Shankar Nag - Memories Recalled

Shankar Nag - noted Kannada film director, actor was born on Nov 9 - 1954 in Mallapur Village near Kumta, Uttara Kannada (present karwar) district in karnataka, India. His elder Brother is Ananth Nag - a noted kannada film actor.

Being born in a orthodox Brahmin family - these two brothers were not the ones who tread an orthodox path. However they were good in their studies. Shankar Nag shifted to Mumbai along with his elder brother Ananth Nag after completing his education. Ananth Nag got him a job in the same bank where he was working. Similarly both of them had keen interest in Theatre and Plays. Having seen the plays and yakshaganas in their native palce since childhood- it is no surprise they somewhere had a desire in them to do it in a diffrent way!! Both of them started acting career in Marathi and Hindi plays after their office hours.

Whenever we start to talk about Shankar Nag - the discussion will be half complete without mentioning his elder brother Ananth Nag. It is by seeing, learning and being influenced by Ananth Nag - Shankar ventured into the art of theatre plays and cinemas. The elder Anath Nag was the first to catapult in cinemas with noted director Shyam Benegal with hindi movie "Ankur". The movie was well received by the industry and audience. Ananth rose to a stardom soon - he initially chose to proceed into subject cinemas rather than the mainstream ones. He acted in many more hindi films - especially with Shyam Benegal. Very soon Kannada Film industry noticed a kannada guy doing well in Hindi Film Industry and chose to bring him to Kannada films which it is believed ananth was not so keen initially. He opted to do mainstream movies in Kannada as an experiment - and to his surprise he became a hit soon. That is when he decided to shift his base to Bangalore from Bombay. He asked his brother to resign from his bank job and join him to shift to bangalore. Ananth Nag wanted his brother to be actor, and he wanted him to start acting in Kannada movies - Ananth was confident that his brother was a "SOLID HERO MATERIAL".

Shankar had his own plans - to be a film director rather than be a actor. He had his own complexities. He started working in few film units - assisting the directorial team. Girish Karnad had planned a new film with story of a mercenary, and he was looking for a fresh young actor who can take off the role well. Without much difficulty he found the actor for this lead role - a guy who was working with his directorial team - Shankar Nag. But Shankar Nag was adamant that he will not do it, instead he offered Girish to be his Assistant Directo . It was Ananth Nag and Girish Karnad who forced him a lot to agree. The movie was named "Ondanondu Kaaladalli" - means once upon a time. Reluctantly the guy acted in this Movie and went on to win National Award at Dehli International Film Festival!! This film brought lot of recognition for the kannada film industry and the complete film team as well. Shot in Turmari and Hunasikatti Villages near Belgaum - its a story about a mercenary played by Shankar Nag who is gets involved in the feudal battle. The turmuri vade (waa-de) of the film is another highlight, which can be seen even today

Shankar Nag made his directorial debut with movie "Minchina Ota" - a story of 3 thieves who escape from Hindalga Jail of Belgaum and their life thereafter. It won 7 state awards along with best film. Shankar's life was completely different from there after. The commercial film producers and directors flocked him - and he became a hit in them too and rose to Stardom to be known as "Karate King - Shankar Nag". There was a time in Kannada Film Industry when elder brother Ananth Nag was a hit in Social, romantic and drama movies where as younger brother Shankar Nag was a hit in Mass movies. This carreid on for almost a decade!! 

The involvement in commercial films did not deter the creative thinker in Shankar Nag. While being involved with commercial cinema he finalized his next move - through which the whole India remembers him till today along with the tune "tananaa tana na na naa..." . Yes, I am talking about Malgudi Days. Through "Malgudi Days" Shankar Nag became a household name in India. Till today "Malgudi Days" CD-DVD set is one of the highest sold CD-DVD set year on year!!

Many of us do not know that Veteran Actor Dr.Vishnuvardhan has acted in Malgudi days, that was also the time when he was at another peak of Career after his movie "Bandhana". Many of them discouraged him from doing a serial at peak of his career - but he did not care for what they said like a true Lion. Dr.Rajkumar's 200th Movie "Ondu muttina kathe" was directed by Shankar Nag. Both of these senior actors always loved to work with him - that was the trust they had on Shankar Nag.

When we recall these all we become so happy - this was our own guy. His untimely death disturbed most of the citizens of Karnataka. Because everybody knew that if this guy would have been till today he would have shot to international fame with his work and creativity. Not only as a film industry person, he thought about the society as well. A small example about this to you guys:-  "Shankar Nag had dreamt of having a bangalore metro and he had initial discussions with govt in late 80's. This proposal was left soon after his death. And Bangalore got its metro running only in 2011 after 20 long years!!

