Traveling to India Frances Loden (frako@well.com) Delhi to Jaipur via airports: I'd been warned about trying to get into town from Delhi Airport--there is a taxi horror story somewhere in this conference--but this time it would be unnecessary since we were only changing planes at Delhi. I'd also been warned that most traffic in and out of Delhi Airport occurred in the middle of the night for some reason--that the airport slept during daylight hours and became a madhouse around midnight. This was true in our case. After our long flight from Narita, with a multihour layover in Bangkok, we arrived to a midnight cacophony of horns honking at Delhi Arrivals and mobs of taxi touts and hotel people waving identifying signs. There was a long, cold 20-minute bus ride to the domestic terminal around 1 am (the shuttle left from the international terminal only once an hour, directly across the street from where Arrivals spill outside). I was shocked at how cold it was in late December, but rationalized that it was in the middle of the night. The Delhi international terminal was fairly funky but the domestic terminal much worse. It was horribly uncomfortable and drafty, with all services shut down. The "retiring rooms," or overnight accommodations found at airports and train stations, had filled up hours ago. Along with dozens of other, mostly Indian passengers, we tried to sleep in plastic chairs until 5:45 am. Unlike us, the Indians were prepared for such waits with cozy blankets that they draped over every family member. