1) There would be 10 times as many people on the ship
2) There would be a song with Kate Winslet in a white saree and of
course singing in the rain
3) The movie would be called “Pyar Kiya To Marna Kya”
4) Hero and Heroine would float in cold water for days and still
survive, but the villian would die on the first dip
5) The iceberg would be sent by the heroine’s father to teach the hero
a lesson
6) None of the women would float due to heavy designer sarees.
7) Himesh Reshammiya could not use his nose to sing as his nose would
be running due to the cold weather condition.

And last but not least
More Than 50% of the rescue boats would be reserved for SC/ST/OBC

http://karan-diwan.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/12/what-if-titanic-was-built-in-india.htm

Asian stocks posted their first weekly gain in seven, with advances in the last trading day underpinned by a rally on Wall Street on Thursday that sent the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 4 percent.

European shares were set to surge, with major indexes such as Britain’s FTSE 100 seen up by more than 4-5 percent.

Oil prices rose nearly $3 a barrel, helped by the equity gains and growing expectations for an OPEC production cut following a tumble in crude.

But jitters remain after a volatile week that saw global stock markets rally and slump on alternative days amid signals of a potentially deep economic slowdown worldwide.

The dollar sagged against the euro, but the U.S. currency held steady against the yen.

“There’s still nervousness in the market about the real economy, but in terms of valuations the price is good right now,” said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities in Japan.

“The economic problems are the main theme of the market right now and everybody knows this, so rises will be limited.”

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.6 percent at 0630 GMT, after slumping 8 percent the previous session.

The index had gained around 1 percent for the week as of early afternoon, its first weekly gain since the end of August.

Friday’s tone was helped by some encouraging earnings signals. International Business Machines Corp (IBM) said on Thursday it expects to meet long-term profit forecasts, partly due to continued growth in emerging markets.

Meanwhile, U.S. firms such as Internet search leader Google Inc and chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc posted results after U.S. market hours that beat expectations.

On the credit front, recent unprecedented measures by central banks to inject liquidity into the financial system appeared to be bearing some fruit.

U.S. dollar short-term funding costs eased for the fourth day in Asia, though stress remained in several local markets due to heightened counterparty and term risks.

But analysts warned investors would be unlikely to steer their attention from concerns over the global economy.

“The focus of the market is now shifting gradually to the weakness of the real economy,” said Minoru Shioiri, chief manager of forex trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

Data on Thursday showed U.S. industrial output posted its biggest drop since 1974 in September, while a regional factory index slumped and labour markets showed softness.

Japan’s Nikkei average rose 2.8 percent, clawing back after falling 11.4 percent on Thursday in its biggest loss since the 1987 crash.

Singapore stocks rose 0.5 percent, while Shanghai’s main index advanced 1 percent.

But other major indexes in the region fell. Stocks in South Korea and Taiwan dropped more than 2 percent each. Australian stocks lost 1 percent, India’s benchmark index slipped 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong shares were flat.

OIL RALLY

The gains in equity markets, however tentative, bolstered oil prices. U.S. crude futures for November delivery rose $2.9 to $72.79 a barrel, reversing a decline of more than 6 percent during U.S. trade on Thursday.

Base metal prices also rallied, with London Metal Exchange copper, zinc and lead all up sharply percent in Asian trade.

In currency markets, although the dollar sagged against the euro it held flat near the yen in choppy trade as some investors remained concerned about a global recession.

“Fears about financial institutions going under have eased since the Group of Seven meeting last week as governments showed readiness to pump in public funds,” said Takahide Nagasaki, chief forex strategist at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

“The easing of such fears is slowly reversing a previously seen flight to safety into such currencies as the yen,” Nagasaki said.

The euro was up 0.4 percent from late Thursday New York trade at 1.3505, while the dollar held steady against the yen at 101.51.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20081017/371/tbs-global-markets-asia-shares-advance-b.html

India’s Oil Secretary R.S. Pandey said on Thursday some domestic airlines, including Kingfisher, had defaulted on jet fuel payments.

“We are discussing with Oil PSUs to repay in a phased manner..we want to take a little more extended credit,” said Ravi Nedungadi, Chief Financial Officer of UB Group, which holds a controlling stake in the airline.

“We are discussing the timeline (for repayment), it would be inappropriate to reveal any more, but there is an understanding developing on both sides,” he added.

He added that getting funds from banks was becoming a major problem for the airline industry as a whole.

