Ravi the blogger

The Mutiny of 1857 was not the first sepoy mutiny in British India, nor was the older, more spontaneous irruption that took place in Vellore in 1807. Strange though it might seem, the first-ever mutiny in the British Indian army took place more than three hundred years ago   (though the white, European soldiers in the Company’s army of the time were not “sepoys” in the real sense of the word).     The rebellion took place in the nascent British colony of Fort St David near Cuddalore and the leader of the rebellion was a decorated soldier   and former member of the Fort St George council named Robert Raworth who had successfully defended the fort from an invasion of Swaroop Singh the  faujdar of Gingee in 1711-12. Fort St David was, first, obtained by the British East India Company in 1691. Right from its beginnings, the colony had to endure the hostility of the formidable Swaroop Singh whom, the early British authorities were thoughtless enough t...

The southern suburbs of Chennai have experienced recent development like say, the southern part of America (The direction   of growth is coincidentally southward for a handful of other Indian cities that I can think of, too. Delhi(?) Bengaluru (?) I wonder what is so magical about the south). However, there exists an unbridgeable gulf between what you see and the ground reality . The sight you often come across is that of superficial progress- a boomtown     – a cluster of buildings that propped up over night. But underneath there exists poor planning , poor waste disposal systems and   inefficient and in many cases, corrupt local administrations. And it is when the first disaster strikes, that skeletons tumble out of the cupboard. What I’ve just described especially befits the vast semi-rural landscape of Poonamallee, Kundrathur, Kovur and Thandalam that lie to the west of NH45 where banana fields and luscious green hills are bordered by IT parks and residen...

The following is an essay I wrote in Wikipedia on January 6, 2008 on "Neutral point of view (NPOV) and its enforcement". Today, the essay might be outdated but serves as a fond memory. Some of my opinions might even be wrong as I pretty new to Wikipedia, eight then. Adherence to the Neutral Point of View is one of the foremost commitments offered by Wikipedia to students and research scholars. This is crucial as it determines the quality and reliability of the website. Wikipedia's policy with respect to the Neutral Point of View is pretty contradictory. For example, Wikipedia does not care much if particular topics get excessive coverage while other topics dont even get adequate coverage. However, this is understandable. The main goal of NPOV is only to enforce neutrality and NOT to prevent excessive coverage. As long as points of view are not biased or individuals, organizations,ideologies. etc. are not abused, it is well and fine. Regarding References Though an individu...

A drive through Mount Road (Pg 42 & 43): To tell the truth, although Mallender had spent five happy hours within the Club, these hours had passed so rapidly, that it seemed incredible when his cousin announced that " it was after six o'clock, and time to make a start." The transformation of the outward scene appeared equally surprising. The wind had died away, the breakers merely sobbed softly on the beach ; a clear Eastern night was full of stars, and the light of electric lamps penetrated into every corner. Numbers of motors were parked in the vast compound ; in some sat various gay and smart ladies, sipping iced drinks, eating devilled biscuits, and holding informal meetings with their men friends. Now and then a car would slip out of the crowd, and take the Mem Sahib and her cavalier for a turn up the Guindy Road, or along the marine front, —whilst the lady's husband was finishing an interminable rubber of auction bridge. It had been one o'clock When Malle...

Jazz, Liquor and Bootleggers: America in the Twenties Human life in this world has often seen transitions. These transitions have occurred in every age, in every century. However, the latest transitions, which have been occurring in the twentyfirst have never ever impressed me; rather they have only incited deep sentiments of distaste and contempt in me. The twentieth century was a bit better, but not the best. The nineteen nineties did see some good developments; but it obviously had to be the nineteen twenties which every citizen of post-war America would have loved to live in. Alas, there are very few from that period who are still alive, and most of them are in their late ninetees or hundreds. Yet, their memories are so sharp; after all could anyone forget the days of America's golden age. The Prelude 1918 - 1923 The period of progress and transition which is referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" or the "Jazz Age" had its origins in the optimistic and pr...

CRICKET FEVER Cricket has provided one of the most passionate pastimes I have indulged in -- Absolutely not, I do not as you must have assumed share your passion for playing cricket but for watching it. Yes, I am a poor performer at cricket though my love for playing the game is as enormous as my love for watching it on the big screen .Cool! But when did all this start! Let us listen to the full story! I handled the bat for the first time in 1987 when I was barely three, or rather, I must have, for memories concerning those days are vague and unclear. However, I could remember hitting the white mass of rubber with childish exuberance, along the cement ground, and picking off some quick runs by the time I was five. I have fonder (though unclear) memories of watching the last few games of Gavaskar, and Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Kapil Dev,in the twilight of their careers and a blossoming Azharuddin in his prime. These are on the television, however, for I had never ever been to a crick...