   

Today you go to any town or city in Karnataka - you will find atleast few autos with Shankar Nag's painting on it. Even after so many years of his demise - Its not only the autowallas, but each and every kannadaiga has special place in their hears only for Shankar Nag. 

There are many times where I have thought Dr Rajkumar, Dr Vishnuvardhan, and Shankar Nag should have been in our Kannada Film Industry at this time. Sometimes I also feel that they all were at the right times - except Shankar Nag who should have been here for more time.

Today we all carry his memories and his contributions with his creativity with us only to share this to our future generations to come. Definately we all have much to say about him.

I am putting in front of you the rare collection of Shankar Nag's snaps from his first movie "Ondanondu Kaaladalli" - I am sure you will be spellbound to see the youngest Shankar Nag.

Shankar Nag - life short lived with many achievments of his own kind, is really a motivation for every individual as to how anybody can live life KING size even if the time you have is less.

Your's lovingly

Raju Hiremath


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ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ ನಾನು!!

//೧//

ಕನ್ನಡ... ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ..

ನಾನು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ...

ಕನ್ನಡಿಗನಪ್ಪ ನಾನು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ.

ಜಗದಲ್ಲೇ ಸುಂದರ

ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನಾಡುವ 

ಭಾಷಿಕ ನಾನು - ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ.

ಜಾಗದಲ್ಲೇ ಮೋಹಕ 

ಲಿಪಿ ಹೊಂದಿರುವವ

ಭಾಷಿಕ ನಾನು - ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ.

ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋದರೂ ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ  ಮನಕೆ

ಇಂಪನ್ನು ಕೊಡುವ ಈ ಇಂಪಾದ ಭಾಷೆಯ  ಗುಲಾಮ ನಾನು - ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ.

//೨//

ಉತ್ತರದಲ್ಲಿ - ಮರಾಠರಿಗೆ  ಮೋಹಗೊಂಡು

ತನ್ನತನವನ್ನೇ ಮರೆಯುತ್ತಿರು ವವರಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಒಬ್ಬ - ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ.

ಪೂರ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ - ಆಂಧ್ರರಿಗೆ ಮಣೆಹಾಕಿ 

ತೆಲೆಮೇಲೆ ಕುಳ್ಳರಿಸುವವರಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಒಬ್ಬ - ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ.

ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಲ್ಲಿ - ತಮಿಳು ಮಲಯಾಳಿ ಗಳಿಗೆ ಸೋತು 

ಶರಣಾಗಿರುವ ವೀರ "ಓರಾಟಗಾರ"ರಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಒಬ್ಬ - ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ 

  

"ಇವ ನಮ್ಮವ, ಇವ ನಮ್ಮವ ಎಂದು ಪರರನ್ನು ಕಾಣು" ಎಂದು 

ಹಿರಿಯರು ಹೇಳಿದ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಈ ಥರ ಪಾಲಿಸಿ

ನಮ್ಮತನವನ್ನೇ ಮರೆತಿರುವವರು ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು!!

- ರವಿ

ತಮಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು!!   

Have you seen God?

One day, an atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. 
He asks one of his new students to stand and.....
Prof: 
So you believe in God? 
Student:
Absolutely, sir. 
Prof
: Is God good? 
Student:
Sure. 
Prof:
Is God all-powerful? 
Student
: Yes. 
Prof:
My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. 
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm? 
(Student is silent.) 
Prof:
You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good? 
Student:
Yes. 
Prof:
Is Satan good? 
Student

: No. 
Prof:
Where does Satan come from? 
Student:
From...God.. .. 
Prof:
That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world? 
Student:
Yes. 
Prof:
Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct? 
Student:
Yes. 
Prof:
So who created evil? 
(Student does not answer.) 
Prof:
Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they? 
Student:
Yes, sir. 
Prof:
So, who created them? 
(Student has no answer.) 
Prof:
Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. 
Tell me, son...Have you ever 
seen God? 
Student:
No, sir. 
Prof:
Tell us if you have ever heard your God? 
Student:
No, sir. 
Prof:
Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter? 
Student:
No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't. 
Prof:
Yet you still believe in Him? 
Student:
Yes. 
Prof:
According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. 
What do you say to that, son? 
Student:
Nothing. I only have my faith. 
Prof:
Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has. 
Student:
Professor, is there such a thing as heat? 
Prof: 
Yes. 
Student:
And is there such a thing as cold? 
Prof: 
Yes. 
Student:
No sir. There isn't. 
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.) 
Student
: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. 
But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. 
There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat . We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy . Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it .(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.) 
Student:
What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness? 
Prof: 
Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness? 
Student :
You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright 
light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In 
reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you? 
Prof: 
So what is the point you are making, young man? 
Student:
Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed. 
Prof: 
Flawed? Can you explain how? 
Student:
Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. 
Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey? 
Prof: 
If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do. 
Student:
Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir? 
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.) 
Student:
Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.) 
Student:
Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain? 
(The class breaks out into laughter.) 
Student
: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir. 
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir? 
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. ) 
Prof: 
I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son. 
Student:
That is it sir.... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive. 