“Every company is caught in a bind because the banking sector is unable to lend even if they are willing to. They just don’t have the liquidity. What option do we have?,” he said

The real solution would be to bring ATF prices down, he said.

ATF, or aviation turbine fuel make up between 30 and 45 percent of an airline’s operating cost. In August, a kilo-litre of ATF cost 73,600 rupees in Mumbai, compared with 46,500 rupees equivalent in Singapore.

Its code sharing agreement with top private carrier Jet Airways will yield cost benefits in another month or two, Nedungadi said.

Kingfisher and Jet this week set up an alliance to cut costs through code sharing as well as sharing of ticketing, ground services, fuel management and crew training and utilisation.

Both airlines will save about 15 billion rupees annually, Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya had said.

Kingfisher and Jet are also planning to return 14 narrow bodied leased aircraft in an attempt to rationalize its fleet, he said, adding that the exercise was not yet complete.

“The decision has not been finalised, the 14 aircraft we are planning to return is more of a target,” he said, adding that the carriers to be returned would be A-320s and Boeing-737s.

“The industry on the whole has to contract and become more efficient, but for that we have to tide through this current phase which is very challenging,” he added.

The alliance between Jet and Kingfisher would not result in a monopoly in the airline industry or hurt discount carriers, Nedungadi said.

“Low cost carriers are offering a completely different product. The problem is where you try to offer a full service product at the cost of a no-frills one,” he said.

Shares of Kingfisher Airlines were up 5.07 percent at 46.60 rupees in a flat Mumbai market.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20081017/371/tbs-kingfisher-talking-to-oil-cos-for-ph.html

Chairman Naresh Goyal told a news conference in Mumbai that reinstating the sacked employees was his personal decision.

“I apologise for all the agony you went through,” Goyal said. “The management will have to understand sometimes in a family there are disagreements but the father of the family decides.”

Earlier, Jet Airways said it would lay off 1,100 staff in the next few days on top of the 800 flight attendants already sacked this week as part of efforts to cope with slowing demand, high fuel prices and the global credit crunch.

The job losses and protests have struck in an industry at the heart of India’s economic modernisation, with millions of middle-class Indians taking to the skies and carriers employing thousands of young men and women.

The airlines asked the government to bail them out but so far it has not acted.

The employees, who were mostly on contract or probation, found support from local party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which local media said was in talks with Jet officials for employees from the state to be reinstated.

MORE LAYOFFS

Labour laws that make it hard to lay off employees have led to a policy of hiring more contract workers in India, which has caused protests at the Indian units of Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co in recent years.

Last month, sacked employees beat to death the India head of an Italian industrial manufacturing company near Delhi.

The Indian aviation industry, which had grown at an average annual pace of more than 25 percent in the past few years in a booming economy, is forecast to post combined losses of nearly $2 billion in the year to March 2009.

Jet Airways, which has said it expects to break even in the full year to March 2010, has struggled to raise money, with the turbulent market delaying a planned $400 million rights issue as well as a stake sale by founder Goyal.

Jet, which on Monday announced a code-sharing alliance with No. 2 carrier Kingfisher Airlines to cut costs, has put its international expansion plans on hold and trimmed capacity.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20081017/736/tnl-jet-airways-reinstates-sacked-employ.html

‘The bottom line is that American efforts to shape the world are unlikely to succeed fully without the cooperation of India,’ said Senator Dick Lugar Wednesday adding, ‘Its sheer size ensures that it will have an enormous impact on the global economy.’

The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was laying out at the National Defence University what was described as ‘a new foreign policy approach for the next president focusing on energy security, trade, climate change, and pro-active American leadership.’

‘With patient investments in the building blocks of national security and attention to long term strategic opportunities, the United States will thrive in this century as we did in the last,’ he told Republican nominee John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Amplifying this dynamic, Lugar cited the India nuclear deal as a case ‘in which our government has succeeded in implementing a game-changing policy that opens up new economic and strategic opportunities that may benefit our diplomacy for decades.’

‘By far the most forward looking foreign policy achievement of the current administration was the recent nuclear agreement with India, which could free the US-Indian relationship from decades of contentiousness,’ he said.

‘The benefits of this pact are designed to be a lasting incentive for India to abstain from further nuclear weapons tests and to cooperate closely with the United States in stopping proliferation,’ Lugar said.

