Degeneration Of Sports Clubs – Dogs & Indians Not Allowed!

I have been frequenting multiple Pune sports clubs over the past two decades. So I have kind of been a witness to how sports establishments seem to have moved from being open, sports centers to elitist recreation clubs. It seems like it will only be a matter of time before a “Dogs & Indians Not Allowed*” kind of board gets put up at these clubs. Through this blog, I hope to highlight what I think has gone wrong and some possible solutions.

This blog is primarily based on Deccan Gymkhana and PYC Gymkhana in Pune, as those are the clubs where I have spent most time over the past 20 years. However I believe most of the points below would apply to many such clubs across India.

Pune Loksabha Candidates Comparison – Elections 2014

Pune is fortunate to have been offered decent candidates by most parties. However there are significant differences in their profiles. While several candidates have criminal cases against them, it needs to be noted that the cases against the major candidates are related to political protests and defying police orders in the process.

Below is my quick assessment of the major candidates. It is ofcourse based on my perception. I do not claim to be unbiased or objective. Do add comments with any additional inputs / info.

Water Cuts TimeTable & Water Crisis Predictions 201’x’

By studying data over several years, Oak Labs has come out with the following predictions & timetable for Pune Water Cuts (Crisis). This timetable has been drawn up in 2012 but will apply just as well till the year 2019.

Predictions from 2020 onwards were found to be unsuitable for publication, fearing widespread unrest and law & order issues.

You can change the names & tweak the dates for these predictions to apply to any other city in India.

Lavasa City – Scam Or Development?

I attended an event titled the “Lavasa Mahaghotala Sabha” or the “Lavasa Scam Meet” on 27 Nov 2010. This event was meant to launch a widespread protest against the Lavasa project. The speakers at the meet were prominent social activists Medha Patkar, Anna Hazare & many others linked to the protest. I have live tweeted at length at http://twitter.com/harshadoak (tweets reproduced at end of article) about who said what at the meet. Thought it would make more sense to go beyond the tweets & blog my take on Lavasa. 

Vasant Vyakhanmala (Spring-time Lecture Series), Pune, India – Since 1875!!!

Vasant Vyakhanmala (Spring time Lecture series) is a most remarkable undertaking. It’s an annual event that was first held in 1875 in Pune by social reformer Justice Ranade and is being held every year since. Many of India’s top leaders & visionaries have spoken at the event and I am told that it was especially popular in the pre-independence era, with 1000s attending the lectures.

Notes & Speeches From Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (Anti Superstition) Founder Dr Dabholkar’s Book Release

Yesterday I attended the book release of ‘Timiratuni Tejakadey’ by Dr Narendra Dabholkar, founder of Anti Superstition movement in Maharashtra, Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti. My notes & recordings from the event. I appreciate that the tweets / notes are currently in fairly raw form, hope to edit into more readable paras when I have some more time on hand. Do check out the recordings of the speeches by Narendra Dabholkar & Mohan Agashe.

Trends In Software Development For The Java Platform

I recently gave a 15 min presentation followed by Q&A on “Trends In Software Development On The Java platform” at the Computer Society of India, (CSI Pune) InCSIghts conference. Slides below. The trends I touched upon 1) Power To Choose 2) Java Platform & not the Java language Is Java’s primary identify going forward 3) Convention Over Configuration 4) Mobile Apps Show Rapid Growth 5) Agile is moving from small companies & geeks to the mainstream.

Internet For Business Development, Internet Entrepreneurship & IT Security & Compliance Courses – By IndicThreads Education

From the IndicThreads Education Press Release. You are welcome to link – share >>

IndicThreads, a technology media pioneer, creators of the IndicThreads.com software developer portal & the IndicThreads Technology Conferences, announces the  launch of  ‘IndicThreads Education‘ a novel initiative in business & technology education. The courses are path-breaking in their content  & way ahead of their time as compared to curriculum of traditional education courses in India.

IndicThreads Education kicks off with three courses, all of which are a first for education in India – 1) Internet For Business & Development 2) Internet Entrepreneurship 3) Information Technology Security & Compliance