NB: I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. ..this is a true story, and the

student was none other than........ .

Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam , the former president of India .

My Journey to Mumbai - Part 2

From CST 

CST – is similar to the Chennai Central (Railway Station) – as railway track ends in both places. As I stated walking around, I noticed CST  was full of people moving around in hurry, there were almost thousands!!! As I saw the Big clock near the tracks the “26/11 Mumbai Terrorist attack” came to my mind. Those terrorists had attacked CST at peak hours killing hundreds of them. For a moment I felt proud of Mumbai. So many terrorist attacks have taken place in Mumbai City so far, but still Mumbai has never let down its spirit. The more it has been attacked – Mumbai has bounced back with strong will. This "never give up" spirit can never be seen in any other city.

The moment I came outside a huge crown had gathered near the GPO side exit watching a film shoot. With curiosity I mingled in the crowd, it was scene being picturised with Prateik Babbar & Kalki Koechlin. I stood and watched it for almost 10 mins. Tell you guys what!! watching a movie shooting is really boring!!! I started moving, asking the cops directions for “Gateway of India”. They guided me to a stop near GPO. (In between the CST and that stop you will find few ppl selling dress material like in our Jaynagar 4^th block complex). As I was waiting for the bus which took almost half an hour to arrive, few taxi guys approached me asking to jump in on fare sharing basis. But I had decided before Blore itself I will roam in Mumbai only though local train or any public transport. Luckily for me this bus ride was not like the local train experience. Along with me seated were a group of couples from Scotland, who were watching the old buildings with awe, like me.

I got down at Regal theatre stop. Once I got down, I found a different kind of Mumbai. The first thing I noticed is - autos are barred from entering(unlike the flood of autos in other suburbs of Mumbai). This part of Mumbai is well planned with wide roads, buildings beautifull built which even today depict the British Era. In the same vicinity I found few 5-star hotels, elite clubs, where "the rich and the have's dine and shine"!!

As I started walking towards Gateway of India, it started raining. Within minutes I could see people with umbrellas all over the way!! (A mumbaikar always keeps a Umbrella with him for 6 - 7 months in a year). And in 10 mins - the rain is gone. The moment I stepped in the compound of Gateway of India, I was spell bound to see the huge magnificent monument which we all have seen in many movies. It was standing there with its royal look on the edge of a seashore - as if silently telling that "I have seen a lot standing here since ages". History says it was built to welcome King George V on his maiden visit to India in 1911, YES 100 years back!!! Today it stands there as the Pride of Mumbai and Mumbai's Spirit.

I had forgot to take my camera along. I managed to take some snaps with my mobile in that late evening. On the diagonally opposite side is the Taj Hotel, yes the same hotel where the Pakistani terrorists has attacked and killed many foreigners. It was back in shape!! For a moment I was wondering - those terrorist has entered the heart of Mumbai to kill people – all the way from Pakistan. They came all the way from their country, killed hundreds at CST and Taj Hotel. What was done after that?? These places have been made more rigid with rules for the citizens, for which they will comply. On the other hand, the people who were the mastermind of these incidents are still roaming free, and the country where these all planning was done is still pleading that they are innocent. After years, now people have forget it and this will be soon forgot by the government as another attack on Mumbai. That's all.

With all these thoughts running in my mind – I lost my enthu to roam around. I just sat on the compound wall of Gateway of India which is right opposite to Taj Hotel. After some few minutes I saw some horse drawn carriages which were all lit with colourful lights and the colorful baloons tied all over the carriage. Few more of them passed one by one. The moment I saw them passing in front of me carrying smiling couples, happy families - unknowingly a smile came on my face. This all was happening in front of me as if they were conveying me that – life has some bad moments, we need to overcome them, we nedd to live toay, we need to live happily – as life goes on!! Probably this is the reason why Mumbai is not yet bogged down at all. Instantly I was charged, got up from there took more snaps, roamed around ate channa watching the sea, enjoyed watching families spending their evening, friends hanging around, couples standing together and asking passers by to take their pictures, children fighting with their parents for a boat ride!! The atmosphere around was so lively with full of laughter and fun.

With smile and contentment I headed back to CST. On the way to Regal stop I had Vada Pav & Chats followed by tea to soothe my physical tiredness. Guys, if you like eating chats and vada pav, believe me you are eating it at a wrong place. Just head to Mumbai, atleast once. Your taste buds will be satisfied for years!!