‘But the strategic benefits of the relationship extend far beyond the nuclear agenda,’ added the lawmaker who as then chairman of the Senate panel played a key role in crafting the US enabling law, the Hyde Act.

‘We have already received some benefits from this engagement,’ said Lugar suggesting, ‘India is taking a more positive outlook toward the US military presence in Afghanistan than it did originally.’

‘It supported our efforts to constrain Iran’s nuclear programme through its votes in the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors in 2005 and 2006,’ he said. ‘India has also taken a more supportive attitude toward the Proliferation Security Initiative, though it has thus far declined to join.’

‘The bottom line is that American efforts to shape the world are unlikely to succeed fully without the cooperation of India. Its sheer size ensures that it will have an enormous impact on the global economy,’ Lugar said.

The nuclear deal gives the US a better chance to cooperate with the Indians on limiting carbon emissions, he said. ‘We have a strong interest in expanding energy cooperation with India to develop new technologies, cut green house gas emissions, and prepare for declining global fossil fuel reserves.’

‘The United States’ own energy problems will be exacerbated if we do not forge energy partnerships with India, China, and other nations experiencing rapid economic growth,’ said Lugar.

The Indiana senator said the agreement also improves US ‘access to the burgeoning information technology industry in India and strengthens our position related to strategic issues pertaining to China, on which India is naturally predisposed to be with us.’

‘A closer relationship with India, gives us more diplomatic leverage in preventing flare-ups of the conflict between India and Pakistan,’ Lugar said suggesting ‘Further down the road, it is reasonable to expect greater conventional military cooperation with the Indians as they buy more of our weapons.’

‘This could be critical to areas of joint interest, such as counter-terrorism and the suppression of piracy,’ the lawmaker said adding, ‘With a well-educated middle class that is larger than the entire US population, India can be an anchor of stability in Asia and a centre of economic growth.’

‘By concluding this pact, the US has embraced a long-term outlook that will give us new diplomatic options,’ Lugar said describing it as ‘opportunity to build a strategic partnership with a nation that shares our democratic values and will exert increasing influence on the world stage.’

http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081017/890/twl-us-cannot-shape-the-world-without-in.html

*To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with a high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10m) of both near and far side of the moon.

* To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium with a spatial resolution of about 25 km and high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with a spatial resolution of about 20 km.

It will take about 5½ days for Chandrayaan-1 to get to the Moon. Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will be in a 100 km polar orbit around the Moon. Instruments of the European Space Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA are to be flown as payloads.

It will be a proud moment for all Indian when Chandrayaan-1 is successfully launched. I work for ISRO and knowing the efforts that have been put into this project, there is not even a speck of doubt in my mind that it will be a grand success. Send in your wishes for Chandrayaan-1 to be a grand success. You can email your wishes to moon@isro.gov.in

http://indiaregion.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/10/wish-india-s-moon-mission-of-chandrayan-1-a-grand.htm

With realty sector, the position is optimistic because of the heavy inflow of foreign funds and the tie ups local builders get into with them. Builders are concerned with the profit margin and would compromise on the price level so long as it does not sting their purse. Their concern for ecology is even less than for raw materials and could always put up attractive landscaping to trumpet their eco concerns. But their need for land is consistent and they would branch out into the outskirts so long as the buyers are there. It means extension of housing/commercial complexes geographically is an undeniable fact. Artificial increase in land value has not been arrested and the government seems to be able to do little about it. So urbanisation will be total but quality life is beyond anybody’s comprehension.

The same yardstick applies to automobile or any other core sector because they are all ruled by price tyranny. Globalisation has made it impossible for a particular country to keep price levels reachable because of interdependent economies.

There is need for eco rating now. It means that every sector – realty, automobile or engineering – must be allowed to have their physical resources in place without upsetting ecology. Tax must be so computed to penalise them for the level of harm to ecology and conversely give them relief to the extent of contribution to protecting ecology. Eco rating deserves a deeper attention than is getting now.

http://subbumani.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/06/eco-rating-a-major-issue-now.htm

What are the adventures you can enjoy in India?

The right question should have been which adventure you cannot enjoy in India?
Here you get abundant of adventure opportunities for adventures like mountaineering, sports, hiking, trekking, biking, river rafting walking and many more.

