A Miss

Mangalore:  Early morning on May 22, the Air Traffic Control of the Mangalore airport began communicating with a flight that was coming in from Dubai.  Half an hour later, the Air India flight crashed after the pilot overshot the runway. 158 people were killed.

The conversation suggests there was nothing to indicate that the plane was heading into trouble, till the very end.  
 
This is the pilot talking to the ATC Area Control
 
DATE: MAY 22
TIME: 5.30 AM
 
HEADER: IX812 PILOT TO MANGALORE ATC
 
EXPRESS INDIA 812: What is the weather like?
 
ATC (Area Control): Wind: Calm. Visibility: 6 km. Clouds: Few at 2000 feet. Temperature: 27. Dew Point: 26
 
EXPRESS INDIA 812: Runway 24. And confirm we are identified on radar
 
ATC (Area Control): Radar not available sir
 
EXPRESS INDIA 812: Roger
 
In fact, the Mangalore airport's radar had not been working for two days- since May 20. The radar is a navigational aid.  Flights can take off and land without it, but that increases the workload and pressure on the ATC.

 
We come to the last leg of conversation where the flight has established contact with the ATC Tower to land .
 
DATE: MAY 22
TIME: 5:54 AM
 
HEADER: IX812 PILOT TO MANGALORE ATC
 
EXPRESS INDIA 812: Express India 812 Good morning
 
DATE: MAY 22
TIME: 6:04 AM
 
ATC (Tower): Wind calm. Runway 24. Clear to land
 
EXPRESS INDIA 812: Clear to land, Express
 
14 seconds later, this is a voice the ATC controller hears from the cockpit.
 
DATE: MAY 22
TIME: 6:04
 
VOICE FROM COCKPIT: Go around Captain
 
This seems to be the most critical part of the conversation, according to pilots we spoke to. They say  the ATC heard the co-pilot telling the pilot to go around - which means miss the landing, and let's come back again.  The pilot decided against that.

 
Apparently not perturbed with the situation in the cockpit , since go around manoeuvres do happen occasionally , the ATC issued standard instructions for the jet once it landed on how to exit the runway.

 
DATE: MAY 22
TIME: 6:04
 
ATC (Tower): Express India 812 backtrack runway 24. Vacate via Delta
 
DATE: MAY 22
TIME: 6:05
 
Less than 20 seconds later... the ATC heard just the word CONTROL... which they now say was possibly a panicky voice from the cockpit
 
Within minutes IX812 was a ball of fire. 



 

Pride and Prejudice

Last week, I got chance to watch one episode of ‘India’s Got Talent’ season 2. And although I am not a big fan of the show or judges, I was disappointed to see Sajid Khan (sicko) to replace Shekhar Kapoor. (Side note: The lady, Ms. Sonali Bendre Behl was beautiful as always.) Shekhar was good with his philanthropic comments and dramatic expressions.

The reason for the post is a performance by a group from Gujarat which was inspired by African folk dance with touch of Indian flavor. And our judge, Sajid made some silly comment on the African matter. It is surprising how people comment on African language, culture and color. Our languages like Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, etc also sound alien to people from different regions in the country. Same is the case with the folk dances across India. I don’t know why I did not like his comment; perhaps its ‘cos I don’t like Sajid or I have developed a soft corner for the land of Africa!!

And we talk of racism that Indians face in foreign lands like Australia and UK!

Media created ruckus out of Shilpa incident in reality show Big Brother. She hit a jackpot and suddenly became a global celebrity. Who gained out of it? The media and Shilpa Shetty. How about the racism that still exists?

How about the Thackreys’, both senior and junior? Senior was against the south Indian community and the junior is against north Indians!! How can one create such rift in a free land like India which is a hotpot of varied culture and religions, and that too just to gain some political mileage out of it..!

And point to note is that, Raj Thackrey who is against north Indians working in Maharashtra, had himself hired a north Indian lawyer..! What did the poor guy do who came to appear for the entrance exam?

I might be too young to comment on the big issue, however felt like sharing it!

One should be proud of ones culture but has no right to be prejudiced towards others..!!

Bucket List

Couple of years back, a movie called 'The Bucket List' with a wonderful concept hit the box office. I could not appreciate it then. But today somehow I managed to bump into it again. And was inspired to take this step and put up my bucket list.

1. Albeit, the list might look lofty enough, but then what is the use of living if one cant dream big. Dreams have to be crazy, else there is no point in having it.

2. सोचने के लिए पैसा नही लगता

3. I know, many entries in the list are materialistic but who cares, after all its a dynamic list which will evolve with time.

4. You are the privileged ones to go through whats running in my mind as of now.


So there you go..!!


A. Machines I would like to own:

Mercedes Benz

The Curves are Back..!      

