Across Seven Seas and Thirteen Rivers

One of many traveletors Splendor and awe:  On July 31, 2010, while travelling from Heathrow to Kolkata, I landed at New Delhi's Terminal-3 as a transit passenger. I had a couple of hours in hand and decided to explore the facility.  The new terminal was opened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 3 July but it became operational about a fortnight later.  Prior to the  formal opening of the terminal, MSN had carried a story on the Terminal entitled: "Splendour and Awe at Delhi's New Airport Terminal 3", and on 25 June I  had uploaded a posting  on the terminal in this blog. So I was more than curious to find out for myself what it looked like and  was exceedingly happy to see that it is a truly world class facility but then I had expected no less.   Same merchandise...same brands...across the globe The construction team: Construction and management of the T3 is handled by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which is a private conso...

Tower Bridge - a sunset panorama Tower Bridge: Tower Bridge is iconic of London. It bridges London's financial district on the north bank with the Borough of Southwark on the south bank.  The picture here  is a sunset panorama with Tower Bridge in the center and the Gherkin, Swiss Re building, (which is London's first ecological tall building, designed by Fosters + Partners), to the far right. [Photo by D.Illif released under commons license @ http://bit.ly/c4JBtp]. Being located near the Tower of London, the bridge takes its name from its location and not, as it is sometimes mistakenly imagined, from its own two towers. The bridge is also sometimes mistakenly referred to as the London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream that has been there, at or near the present location, in some form or other, over the past 2,000 years; the present London Bridge is a rather mundane structure that does not deserve or draw any public attention. ...

The occasion:   This time around, the Institution of Structural Engineers  has organized a couple of away days on board the HMS Belfast  for the it's AGM and for the meetings of it's Council and the International Interest Group. These are spread over 29-30 July 2010. On 30 July, I will be making some Headline Observations in one session, and make two presentations in another session. HMS Belfast moored on the River Thames HMS Belfast:   HMS Belfast  is maintained as an Imperial War Museum and is open to the public. The ship was transferred to the Imperial War Museum  in 1976 and since then it serves as a branch of the Museum. When Belfast was first opened to the public, visitors were permitted only on the upper decks. Today all of nine decks are open to the public.  To provide public access, a walkway connects the ship's quarterdeck with a pedestrian footpath on the south bank of the river. [Photo credit: released in the public domain by Chri...

In the realm of renewable energy, India is currently doing rather well in both hydro-electricity and wind power. Today, India has an installed capacity of 30,000 MW hydro-electric power, which is approximately 20% of the estimated total capacity. Similarly, India’s installed wind power capacity is 8,000 MW, which again is approximately 20% of the estimated total capacity. However, in solar power the picture is very different. At this time India’s total installed solar power capacity is a meager 100 MW, which indicates that solar power has not even begun to scratch the surface. The game stopper here is the capital cost of the equipment, which includes the solar panel comprising photo-voltaic cells, storage batteries and high lumen yet low wattage LED's. There are other challenges as well. For example, the equipment must be rugged enough to withstand the vagaries of the weather and have a long service life. Due to its high capital cost, today, it is widely acknowledged that solar ...

Dr. Prabha Kant Sinha, an alumnus, has contributed $2m toward setting up the “P. K. Sinha - Bio-fuel Research Centre” at IIT Kharagpur . The centre is already up and running and is engaged in researching the opportunities and challenges of Bio-fuel, such as, Bio-ethanol, Bio-diesel, Bio-hydrogen, Microbial Bio-fuels in the Indian context. Prabha earned his Ph.D. at MIT and B-Tech. at IIT KGP (class of 1970). He has been an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University until 1987.  He continues to teach sales and marketing leaders in executive education programs at Kellogg and at the Indian School of Business.  He has co- authored several books that include ‘ Building a Winning Sales Force’ . Prabha co-founded the sales and marketing  consulting firm ZS Associates in 1983 and is currently it’s Co-Chairman. Headquartered in Evanston, IL, the firm employs 1500 persons spread across offices located in many countries....

For the World Cup, South Africa has used ten stadiums. My blog has already featured nine of those stadiums. Peter Mokaba Stadium is the last of those ten stadiums. Last but not in any order of merit. I simply started with Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, which is the southernmost of all stadiums  in South Africa. Then from Green Point I moved northward. Peter Mokaba being the northernmost it is the last in my series. Peter Mokaba was renowned for his struggle for emancipation of South Africa.The design  is inspired by the locally iconic Baobab tree, with the steel structure supporting the roof plane gathered together at each corner of the stadium and supported by giant ‘trunk' structures which accommodate vertical circulation ramps and service cores. It has a capacity of 42,000 spectators. [Photo credit: Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup.]

This stadium was newly-built for the World Cup. Mbombela literally means 'many people together in a small space.' It has a capacity of 41,000. It has been a welcome addition to the region which otherwise did not have any major football stadium earlier. [Photo credit: Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup.]

The stadium—built in 1999 and upgraded in 2010—has a capacity of 39,000. It is named after the Bafokeng people that live in the area. Located 12km away from Rustenburg city center, the stadium is just under half an hour’s drive from the famed Sun City. [Photo credit: Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup.]