Trekking in India: -

If you carry a passion for exploring and facing the truest nature then trekking is the best option.
Trekking can be best done in the northern parts of India. Laddakh, Garhwal, Himalayas are some of the most loved trekking destinations.
Tourists from every corner of the globe come here to trek and explore new dimensions of adventures. Sikkim is also one of the best trekking destinations in India.
Every region offers a new challenge for adventure hence it is popular phrase tagged for India- “If you have dare and will-power then only think of trekking in India.”

Camping in India:-

Camping is one of the most popular adventure activities in India. The best thing about camping is that anyone can enjoy it.
Camping in suburbs and remote areas of India is really a wonderful experience.
You get to learn about new cultures, lifestyles and people which you may never come across in your city. Himalayas, northeast, Uttarakhand are some of the best camping locations in India.
Several campers from all round the globe come here to adventure regardless extreme weather and conditions.

Safari in India:-

You must have heard of enriched wildlife in India. Now you can explore them on own. Safari is one of the favorite activities of adventure lovers from all around the globe.
Jeep Safari, Camel Safari or any other; you get plentiful options to choose the style of your safari. Safari in Thar Desert or in dense forests of India is simply extra ordinary experience.
Do not forget to observe the enriched Indian wildlife that includes galore of species of Flora and fauna.

There are several more thrilling adventures that can be equivalently enjoyed and experienced.
Glacier tours, river rafting, diving, biking, cycling, mountaineering and so on, there are thousands of activities to be enjoyed here.

http://seo-subhash.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/10/adventures-in-india.htm

There is a line which reads “Punjab, sindh, gujarat Maratha, dravida utkala (area of ancient orissa Kalinga) Banga. It talks about the people of the regions mentioned, it is not exclusively those regions, but meant to represent all peoples. You are welcome to click the link and enjoy the Anthem. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7399792002477900458 . It is beautiful, if it is the first time you are hearing you will have goose bumps.

What is happening in India

The prosperity of India is at stake now, with extremism taking root and it will continue, unless we, the moderates gather guts to speak out against it. If we don’t, we are asking to go down the hill. The evil persists because of you and I, and you and I can change that, if we stand up for what is right.

Our prosperity becomes sustainable, if we can keep Justice as its foundation. Justice for all based on treating each one as a simple human being and an Indian.

We are Good Indians, some of us are ugly and a few of us are bad guys. We should not be thinking in terms of our caste, religion or language. We need to act and talk as just Indians; Good bad or ugly. We will make the progress. Let’s do our own individual work and not score on what others do or not do, peace begins with me, you and each one of you who is reading this.

We are letting extremism prevail and stain our faiths, every faith. We need to identify criminals for who they are and must be tried under the law. Let’s not be dumb to give a religious label to criminals. My homeland United States, sadly is run by short-sighted, macho men and women who have gone about a wrong way in dealing with terrorism, they have failed and still don’t get it. Let the people of my Motherland deal with it effectively and precisely. Criminals have no religion and to give one is dumb. You can punish an individual but not a religion, which is simply a name, an intangile thing.

Hinduism is an open and all embracing religion, just as other faiths. Every individual should have a right to drink different flavors of tea, eat any one of the hundreds of food items, and choose to see one or many of the 1500 movies that India produces (bollywood and regional), support one of the 15 candidates fielded to run for a political office and can believe in God or not, believe in any faith he or she wants and change it as they desire. That is our cultural heritage and should be preserved. The extremists outrage is not about religion, but about the extremists politicians attempting to gain control through destruction. We

If you know any movements or individuals in India who can mobilize moderate Indians to get them the guts to speak up, I would like to connect with them. I am torn and concerned with what is going in India with the extremsist having their hey day.

We are proud of our heritage – a multi-faith, multi-cultural, multi-regional and multi-linguistic society, where we have come to accept and respect every which way people have lived their lives. For over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of pluralism – it has embraced Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i and Zoroastrianism to include in the array of the indigenous religions; Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

India led the way to the freedom movement, since 1947 every country has been liberated from colonialism. Indian democracy is a shining example to the world, where the people have peacefully transferred the powers. Indians are inherently secular and economically capitalistic.

They believe in “live-and-let-live” life style, which is the essence of capitalism.Through the years we have expressed the highest degree of maturity on handling extreme situations; the more divergent opinions we hear, the larger our heart grows, the bigger our embrace would be and we can cushion more differences. Let’s continue to honor the concept that there is always another side to the story, as finding the truth is our own responsibility.

99% of Indians are moderates and darn good people, like any other people on the earth. We should not let that 1% run our lives. Each one has to speak up. In the spirit of our national Anthem, let’s not divide people, we are one Jana; one people.