Managed to reach CST in drizzle. On my way back to Vile palre from CST the rains lashed heavily. I had not seen such heavy rains since quite a long time. The heavy rains stopped after some half an hour, by the same time I reached Vile Parle. After getting back to the lodge I took a very long hot bath. Dinner soon after my bath started pulling my eyes. By the time few of my other counterparts had arrived. I came out with them to have pan. There was a pan shop quite closeby. I ordered a culcatta sweet pan and was waiting for it. In the mean time I heard people talking in Kannada. I turned back – it was the panwala talking with another guy who had come to his shop. Instanly I interfered their talks and said “ nivu kannada davra?”. They said yes. We introduced ourselves and started talking. I was happy to talk in Kannada there. (I was getting bugged up by few mallu colleagues of mine who were all chatting n their own language, they soon left once the interaction continued in Kannada – no offense to mallu guys out there)

The panwala was from a village near Udupi. The other guy who was talking with him also introduced himself; he is from a village near Sravanabelagola, Hassan. He directed me to the opposite side of the road showing two carts (like the ones where we usually eat chats). He said "I own them, me and my family maintains it along with me. We prepare breakfast in morning and dosa in evening". On knowing that I was put up nearby. He asked me to come next morning to have tea. He said I will guarantee you will drink the best chai in Mumbai, we will have a good talk with hot chai. I said for sure.

Munching the pan I headed to my lodge. I saw my watch for the time. It was 11.45 PM. Good Night!!

TO BE CONTINUED....

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My journey to Mumbai

Last weekend I was watching a hindi movie late night. It was a story picturised in Mumbai and as usual it was shot all around Mumbai. There happens to be a scene at Vile Parle station, for a moment my experiences in Mumbai came across my thoughts.

Mumabi is one city which every Indian talks about. Simple reason, “ it’s in news”… That’s Mumbai!!

Mumbai has the wealthiest industrialist residing, the most happening  Bombay stock market exchange, Master Blaster Sachin resides here, it’s the place of world  renowned Dabbavalas who follow six-sigma, how can I not mention shiv sena and marathi manoos , Mumbai is well known for its superb night life – in fact the real Mumbai awakens only by night and above all the most happening glamorous world BOLLYWOOD is in Mumbai!!

In other words it is the commercial capital of India. Each and every citizen on this country wishes to visit Mumbai atleast once in lifetime.....sounds like a pilgrimage desire!!!!. That's Mumbai!!

There was a time in my life when I never wanted to visit Mumbai. The reason, Mumbai is always full of rush, ppl are always on run!! This happened during my final year of graduation, there were talks  at my home whether I should pursue my studies at Mumbai or Bangalore. But, I always wanted to stay in Bagalkot or probably go to Puna, not any metropolitan cities. It was my Dad who said, “ Why do you get scared? You are grown up, it’s  time you start visiting different places and learn to be independently handling things. Only then will you gain confidence, which will take you long way in life”. It’s then I opted to move to (safer) Green Bangalore in 2001.

As life moved on I too became a busy metropolitan. Always wished to visit Mumbai atleast once. Till recently about 16 months back I got an opportunity to go abroad, on an official trip twice. Having visited half of Europe, still the thought of visiting Mumbai always remained on my mind…..“ I have seen Europe but not Mumbai yet !!!!????”

Couple of months back I was told by my boss to visit Chennai on an official duty. Instantly I told him, if Mumbai were the place I would have loved to visit  – as I do not like Chennai. This dialogue came out without any deep thinking. For which my boss was totally non-agreeing. After few weeks I received a mail from our HO stating that they need me in Mumbai…. Yahooo...!!!! Had not expected  this pleasant surprise.

On the previous night of my flight to Mumbai, I was almost awake whole night. Hardly slept for 2 hrs or so… after a hectic day in office!! Next day after boarding KF flight, when it started accelerating on runway….. I thanked GOD for loving me so much!!

After landing at Mumbai, I rang my friends to inform that I reached safely – they were shocked as they had not yet reached home after dropping me at BIAL – I had reached Chatrapati Shivaji Airport, Mumbai – exactly by 1 hr 05 mins!!

I started moving out of the airport to find a person holding a placard of my name at the exit. I told him we need to hurry up fast, I have lots of work to do. The moment I checked into my suite, at Parle International, Vile parle I changed and was out in 10 mins towards Vile Parle station. At the entrance I stood infront of the notice board noting down the details of local train arrivals, the station names and the platform number. After studying it for almost 10 mins I decided to go to CST - Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus. I took the ticket and proceeded towards the platform, I saw couple of crowded trains coming on other platforms. Jam packed in EACH BOGIE!!

