Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Anand becomes chess World No. 1 : chess, vishwanathan anand, FIDE, world no 1 : IBNLive.com : CNN-IBN

Anand becomes chess World No. 1 : chess, vishwanathan anand, FIDE, world no 1 : IBNLive.com : CNN-IBN

My favourite Indian sportsperson is now World No. 1 as well. In a country where sports achievements are a rarity, being the World No. 1 and a consistent top ranked player for close to a decade and half is quite commendable. He is a thorough gentleman and a great role model. I am proud to belong to his generation.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

The Hindu : National : Laurie Baker, pioneer of low-cost houses, passes away

The Hindu : National : Laurie Baker, pioneer of low-cost houses, passes away

My good friends, Chitra and Vishwanath, architects of my house were inspired, guided by Laurie Baker quite significantly. In that sense, i have benefited directly from his remarkable work. They called him "architect to the poor", i wonder why just the poor!, it is architecture that is appropriate for everyone to follow (particularly the well to do).

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Two IAS officers to get Excellence awards

Two IAS officers to get Excellence awards

Two IAS officers, Rajeev Chawla and R S Pandey, have been selected for the Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2005-6. Chawla is secretary, Government of Karnataka, while Pandey is secretary, Ministry of Steel. The two bureaucrats would receive these awards on April 21, the Civil Services Day....

I have met Rajeev Chawla atleast on three occasions and his enthusiasm is visible to see. He seems to be a workaholic and you cannot fault him for his penchant to get things done. My friend, Anirban Mukerji, who works with him tells me that he is never short of work and has not had such pressure even in the private sector. Rajeev has also managed to be in his current dispensation for over 8 years now (not easy for an IAS officer!) and this is another testament of his focus. Congratulations!