has also been playing in the T20Is since that year. So far, Ajaz has played only 10 Tests for New Zeala...

The India Authors’ Conference and Awards-2021, a great initiative by the Navi Mumbai Chamber of Business and Industry (NMCBI) in collaboration with Great Human University, was held in Vashi, Navi Mumbai on 30 th November 2021, giving away the Awards to writers/authors/bloggers/poets in a range of categories. The full-day function was a dignified affair with the anchor Yesudas coming up with some humorous interludes at various stages to involve, entertain and enthuse the writers present there. The event was also available online for those who could not be physically present. All the Award winners and even the nominees were invited on stage to be felicitated—the winners getting an Oscar-like trophy and a certificate while the nominees were given a certificate of nomination along with a token gift—and to speak their minds. The Awards were presented by the Chairman of NMCBI, Dr. Dhirendra Gautam Mishra who has also been an author/researcher.  This writer was present on this significan...

The first Test match between India and New Zealand has ended in a thrilling draw in Kanpur today with the last pair of the Kiwis, Rachin Ravindra and Azaz Patel, holding on for more than 8 of the 20 mandatory overs on the fifth and last day. This draw reminds us of the great Sydney Save when India drew level with Australia in January this year and then went on to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy under the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane. If in that historic draw Ravichandran Ashwin crafted an unbeaten partnership with Hanuma Bihari for 40 overs lasting nearly 4 hours, here in Kanpur today debutant Rachin Ravindra played the ultimate survival game with the last man Azaz Patel. Rachin saw through an incredible 91 balls for his 18 runs with the three top Indian spinners in full flow. Although New Zealand at one stage were 79/1 Ravindra Jadeja (4/40) ignited the collapse along with Ashwin (3/35) and Axar (1/23) and when captain Williamson fell at the team score of 128/6 with more than 20 ov...

Photo: jagran.com The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) which is an independent group of experts that periodically monitors and evaluates the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and assesses its specific mutations had convened a meeting on 26 November 2021 to assess the emerging COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 that was first reported to World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on November 24, 2021. The epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterized by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the latest of which was predominantly the Delta variant that originated in India. In recent weeks, infections have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection of B.1.1.529 variant. This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other Variants Of Concern (VOCs). The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost ...

I consider it a happy accident that I found this movie titled ‘ The Terminal ’ (2004) directed by Steven Spielberg on a streaming platform. My surprise was beyond measure when I saw the genre written in the details of the movie— comedy ! Well, it need not simply be my ignorance about this great filmmaker; because in most of Spielberg’s bios or filmography the said movie is never highlighted or talked about even though the movie was a commercial success. ‘The Terminal’ tells a delightful story of a character called Viktor Navorski from Easter Europe (indicating the Russian Republic ) who arrives at New York John F Kennedy airport on a private mission only to find that in the meantime his native (fictional) country Kakrojhia had undergone a military coup and a new government had taken over. Since the US was yet to recognize the new government Viktor’s passport had become invalid and the airport supervisor took away all his documents including the passport refusing to allow him enter...