I stood at platform no 2 towards CST, confirmed with  ppl around about the train to CST. Took information about the number of stops to CST. In the mean time a train arrived jam-packed , by the time I was thinking which bogie to get on – zoooommm it as gone. The next one came in 5 mins unbelivably packed . The moment it stopped,  people rushed out as if they were storming for a fight, on the other side,  people were rushing in to grab a place . I was stunned!!! dint even move a inch, for a moment a shivering chill rushed through my body thinking“ will I ever get in??” Ppl around me got into the train casually!! Finally I mustered courage and told myself “let this train pass away, I’ll definitely take the next one”.

The next one too came in within ten mins. Looking at the approaching train I thought “GOD – why are you testing my guts!!” The moment the train stopped, I just managed to hold the bar at the entrance, the train started moving, I took my hand off the bar.......  to see 5 more men managing to get onto the moving train. For a moment I was like CST will never happen today. Finally a train came with manageable crowd on board as compared to the earlier ones. I safely hopped on and reached out for a handle to stand– I was the first one to get in that bogie and of-course the last one too!! J  By the next stop which happens to be  Santacruz, ppl hopped in like small children –  now I need not  hold on to the  handle for support anymore…. J  in out and out packed bogie  !!! All I could feel  was the odour from men around me – A smile emerged on my face…“Welcome to Mumbai”.

To be continued..........



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Deep waters

Deep waters scare me.
Have seen the bottom
when thrown in waters once.
My life ran infron of my eyes
like a short film.
Could'nt even shout,
- I was busy drinking water.


This silence sacres me.
Feels like being thrown into waters again.
Dont know where lies the bottom.
My life is running infront of my eyes
like a lengthy movie.
Cant even shout,
- I am busy living.

Spring

i see leaves falling off nowadays.
neither a plant nor a tree is spared,
its time to shed the old leaves
to make place for a new beginning.
the spring is here!!

           wish i was tree with others too.
           we could unburden ourselves
           to make place for a new beginning
           the spring is here!!!

India's blast from the past- Republic Of Scams

Our meida in past couple of years always tells us the bright soties of Inida, which most of us know. A glance in the past stuns us on how we have been hiding the corruption in our mats. Its not good to blame the governments and bureaucrats, becaues we are to be blamed too - which I am sure none of us will accept. But I am sure you all will agree for this. A BLAST FROM THE PAST


Rs. 73000000000000 Cr. 
(73 Lakh Crore)

Hard to digest ?
Just check the below given details

1992 -Harshad Mehta securities scam Rs 5,000 cr

1994 -Sugar import scam Rs 650 cr

1995 -Preferential allotment scam Rs 5,000 cr
Yugoslav Dinar scam Rs 400 cr
Meghalaya Forest scam Rs 300 cr

1996: -Fertiliser import scam Rs 1,300 cr
Urea scam Rs 133 cr
Bihar fodder scam Rs 950 cr

1997 -Sukh Ram telecom scam Rs 1,500 cr
SNC Lavalin power project scam Rs 374 cr
Bihar land scandal Rs 400 cr
C.R. Bhansali stock scam Rs 1,200 cr

1998 -Teak plantation swindle Rs 8,000 cr

2001 -UTI scam Rs 4,800 cr
Dinesh Dalmia stock scam Rs 595 cr
Ketan Parekh securities scam Rs 1,250 cr

2002 -Sanjay Agarwal Home Trade scam Rs 600 cr

2003 -Telgi stamp paper scam Rs 172 cr

2005 -IPO-Demat scam Rs 146 cr
Bihar flood relief scam Rs 17 cr
Scorpene submarine scam Rs 18,978 cr

2006 -Punjab's City Centre project scam Rs 1,500 cr,
Taj Corridor scam Rs 175 cr

2008 -Pune billionaire Hassan Ali Khan tax default Rs 50,000 cr
The Satyam scam Rs 10,000 cr
Army ration pilferage scam Rs 5,000 cr
The 2-G spectrum swindle Rs 60,000 cr
State Bank of Saurashtra scam Rs 95 cr
Illegal monies in Swiss banks, as estimated in 2008 Rs 71,00,000 cr

2009: -The Jharkhand medical equipment scam Rs 130 cr
Rice export scam Rs 2,500 cr
Orissa mine scam Rs 7,000 cr
Madhu Koda mining scam Rs 4,000 cr"

SC refuses to quash PIL against Mayawati in Taj corridor scam
Orissa mine scam could be worth more than Rs 14k cr

CORRUPTION, MONEY LAUNDERING SCAM, Koda discharged from hospital, arrest imminent

'A Cover-Up Operation':
"It's a scam involving close to Rs 60,000 crores"
Spectrum scam: How govt lost Rs 60,000 crore