I am proud of my heritage and am proud to be an Indian and an American. Let’s take a stand to keep India as one… let’s begin first, let’s clean our hearts first and then look or score. Click for our national anthem: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7399792002477900458

** India is for every Indian as such we have no room for hate mongers and anti-religious people on this group. No postings bashing any faith will be permitted.

Jai Hind

http://mikeghouse.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/09/indian-national-anthem-as-the-best-song.htm

Chennai India 2012

It seems silly that when power from a monster nuclear fusion station a safe distance away is supplying non-polluting power in prodigal amounts—in the form of sunlight—people should be talking about power starvation.

The idea was Indian, and it was laughably simple, but it ushered in solar power in a massive way. The innovation was battery changing stations for electric powered cars similar to petrol filling stations. The power came from the sun. The trick was to place photovoltaic panels wherever one can place them, on uncultivable land, on hill sides, and in the town and cities on roof tops, every available free space in fact to recharge batteries. As sunlight falling on one square metre surface produces 1000 watts per day the amount of power available is prodigious. This is how it worked.

***

Mitran stood back and admired his new electric car, the Mira II. It was blunt nosed and had a humpy rear, but that did not matter—he liked her looks. So did the public. They called it the Crow Chick and went for it in such a big way that just months after its introduction it became the most popular car in the market. It was this car, and the ingenuity of the Indian entrepreneur that has put electric power in the roads of not just India but the world.

Seethal, his wife came out of the house dressed in jeans and loose fitting T-shirt, the travel dress of South Indian middle class men and women. She opened the dickey door to check if her husband had loaded the two travel cases. She went round the car. It was tiny but a four door model. It deserved only two doors but two door cars have never succeeded in India. She opened the front door on the non-driver side and slid in. One did not have to crouch to get in as in many expensive models. This was another feature that makes for popularity of cars in India.

Mitran locked the house door and pulled several times to reassure himself that he had indeed locked it. He then got in the drivers seat and with a flourish switched on the car. It started humming. The electric car moved noiselessly. He gently pressed the accelerator and it responded. They nimbly weaved their way through Waddles Road and Barnaby Road and eased into the stream of cars, two wheelers, three wheeler, buses and trucks that sped along Poonamalee High Road. From here it was a straight run to Bangalore 300 kilometres away.

The power for the car came from lead-acid batteries. Yes, the grand dad of all car batteries was still holding fort. But not quite the variety grand dad had used. This one was based on AGM cells (Absorbed Glass Mat), has lead-tin alloy deposited on light weight open pore substrates. The battery is 50% lighter and 60% more efficient than the battery grand dad used. It is factory sealed and needs little maintenance. It is much cheaper compared to the lithium ion battery preferred by foreign makers of electric cars, and surges power when needed. Weight was still a factor for two heavy units were necessary if the car was to get 70 kilometres from one charge. But the manufacturers made virtue of this necessity. They placed the batteries at the base which made the very light car stable on the pot-holed Indian roads. .

They had hardly passed the Koyambedu market when Sheetal lent over her husband to look at the dials.

"What are you doing," he said rather annoyed at the disturbance she was causing.

"Checking the battery," she said.

"They are OK. We change batteries after fifty kilometres though we have enough to go for the 70."

The Indian innovation was the battery changing stations. Before this battery recharging was by outlets in home or in parking places. It took time as anyone who has charged cell phones and iPods knows. The changing station charged batteries with solar power from panels set in surrounding fields and house tops. At any moment they had rows of charged batteries on their shelves ready to be fitted into cars. It took less time to change batteries than it took for filling the tank.

“The papers say that every bit of spare space around is taken up for solar panels,” said Seethal, “but I don’t see many.

“They lie hidden. If seen from the roads they will be subject to tax.”

At Poonamalee by-pass road they passed a battery changing station. Paddy fields, green and lush, now bordered the road. On the roofs of many houses they saw solar panels to provide power to the homes. Oil starved India has taken to solar power in a big way. They drove on.

"How many kilometres s till we come to the next changing station Mitru," asked his wife.

"Nervous aren't you," said Mitran. "See the drive plan I got from AASI." Seethal pulled it out of the glove box and spread it out of her thighs and read.

"There's one every fifteen kilometres,” said Mitran. “We can miss three changing stations with impunity.”

