These days there is no good news in the morning papers at all.People are dying – young folks on the battle field somewhere across the ocean, 80s icons dropping dead , our state is on the verge of bankruptcy. the stock market has rendered my 401 K so irrelevant that I will need to work till I am a 150 years old – its a sad, sad way to start the day. My day begins badly and then I mosey over to office, where breakfast is usually a bowl of cold, unnecessarily sugared cereal that usually gets soggy by the time I am done with it. Inevitably, as I am watching the last, drooping flakes of Raisin Bran my mind flies to India and the culinary smorgasbord of non – sweet breakfast choices available there – even on the streets.

img via indobase.com

There is the ubiquitous omelet- pav cart  I used to patronize in Mumbai. I would marvel at the way the omelet-walla mixed up eggs, turmeric, finely chopped onions, chillies and a mysterious mix of spices in a stainless steel glass using a fork of indeterminate vintage then dropping the mixture on a sizzling hot tava ( that probably had NEVER been washed!) to create a perfectly browned and fluffy omelet. He folded it into a buttered and sliced”pav” and voila – the perfect breakfast on the go ! If eggs were not your thing early in the morning, the ever obliging Bombay Sandwich guy could provide your choice of : Veggie sandwich, cheese sandwich or Jam sandwich. The  Bombay Veggie sandwich is nothing like the inspid Subway version. Spicy green chutney spread on  3 slices of bread ( yup- its a triple decker!), boiled potato, onion, tomato, cucumber,beetroot (!) chopped and spread and finished with the deadly “masala”. Throw in an extra buck and you could get real Amul butter  instead of the non-branded goop-y variety.

Of course, no breakfast discussion is complete without mention of the ever-present “Vada pav”.This staple of Mumbai life is available at every street corner. Don’t count calories – a spicy potato “vada” deep fried and served in a Pav that is liberally sprinkled with garlic chutney -  the McDonald’s burger should blush with shame. Like everything else in India, the humble  vada pav is also politicized now with the Shiv Sena threatening to rebrand it and launch the “Shiv vada”

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Narain Karthikeyan managed to dislocate his shoulder, jumping over the pit wall on the way to the grid. Initially it was thought that he would not be racing, but there was a glimmer of hope when the Audi medical crew declared him fit, halfway into the race.

However, the ACO doctor is against him racing. With just two drivers pulling in the shift, Team Kolles are running 6th. It’s a shame that something silly has kept Narain from racing this year.

It’s not all bad for Brand India. Neel Jani, yes he is half Indian, is currently running 7th with 5 hours and change to go.

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An attack on Indian students in Australia  – the latest in a string of such incidents- has left a 25 year old engineering student from Andhra Pradesh in critical condition in a Melbourne hospital.

Shravan Kumar, the 25-year-old student, is critical, said one of his close friends who had a narrow escape during that attack.

“Doctors are still unsure if Kumar will survive and if he does, he will lose his vision or memory”, Kumar’s friend, Srinivas Gandhi, said.(link)

The group of Indian students was attacked by a group of teenagers. In the course of the attack, the attackers reportedly made statements that the students should “Go back to India”. If that is not a racial attack, I don’t know what is!

The Australian authorities have been downplaying the racial angle to such attacks in the past. Yet, they are quick to react to any hint of racism- however imaginary – directed at one of their own.

The Australians have no compunction in taking enormous amounts of money from Indian students. Every daily in India has advertisements from various Australian Universities  holding seminars to attract Indian students to apply. Some fly – by night operations even use Indian students as ATM machines. The entire scenario is based on exploitation.

Yet the Australian government has moved abysmally slowly on addressing the very real issue of violence against Indian student. See this for example.

“Last time one of the taxi drivers was killed, the government promised us there will be taxi shields inside the cabs. We are treated like second-class citizens in Australia,” Sunny Singh of suburban Blackburn was quoted as saying by local media.

What will it take for the Australian authorities to wake up?

The Indian government has shown some reaction at least:

“I have been appalled by the attack on our students in Melbourne. Our consulate general in Melbourne has been in touch with the students affected and with the state police,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters.

“We will also impress upon the Australian authorities that such attacks should not be permitted and that it is their responsibility to ensure the well-being and security of our students in Australia,” he said.(link)

I join in the condemnation of the Australian governments pathetic inaction!