India's biggest scams 1, Ramalinga Raju, Rs. 50.4 billion
India's biggest scams 2, Harshad Mehta, Rs. 40 billion
India's biggest scams 3, Ketan Parekh, Rs. 10 billion
India's biggest scams 4, C R Bhansali, Rs. 12 billion
India's biggest scams 5, Cobbler scam
India's biggest scams 6, IPO Scam
India's biggest scams 7, Dinesh Dalmia, Rs. 5.95 billion
India's biggest scams 8, Abdul Karim Telgi, Rs. 1.71 billion
India's biggest scams 9, Virendra Rastogi, Rs. 430 million
India's biggest scams 10, The UTI Scam, Rs. 320 million
India's biggest scams 11, Uday Goyal, Rs. 2.1 billion
India's biggest scams 12, Sanjay Agarwal, Rs. 6 billion
India's biggest scams 13, Dinesh Singhania, Rs. 1.2 billion

1, Jeep Purchase (1948) :- Free India's corruption graph begins. V. K. Krishna Menon, then the Indian high commissioner to Britain, bypassed protocol to sign a deal worth Rs 80 lakh with a foreign firm for the purchase of army jeeps. The case was closed in 1955 and soon after Menon joined the Nehru cabinet.

2, Cycle Imports (1951) :- S.A. Venkataraman, then the secretary, ministry of commerce and industry, was jailed for accepting a bribe in lieu of granting a cycle import quota to a company.

3, BHU Funds (1956) :- In one of the first instances of corruption in educational institutions, Benaras Hindu University officials were accused of misappropriation of funds worth Rs 50 lakh.

4, MUNDHRA SCANDAL (1957):- It was the media that first hinted there might be a scam involving the sale of shares to LIC, Feroz Gandhi sources the confidential correspondence between the then Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari and his principal finance secretary, and raised a question in Parliament on the sale of 'fraudulent' shares to LIC by a Calcutta-based Marwari businessman named Haridas Mundhra. The then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, set up a one-man commission headed by Justice M.C.Chagla to investigate the matter when it becomes evident that there was a prima facie case. Chagla concluded that Mundhra had sold fictitious shares to LIC, thereby defrauding the insurance behemoth to the tune of Rs. 1.25 crore. Mundhra was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The scam also forced the resignation of T.T.Krishnamachari.

6, Teja Loans (1960):- Shipping magnate Jayant Dharma Teja took loans worth Rs 22 crore to establish the Jayanti Shipping Company. In 1960, the authorities discovered that he was actually siphoning off money to his own account, after which Teja fled the country.

7, Kairon Scam (1963):- Pratap Singh Kairon became the first Indian chief minister to be accused of abusing his power for his own benefit and that of his sons and relatives. He quit a year later.

8, Patnaik's Own Goal (1965) :- Orissa Chief Minister Biju Patnaik was forced to resign after it was discovered that he had favoured his privately-held company Kalinga Tubes in awarding a government contract.

9, Maruti Scandal (1974) :- Well before the company was set up, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's name came up in the first Maruti scandal, where her son Sanjay Gandhi was favoured with a license to make passenger cars.

10, Solanki Exposé (1992) :- At the World Economic Forum, Madhavsinh Solanki, then the external affairs minister, slipped a letter to his Swiss counterpart asking their government to stop the probe into the Bofors kickbacks. Solanki resigned when India Today broke the story.

11, Kuo Oil Deal (1976):- The Indian Oil Corporation signed an Rs 2.2-crore oil contract with a non-existent firm in Hong Kong and a kickback was given. The petroleum and chemicals minister was directed to make the purchase.

12, Antulay Trust (1981) :- With the exposure of this scandal concerning A.R. Antulay, then the chief minister of Maharashtra, The Indian Express was reborn. Antulay had garnered Rs 30 crore from businesses dependent on state resources like cement and kept the money in a private trust.

13, HDW Commissions (1987) :- HDW, the German submarine maker, was blacklisted after allegations that commissions worth Rs 20 crore had been paid. In 2005, the case was finally closed, in HDW's favour.

14, Bofors Pay-Off (1987) :- A Swedish firm was accused of paying Rs 64 crore to Indian bigwigs, including Rajiv Gandhi, then the prime minister, to secure the purchase of the Bofors gun.

15, St Kitts Forgery (1989) :- An attempt was made to sully V.P. Singh's Mr Clean image by forging documents to allege that he was a beneficiary of his son Ajeya Singh's account in the First Trust Corp. at St Kitts, with a deposit of $21 million.

16, Airbus Scandal (1990) :- Indian Airlines's (IA) signing of the Rs 2,000-crore deal with Airbus instead of Boeing caused a furore following the crash of an A-320. New planes were grounded, causing IA a weekly loss of Rs 2.5 crore.