The next battery station was on the outskirts of the small town of Sriperumputhur. Mitran eased into the battery station that was rather like petrol bunks but instead stopping at the pumps the cars had to reverse into niches. A mechanic checked battery power. Two large lead-acid batteries lodged in slots built into the undercarriage, one in front and one behind. There was no power in one of them and three forth power in the other. The mechanic changed both. Mitran paid the bill. For the partly charged battery Mitran got a discount based on the charge left in the battery. Within minutes Mitran was off again.

"What do they do with our dead batteries," asked Seethal.

"Charge them of course and fit them into other vehicles."

"Our car came with two brand new batteries. Now we have used ones. How is that?"

"Simple Seethu, the batteries that come with cars are not the property of the owners. They are part of the battery pool."

"Who then pays for batteries that need replacement?"

"We of course. And this is another neat device. We do not pay up front. The price of the new set of batteries is included in every battery change bill. It is by giving thought to such trivial matters that battery power for cars has become so popular. It is a tiny amount. Just a few pysae.”

“What is that board called Lion?” asked his wife. Mitran laughed.

“It is not Lion. It is Li ion, lithium ion. That is another type of battery.”

“Better than ours?”

“Very much so?”

“How much?’

“Well we may reach Bangalore without change.”

“How expensive?”

“The battery would cost as much as the car.”

“Ho!”

“But when we can afford we can change over without altering a single screw in our car.”

Seethal had a question. “Sunlight has always been with us. Lead acid batteries and solar panels are not new either. Why had we to wait for electric cars for so long?”

“Good question Seethal. As long as petrol prices were low no one bothered. Now that world supply of oil is going down they have woken up. Scientists are busy in solar cell research. We now have better and cheaper photovoltaic cells, the working part of the panels that extract electricity from sunlight.”

“You mean the silicon thing.”

“Yes, we have much cheaper and better substances than silicon now.”

“How can anything be cheaper than sand?”

“Separating pure silicon from sand is very expensive. Silicon has to produce electricity for two years to make up the energy that went to separate it from sand. Two years Seethal. Now we use conductive polymers laced with nano quantities of semiconductor.”

“What is nano?”

“A millionth of anything is nano. Silicon is 16% efficient in freeing electrons from photons, which is sunlight. First alternative of silicon to appear was the bucky balls. These are nano amounts of carbon in conductive polymers. This is 8 times cheaper than silicon based converters, but only 5% efficient as against the 16% efficiency of silicon. Then came several improvements in these organic solar cells. The current efficiency is close to 60%. The magic word now is CIGS, copper, indium, gallium, selenide. The day is not far off when the house owner can paint the material on the roof of his home and connect.”

“How frequently have these panels to be replaced?”

“Once in twenty years or may be twenty five. No one knows because those installed are still working. The chances are that the replacements when needed will be far more advanced and cheaper too. The dramatic fall in prices of these units is what has made them popular.”

The car purred along. The temples of Kanchipurum were visible but the highway bypassed that famous silk weaving centre.

“Seethu.”

“Yes.”

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I tried but I am not able to in this small cramped space. Our speed is not much to speak of and we have to stop every fifty kilometres to get batteries changed. Why then do we go in for electric cars?"

"They are cheaper to run. It cuts the fuel bill by a fifth. And more important our oil imports have gone down drastically. We do have to import oil for container trucks, and long distance buses and diesel trains but that is less than half of what we had to import before this solar power revolution came on. You must remember that oil is getting scarcer and scarcer, and consequently oil prices will go higher and higher whereas sun power would forever remain free. And all this is pollution free. No green houses gases and no soot."

"We may have problems in the rainy season though." said Sheetal.

"We have enough sunshine even in those seasons. Cloudy skies do not matter but if there is a depression in the bay and the thick rain clouds blot out the sun battery stations have to use diesel motors charge the batteries. These stations have provision for that."

They changed batteries in Kaveripakkam. Sheetal once again tried to compose herself for a snooze and again she failed. She thought it was better to keep awake by taking coffee.

"Please Mitru stop under some trees. It's coffee time." Mitran found a huge banyan tree under which he stopped. They got out. Sheetal took out a flask and poured coffee for him and then for herself. Mitran drank his share in one gulp. He went to the car and took out his binoculars from the glove box. He intently scanned the horizon turning a full circle while doing so.

"Nineteen," he said.

"Nineteen what?" asked his wife.