Nissan Armada

B. Places I want to Visit:

Egypt

Turkey

Rio de Janeiro

C. Things I would like to do:

Date Gul Panag

Eat Caviar

Address Press Conference

D. Events to Attend:

Haj at Mecca

A Party in Greece

Oktoberfest in Germany

E. Play:

Cricket at Lords with The Sachin Tendulkar

Outdoor Chess

Golf at the Golf Home

F. Travel:

Balloon Ride at Masai Mara

Yacht Cruise in the Deep Blue

Travel to Space

Enough for the day. Will put in comments soon. 

What is on your list?

Until I join the league..!!

A tribute to all those dear friends..

• who used to be Bond once and are Bound now..!
• who used to be Wild Beasts and are Tamed by the Beauties now..!

Kidding, I am..!

Will add more soon..!

Discoveries

Like all posts, this post is simple, yet different. I want to capture different subtle discoveries/ thoughts of past few days.

#1: Maddening craze of social networking!

Its saddening! Silly updates of few maniacs shouting every hour spoils the actual fun of it.

#2: The larger than reel life image of Mogambo

Javed Saab's creation was backed by fabulous Amrish Puri performance to immortalize "mogambo khush hua"

Courtesy: Shekhar Kapoor Blog
(interesting read - what does a teacher make)

#3: Why is Nehru's death never talked about?

#4: Days where, micro overshadows image of macro

- Micro minis are always in thing (adding to reasons for earthquakes n igniting the minds)
- Though Micro blogging looks interesting, the real charm is missing for various reasons Side note: just installed mobile twitter.
- Micro financing is big hit, though not as big as micro minis. Superbly amazing spirit of support & business. Visit chakde.org

#5: HBO Babelicious Advert - simply put awesome..!

#6: pi lu @ 4:50 mins ~ 5 mins. 1800 hrs to 2100 hrs = 180 mins
180/5 = 36 times pi lu: my latest craze for today

#7: astrology is a science.

These days a very close friend of mine is into it & convinced me that it is a science.

#8: Milk is INR 26+ per litre in India

No no..! I am not into domestic chores (as yet) and neither I am talking about price hikes. Met a milkman in the lift today morning, and out of curosity inquired the prices. Bhes ka doodh @ 26 Rs per litre.

#9: Missed the June post


I want to take this figure to #10..!
Anyways later..!

A Peep

Only if it could speak..!
 

This one was clicked at a traffic signal in Ahmedabad. Bustling evening crowd, all rushing back home after long day and honking at the red light. And this poor creature has to follow the rules of life.

Strange life!

Wasn't Bad..!

Maggi: Is favorite of millions of Indians. I don’t like noodles but Maggi is always welcome. I am a very good cook. Things I can cook:

1.       Plain Omelet

2.       Scrambled Egg

3.       Half Fry

4.       Boiled Egg and

5.       Maggi

(Side note: Egg and Maggi can be a good combo. Will try it some time.)

My netted playground at Ahmedabad..! :-(

Aah..! I get sad when I see this one. Although, I played - something like 4 overs to score 34 or 44 runs! The actual fun part is missing - the real fun of playing along with a team on real play ground. As kids, we grow up listening to – ‘study now and you can play all your life later’. ?

No comments, silence!

Jugaad at peak in Nairobi..!

We, Indians are famous for all kinda jugaads. However, jugaad is not a term only in Hindi but Swahili (or Kiswahili) also has a similar word coined as Juakali meaning jugaad..! The best part is wiper on the plastic sheet.

Peak summer afternoon at Baroda..!
(Apologies for invasion of privacy)

This one is my favorite. Imagine, peak summer afternoon in Gujarat! Yet the set of two can manage to chill out together. Appreciate the amazing spirit!

 

Lazy Rainy Wednesday Morning..! (but, sadly no options..)

Frankly speaking, I wanted to skip work on that particular day and wanted to sit back and relax..!

The African Union Head Quarters, Addis Ababa
My workplace - 2 weeks a month.

The advent of the African Union (AU) can be described as an event of great magnitude in the institutional evolution of the continent. African countries, in their quest for unity, economic and social development under the banner of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) since 1963, have taken various initiatives and made substantial progress in many areas which paved the way for the establishment of the AU.

 The Wait..! @ Dinner Table

This one is imported from Dubai. It reminded me that once upon a time glass making was an art and Venetian glass was (is) world renowned for its form and make. Wondering, what is the good time to visit Italy? 

The wait was long though..!

The Wait 2..! Open Sky from Closed Boundaries
of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi

What do I do at the airports?

1. That is the time when I make all pending calls (all those who were told - I will call you later).

2. Reply to pending emails.

3. Read that article which I intended to read last week.

4. Catch up some sleep.

5. And, if time permits, read my favorite chapter from my favorite book.

Pause.

Dear All, 

This is my first attempt of photo blogging. I know, many of you like to know about my whereabouts so started with few amateur photographs that I clicked randomly. 

Thinking to plunge into serious photo blogging..! (wondering..!!) Your thoughts..?

Signing off, till then, ciao..!!

AB