17, Securities Scam (1992) :- Harshad Mehta manipulated banks to siphon off money and invested the funds in the stock market, leading to a crash. The loss: Rs 5,000 crore.

18, Indian Bank Rip-off (1992) :- Aided by M. Gopalakrishnan, then the chairman of the Indian Bank, borrowers-mostly small corporates and exporters from the south-were lent a total of over Rs 1,300 crore, which they never paid back.

19, Sugar Import (1994) :- As food minister, Kalpnath Rai presided over the import of sugar at a price higher than that of the market, causing a loss of Rs 650 crore to the exchequer. He resigned following the allegations.

20, MS SHOES SCAM (1994) :- Anyone who war old enough in 1994 to read will remember the advertisements- tens of them intriguingly headlined: 'Who is Pawan Sachdeva?' For the record, it was the peak of the public issued-led advertising boom and the ads were created by the Delhi branch of Rediffusion. Sachdeva, the promoter of MS Shoes, allegedly used company funds to buy shares (of his own company) and rig prices, prior to a public issue. He is alleged to have colluded with officials in the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and SBI Caps, which lead-managed the issue, to dupe the public into investing in his Rs. 699-crore public-***-rights issue. Sachdeva was later acquitted

21, JMM Bribes (1995) :- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shailendra Mahato testified that he and three party members received bribes of Rs 30 lakh to bail out the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in the 1993 no-confidence motion.

22, In a Pickle (1996) :- Pickle baron Lakhubhai Pathak raised a stink when he accused former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and godman Chandraswami of accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from him for securing a paper pulp contract.

23, Telecom Scam (1996) :- Former minister of state for communication Sukh Ram was accused of causing a loss of Rs 1.6 crore to the exchequer by favouring a Hyderabad- based private firm in the purchase of telecom equipment. He, along with two others, was convicted in 2002.

24, Fodder Scam (1996) :- The accountant general's concerns about the withdrawal of excess funds by Bihar's animal husbandry department unveiled a Rs 950-crore scam involving Lalu Prasad Yadav, then the state chief minister. He resigned a year later.

25, Urea Deal (1996) :- C.S. Ramakrishnan, MD, National Fertiliser, and a group of businessmen close to the P.V. Narasimha Rao regime fleeced the government and took Rs 133 crore from the import of two lakh tonne of urea, which was never delivered.

26, Hawala Diaries (1996) :- The scandal surfaced following CBI raids on hawala operators in Delhi in 1991. But it was S.K. Jain's diaries that had heads rolling.

27, CRB SCAM (1997) :- Another scam forged by greed and discovered through accident. Chain Roop Bhansali, a smart-talking entrepreneur, created a pyramid financial empire based on high-cost financing. At its peak, his Rs. 1,000-crore financial conglomerate had in its ranks a mutual fund, a financial services company into fixed deposits, and a merchant bank. That Bhansali knew how to work the system became evident when he also managed to secure a provisional banking license. Then his luck ran out. An executive in the State Bank of India Inadvertently discovered that some interest warrants issued by Bhansali were not backed by cash. The bubble finally burst in May 1997, but by that time investors had lost over Rs. 1,000 crore. This was among the first retail scams in India and it was played out, in smaller avatars, across the country-especially in the South where financial services companies promised returns in excess of 20 per cent and decamped with the principal. Bhansali was arrested for a few weeks and released later on bail.

28, MEHTA'S SECOND COMING (1998) :- The Big Bull returned to the bourses. This time, he allegedly colluded with the promoters of BPL, Videocon International, and Sterile Industries to rig the share prices of these companies. The inevitable collapse happened sooner than planned, Harshad Mehta orchestrated a cover-up operation that included a high=jinks effort by officials of Bombay Stock Exchange to (illegally ) open the trading system in the middle of the night to set things right, but the damage had been done. SEBI finally passed its ruling on the scam in 2001, banning the three companies concerned from tapping the market-BPL, for two years. Mehta was debarred for life form dealing in Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in October 2001

29, VANISHING COMPANIES SCAM (1998) :- A passing remark heard by then Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram resulted in a furore over what was badly-kept secret on Dalal street. Chidambaram was told that hundreds of companies had disappeared after raising moneys form the public. An informal scrutiny revealed that perhaps over 600 companies were missing. Chidambaram ordered a probe by SEBI. The SEBI probe conducted in May 1998 revealed that while many companies are not traded on the bourses at least 80 companies that had rises Rs.330.78 crore were simply missing. Later that year, the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) was asked to probe and penalize these companies. DCA still investigating. Investigations continue to this day.