Built in 1906, this is one of the oldest stadiums in South Africa. Since 1948, it has undergone continual upgrades. It is the venue for both rugby and football and is the home to one of South Africa’s top rugby clubs, the Blue Bells. It has 43,000 seats. South Africa's national team, Bafana Bafana, achieved its first ever victory over a European side at this venue when they beat Sweden 1-0 in 1999. [Photo credit: Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup .]

The Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg was originally built in 1987. It underwent a major reconstruction and upgrade that was completed in 2009. With its present capacity of 88,500, the reconstructed stadium is the most awesome soccer venue in the African continent. The design is inspired by the iconic African pot called calabash . When lit up at night it provides one of the most spectacular views of Johannesburg. The venue hosted the first match of the World Cup 2010 and will appropriately host the final match as well. [Photo credit: Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup.]

This stadium was built in 1952 and has hosted many major football and rugby union matches. Bloemfontein natives are one of the most passionate fans of football and rugby. Earlier rugby used to be more popular but recently football seems to have overshadowed rugby. The stadium was refurbished for the FIFA World Cup 2010. During refurbishment the capacity was upgraded from 38,000 to 41,000 spectators. [Photo credit: Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com ]

The newly built Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban is the most spectacular of all 10 stadiums. It is characterized by two archways that span a whopping 350 meters and rise a staggering 106 meters above the pitch. The 63,000 seater is a multi-purpose venue and an amphitheatre complete with a cable car which ascends to a viewing platform at the top of the arch affording visitors spectacular panoramic views. The roof is attached to the arch by 95mm-diameter steel cables. The stadium design is inspired by the South African flag. The soaring archway symbolizes the unity of the nation in that it has two legs on the southern side of the stadium which merge together to form a single foundation on the northern side representing the unification of a once divided population. Photo credit (both photos): Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup

This stadium has a unique roof structure. Set in a picturesque surrounding overlooking the North-end Lake, it has 42,500 spectator capacity and will host the match for the third place, one quarter final match and six other matches. Photo credit: Official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup

Green Point Stadium is located in Cape Town. Of the ten World Cup stadiums in South Africa this is at the southernmost location. It is one of the two venues for the semi-finals. The image shows the picturesque location. It has 64,000 spectator capacity and has noise reducing exterior cladding -- this is because the stadium will be used also to stage major events like concerts. Cape Town has another world class stadium, Newlands, which is used primarily as a rugby venue. Acknowledgement: Pictures sourced from the official FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/destination/stadiums/index.html

Delhi's new airport terminal T3 is all about space and size. Almost one kilometer in length, when inaugurated on 3rd July the terminal will become the third largest in the world. [First image: AP]. The new terminal has as many as 92 traveloters or automatic walkways. It has a whopping 78 aerobridges, the highest number in the world at any given airport terminal building - these aerobridges are designed to support Airbus A-380 and have the capacity to handle 600 passengers per hour. [Second image: Amith Rahul]. The terminal will cater to both domestic (excluding the budget airlines) and international passengers. It has the capacity to handle 34 million passengers per annum. See photo gallery at MSN News: http://news.in.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=4060989

Kolkata TRAI Chariman, Dr. J S Sarma, IAS addressed an interactive session at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce on 8th June 2010. Among others, he said that Indian mobile telephony customer base which is currently 600 million will go up to 1 billion in 2014. His main presentation is reported in today's media and is not reiterated here. At the end of his presentation, during an interactive session, along with others, I too had the opportunity of raising a few issues. My questions and Dr. Sarma's responses are given below because these are all matters of great public interest. Q-1: What is the future of the conditional access system (CAS)? Trai Chairman's response: The conditional access system will be phased out in about 5 years by which time CAS will be replaced by a new digital transmission technology. Q-2: Aside from hurting the cityscape, are roof-top transmission towers also health hazards for the neighborhood? Trai Chairman's response: In the normal course of their fu...

Kolkata Frank Gehry's Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas was formally opened on May 21, 2010. And, it was featured in World Architecture News (WAN), May 27, 2010 issue. WAN editorial calls it Gehry's stunning new project, and, among others, states that " the building has received critical praise from the Los Angeles Times architecture critic, Christopher Hawthorne, as having the most impressive Gehry-designed interior space since the architect’s Disney Concert Hall in 2003." You may check out the WAN editorial and the pictures of the building at: http://bit.ly/aNn287 . The building houses a leading research center for degenerative brain diseases. The main facade seems to reflect, as one viewer puts it, a crushed brain thrown in a waste bin of crushed paper cut outs. The other facade is however disciplined in a conventional way. Altogether 25 viewers have commented upon this project at WAN in the past few hours since publication. Sadly, most...

Kolkata Today i launched my blog. My mind is heavy with the mindless killing of three bright young kids of my neighborhood two days ago in Pune terror attack. And, again, yesterday as many as twenty-four cops were killed in West Bengal. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. Violence has been with us. Is with us. And, will remain with us. For how long, who knows. Certainly, it will pervade my life time and my children's life time. Let us urge the governments and societies across the globe to initiate long term inclusive developmental programs so that violence is eventually reduced. G20 is already discussing this and some small measures have been taken already. I hope, and feel certain that mankind will find ways of resolving this issue, if not wholly, at least substantially.