"This is an isolated rural spot with few houses scattered about. But from here I was able to count nineteen houses with solar panels. Solar energy has really caught our fancy."

"How much does it cost to install one?"

"About Rs. 18000 for two 2 metres by 1-1/2 metres photo cell panels, two batteries similar to what we have in our cars, plus installation charges including labour and one year free maintenance. That is the only expense for three years when one has to replace batteries at Rs. 6000 a pair."

"I wish you were in the business of selling and installing this equipment," said Seethal going off in at tangent womanlike.

"Do you know how many firms there are in Madras doing that business?" said Mitran.

"I have not the faintest idea"

"Guess. Five, ten, twenty?"

"You have to tell me."

"Five hundred and seventy six is the latest count. No Seethal it cannot be that good a business. Too much cut throat competition."

"In the city probably, but I am not sure about these rural areas. As for cutthroat competition what of it? We can cut throats too, can't we?" Her voice was shrill with energy. Once on this topic Mitran knew there was no stopping his wife. She was not happy about Mitran electrical good store. She has wanted him to be more adventurous but he was continuing the business he had inherited from his father.

‘You must makes things happen, Mitru,' she often said, 'goodies don’t come on platters.'

"It's time to get moving," he said. Sheetal slept. Strong coffee had contrary effect on her.

The little car purred along. It was by no means a slow car but with Mitran at the wheel it rarely touched forty. When every driver on Indian roads constantly planned on how to overtake the vehicle in front Mitran did the reverse. When he saw a truck or lorry bearing down on him he was more intent on finding ways of helping them go past him.

This road was less crowded and for the most part it was a dead straight but owing to repairs in the many culverts along the way Mitran had to take diversions. The diversions suddenly ended and the road though not broad was free of traffic. Mitran drove along, daydreaming, as was his wont. His thoughts were on his business that lately has not been doing well. As a diploma holder in electrical engineering he should have had an advantage over rivals who were all non-technical persons. But they seemed to do better. Two large construction companies had switched over to a rival firm and Sheetal was of the view that it was owing to his lack of business sense that he had allowed those firm, which had been with his shop from his father's time, to slip away.

Suddenly he thought it was time to get battery change. He read the dial. He had already missed the optimum time for change. He did not seem to have gone past changing stations for a while. He knew the answer. He was not on the National Highway. After one of the diversion he had carelessly driven into a side road. That was why the traffic had been so thin. He drove some distance towards a road marker. There was no Chitoor or Bangalore mentioned on it but some place that he had never heard of. He stopped the car. Turning back was not an option. He was too far away from any battery station. He had to take a decision on what to do. Or rather Sheetal had to. Stopping of the car woke her up. One look at the deserted road and she knew by instinct that her lord and master had made one of his periodic bloomers. She breathed in sharply prior to blasting him when she made eye contact with her crestfallen husband. All the tenderness she was capable of surged forth.

"No big problem, Mitru. I am sure that in the building we see in the distance we can find someone to procure fresh batteries for us. He drove to the building. The board said that it was an Opportunity School. Mitran did not know quite know what it meant. For him all schools were opportunity schools.

"We will find out from the small cottage nearby," said Sheetal. "It is probably the residence of the head master of this school."

A happy faced plump lady of about fifty appeared when Mitran rang the bell. Mitran explained his plight. She invited them in and offered them seats.

"We can get the batteries for you of course," she assured them. "It may take less than an hour." She switched on the ceiling fan.

"How did to manage to miss the two battery stations and come to be stranded?"

Sheetal darted a severe glance at her husband but plump lady, who sensed that she had touched a tender chord, intervened.

"Silly of me to waste time asking about what has been and not to bustle about what is to be." She pressed a bell and a khaki clad young man presented himself soon after. Mitran paid him the price for two charged batteries. He was soon off with the batteries loaded in his van.

The plump lady was Miss Maria. She was correspondent of the school. She explained that opportunity schools are for mentally retarded children. The fan stopped suddenly.

"Power outage," said Maria. "Another two hours at least. A difficult time for our residents."

"Why two hours," asked Mitran.

"Five minutes of outage is all you coddled city folks can tolerate," said Maria, but in this rural parts if you get power back in two hours you are lucky."

Mitran was not sharp enough to note his wife's face light up in a surge of inspiration.

"Miss Maria," said Sheetal "our missing our road today might be owing to our silliness (here she darted a sharp glance at her husband), but there is providence in it. The end to your outage problem is in sight."