30, PLANTATION COMPANIES SCAM (1999) :- It was as innovative a swindle as any effected in the world. Savvy entrepreneurs convinced gullible investors that given the right irrigation and fertilizer inputs, teak, strawberries, and anything else that could be grown, would grow anywhere in the country. The promoters could afford to collect money from investors and not worry about retribution (or returns, for that matter). For, plantation companies fell under the purview of neither SEBI nor Reserve Bank of India. Indeed, they didn't even come under the scope of the Department decided to change things in 1999, enough investors had been gulled: 653 companies, between them, had raised Rs. 2,563 crore from investors. To date, not many investors have got their principals back, just another affirmation of the old saying about money not growing on trees.

31, Match Fixing (2000) :- Mohammed Azharuddin, till then India's cricket captain, was accused of match-fixing. He and Ajay Sharma were banned from playing, while Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar were suspended for five years.

32, KETAN PAREKH SCAM (2001) :- Ketan Parekh's modus operandi wasn't very different from Harshad Mehta's. If Mehta used banker's receipts, then Parekh used pay orders to ramp up the prices of his favourite scrips (the K-10). Apart from money form the banking system Parekh also rerouted money from corporated like HFCL (Rs. 425 crore), and Zee (Rs. 340 crore) to good effect. He was caught when pay-orders issued by Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank bounced. Although the total amount involved in the scam was just Rs. 137 crore, the impact was far greater.

Apparently, when a bear cartel sensed Parekh was in trouble, it stepped in and leveraged a dip in the NASDAQ to bear down stock prices. The resultant slump in the markets happened soon after Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha presented what he considered his best budget ever. Under pressure from the government, SEBI investigated the scam and heads began to roll. Among them: the entire management team of BSE, including its president Anand Rathi, CSFB, First Global, and, in an indirect connection, P.S.Subramanyam, the Chairman of UTL Evidently, for the 18 months that PSS was Chairman of UTI, the Trust had mirrored the actions of the bull cartel. The result? When the market tanked, so did the NAV of its holy cow, the US-64.

33, Tehelka Sting (2001) :- Tehelka, an online news portal, used spycams to catch army officers and politicians accepting bribes, in their sting operation called Operation Westend. Investigative journalism turned another corner in the country.

34, Stockmarket Scam (2001) :- The mayhem that wiped off over Rs 1,15,000 crore in the markets in March 2001 was masterminded by the Pentafour bull Ketan Parekh. He was arrested in December 2002 and banned from acccessing the capital market for 14 years.

35, Home Trade Scam (2002) :- Under the pretext of gilt trading, Rs 600 crore was swindled from over 25 cooperative banks in Maharashtra and Gujarat by a Navi Mumbai-based brokerage firm Home Trade. Sanjay Agarwal, CEO of the firm, was arrested in May 2002.

36, Stamp Paper Scam (2003) :- The sheer magnitude of the racket was shocking-it caused a loss of Rs 30,000 crore to the exchequer. Disclosures of the mastermind behind it, Abdul Karim Telgi, implicated top police officers and bureaucrats.

37, Oil-for-Food Scandal (2005) :- K. Natwar Singh was unceremoniously dropped from the Cabinet when his name surfaced in the Volcker Report on the Iraq oil-for-food scam.

What India Could Do With Rs 73 Lakh Crore?

Build: 2.4 crore primary healthcare centres. That’s at least 3 for every village, at a cost of Rs 30 lakh each.

Build: 24.1 lakh Kendriya Vidyalayas at a cost of Rs 3.02 crore each, with two sections from Class VI to XII.

Construct: 14.6 crore low-cost houses assuming a cost of Rs 5 lakh a unit.
Set up: 2,703 coal-based power plants of 600 MW each. Each costs Rs 2,700 crore.

Supply: 12 lakh CFL bulbs. That’s enough light for each of India’s 6 lakh villages

Construct: 14.6 lakh km of two-lane highways. That’s a road around India’s perimeter 97 times over.

Clean up: 50 major rivers for the next 121 years, at Rs 1,200 crore a river every year.

Launch: 90 NREGA-style schemes, each worth roughly Rs 81,111 crore.
Announce: 121 more loan waiver schemes. All of them worth Rs 60,000 crore.

Give: Rs 56,000 to every Indian. Even better, give Rs 1.82 lakh to 40 crore Indians living BPL.

Hand out: 60.8 crore Tata Nanos to 60.8 crore people. Or four times as many laptops.

Grow the GDP: The scam money is 27% more than our GDP of Rs 53 lakh crore."

Greed, graft, politics, bribery, dirty money. Just another day in the life of a nation still rated among the most corrupt in the world. Scan the scams that have grabbed headlines, destroyed reputations and left many people poorer.