Tiger Economy without Tigers!

India woke up today (13th Feb 2008) to a headline news report from Times of India, that the number of tigers in India is now approximately only 1400 odd.

According to the now famous BRIC Report, India is projected to be one of the Tiger Economies of this century.

What an irony

In India, so many sport clubs, company logos, political parties, emblems proudly depict The Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris or Panthera tigris bengalensis) as it’s symbol. The tiger is also the national animal of India.

And what does the tiger get for all this..it becomes an endangered species itself, with only 1400 remaining, and we are a billion plus & growing

Maybe in the future, India will indeed be a tiger economy ….& what about it’s real Tigers? Gone forever??

But then the usual question that comes to our mind, is what can we city folks do?
At most, some of us may donate to some ‘save tiger fund’ or some ‘wildlife fund’, & obtain some income tax benefit in the process, right?

Don’t blindly donate to some or any wildlife organization, see to it that your hard earned money reaches the right place where it is required.

For any real change to happen, it’s not just financial aid, but Genuine Collective Wish [or Thought, Will or Iccha] of several people for that change to happen.

If you have the will & a strong desire, then a way or direction will unfold in front of you.

Well, what does this caricature, have to do with Save the Tiger?

See on the top of the caricature, it says in aid of Save the Tiger.

We live in a world, in which nowadays, every action or deed should have a Win-Win situation, right? [this is because, we no longer think of anyone else winning, right? sic]

So, what we have here is a ideal win-win situation for everyone involved.

Here is how it goes.

1) Pay to get a caricature of your self. You can then show it off to all your buddies on Orkut, Facebook, your blogs, etc. yippeee.

2) A guy meticulously in his spare time creates the caricature to your satisfaction.

3) The proceeds of this caricature sale go to a
REAL Organization which does REAL WORK for conserving the wildlife especially the tiger population in Central India.

Sounds interesting?? what’s more genuine is the sincerity behind the people involved.

The caricature is created by a Vikram Nandwani, who does this in his spare time as he works full time in IT for TCS.

He then donates the proceeds of the caricature income to Satpuda Foundation which is run by Kishore Rithe who has dedicated his life to the conservation of Tiger population in Central India.

Still Interesting??

Here’s Vikram Nandwani’s site: http://save-tiger.blogspot.com on how you can order a caricature for yourself.

& here’s Satpuda Foundation’s website : http://www.satpuda.org/ Please see the work being done by Satpuda & do not miss the touching story of a 10 year old who has contributed Rs 15,000 to Satpuda by polishing shoes !

read the story here:
http://www.satpuda.org/news2007.htm#10_years_old_out_to_save_tiger_

I shall be writing another post on Tigers soon, on what else we can do.

Update: The World Bank has embarked on project with several tiger conservation groups and Hollywood celebs to help reverse the dramatic decline of wild tigers.

Iron Maiden Mumbai Videos

Iron Maiden Mumbai Videos of Live Concert from the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour 2008

These are bootleg videos shot by fans attending the Mumbai Iron Maiden Concert of Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, these Iron Maiden concert videos are from Youtube & the quality is poor, but hey it’s Maiden! so any Live concert performance video footage rocks

Iron Maiden Mumbai – Powerslave Video- Feb 1, 2008

Iron Maiden Mumbai Video – Hallowed Be Thy Name

Bruce speaks about coming to India many times again in the future & then starts with Wasted Years – at the Iron Maiden Mumbai Live concert

Video of Eddie as he appears as Cyborg during the song ‘Iron Maiden’ at Live performance of Iron Maiden at the Mumbai – 1st Feb 2008 to kickoff the Somewhere back in Time World Tour 2008

Heaven Can Wait Video in which several fans join & has Bruce climbing up & running all over the stage.

Only 10 seconds Video of The Trooper from Iron Maiden Mumbai concert

If you have any good quality photos of the Iron Maiden Mumbai concert pics, let meknow, I can post them here. Thx:)

Iron Maiden Mumbai Press Conference

Iron Maiden Mumbai Press Conference of Somewhere Back in Time World Tour

I had the privilege to attend the Iron Maiden Mumbai Press Conference held at JW Marriott Mumbai, India on 31st January. Thank You Ajay. All major Indian newspapers & their photographers were present for this Iron Maiden Mumbai Press Conference.

Here are some of the questions & their replies from Iron Maiden band members.

1) Why was this tour named as Somewhere Back in Time World Tour.

Bruce Dickinson said that Iron Maiden are now than they have ever been before & that several fans all over wanted to play their greatest hits & favourite songs. Also, because Iron Maiden had a previous album called Somewhere in Time, so it was apt to name this current live tour as

2) what are the band member’s favourite concert Iron Maiden songs?

Bruce Dickinson : Moonchild, Rime of the ancient mariner.

Steve Harris : Hallowed by thy name

Nicko McBrain : Hallowed by thy name

Adrian Smith : Moonchild, Rime of the ancient mariner.

Janick Gers : Likes to play them all.

Dave Murray : Rime of the ancient mariner.

3) What does the band think of the current state of heavy metal music like speed metal or thrash metal.

Bruce said that everybody has their own taste in music & everyone is entitled to follow what their music taste desires. Even his son likes/plays thrash metal in which the singer goes…wrrroooohhh [ Bruce imitates a thrash metal vocal intro ]

4) What are the bands comments on 3 guitar line up?

Dave: The sound is lot more heavier, fuller & richer now. Since they are covering songs from the last 30 years, every guitarist’s sound comes across all these numbers.

5) Last year at Bangalore Iron Maiden Concert, all the songs were recorded on a Master track recording system, so would these songs be used anytime?

Steve: We record everything, these can be used later on. It’s important to have all recordings, as every gig has something special which can be used later on.

6) Why is India first on the list of the tour?

Bruce : Well, India is on the way to Australia LOL. But more seriously, that the way the flight path has been designed & also India, becuase, there are lots of fans & demand for Iron Maiden in India.

7) For guitarist, what would they advise newbie bands & musicians?

Janick Gers : Practice & more practice. Stick to your style & work hard, very hard.

Adrian : Work hard think of expressing yourself, through your work, to the point in which you evlove your own style.

Afterwards, lot of photo ops, autograph signing followed. I shall post a few pics here later.
You have any good quality pics of the Iron Maiden Mumbai concert photos, let meknow, I can post them here. Thx:)