"I don't get you Mrs. Mitran," said Maria.

"Call me Sheetal. Have you heard of the firm Mitran and Sheetal?"

"I don't think I have."

"We are in the business of setting up solar power units to homes," she said.

To Mitran's credit the dizziness caused by suddenly finding himself a partner in a well-known firm dealing in solar power units lasted for only a moment. He sat up. "You must of course have seen these power units all over though I did not see any in this neighbourhood," continued Sheetal.

"Some of my neighbours are thinking about it. But as you have observed none have ventured to install one."

"It is so easy to install and so easy to maintain," said Sheetal. "Please permit me to explain. Two panels, the shiny contraptions you can see from the road on the roof of houses, are the heart of the unit. They measure two metres by one and a half metres. They are specially designed plates of conductive polymer laced with nano quantities of semiconductors. They convert solar energy to electrical energy and store them in batteries. For homes and our car we need two of these batteries. There is no dearth of sunshine in our country throughout the year. One an average day cloudy or not, the batteries store enough power to last 36 hours."

"Cost?" asked Maria.

"Sunshine is of course free. Material cost, installation cost and maintenance cost are very reasonable." Sheetal paused as if to set her thoughts in order. Maria was obviously interested. "Cost of material, the panels, batteries, wiring, labour for setting up the units and getting them into a fully functioning condition costs Rs.20000. This includes one-year guarantee for the equipment and free maintenance during that period. Maintenance cost? That's the funny part. Expect for battery replacement once in three years there is nothing. How does it compare in cost to power Electricity Board supplies? What is you power bill?

"Averages over Rs. 3000 a month."

"That includes house and school?"

"Yes."

"Your electricity bill for the next three years if you use as much power as you are doing now from EB would be," Sheetal pulled out the calculator she used while shopping from her handbag to do the calculation, "Rs. 108000. Now for the cost of solar power. For both the school and house you may need 2 units. That comes to Rs. 40000. A profit of Rs. 68000. At the end of the next three years and for every three years after that the profit will be not 68000 but Rs. 102000. Battery replacement will be the only expense. Battery cost Rs. 6000 a pair. And of course no power outages.

"Unbelievable," said Maria.

“But true.”

"Please have a cup of coffee or something cool to drink," said Maria.

"No it’s too late for coffee," said Sheetal.

"Lunch then."

"Much too early for that.”

"You car should be ready in another half an hour or even less. Coming back to solar power. I am interested but I am not sure I have the funds," said Maria.

"I have a suggestion," said Sheetal. "You install one unit. When you are ready for it we do the next unit." Maria agreed.

Their car was ready. Seethal pocketed an advance of Rs. 5000 from Maria and soon they were on their way.

"Are you mad Seethu," said Mitran, “how do you expect to fulfil the contract?"

"No me alone Mithu but both of us. Not only this but more contracts like this," said Sheetal with quite assurance. "You can kiss goodbye to your restful days spent on your soft chair under the whirling fan in your shop. From now on you have to be as busy as a bee protecting your investment. Tomorrow we start. First thing in the morning I go to the press and order for receipt books, order forms and promotion leaflets. You will get your shop stocked with all the wires and switches and other things we need for a solar power units. Then you will find out about solar panels and batteries and get one set ready for the day after tomorrow and tell the wholesaler that you are in the market for many more and get maximum discounts. We take two workmen from your shop and proceed in

our van with our goods and do the installation the day after tomorrow. When you are attending to that I reconnoitre the neighbourhood. Not in the city but here in the rural areas. I expect to bag at least three orders in a week. Are you ready for some hard work?" Mitran nodded.

Though he was in a confused state he did the only correct thing that day—he turned the car back towards the city. On the way Sheetal was busy noting down something in a scrapbook.

"What are you writing?" asked Mitran.

"I am noting down the names of small towns not adorned with solar panels," she said. After we have done with Maria and her neighbours we work these towns."

"Good idea."

That was how the firm of Mitran and Sheetal, came into being. They are a bit expensive but they hold top spot in the field of solar power for homes. Maybe it is because they supply quality goods and gave exemplary aftercare service, or maybe it is quiet efficiency of the technical director that makes them click. But insiders know more. They have no doubt that the charm, drive and the never-say-no-never-take-no attitude of the lady who is the managing director of the firm that is the key to their success.

http://abrahamsukumar.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/09/india-leads-the-way-in-solar-power-fantasy-or-prediction.htm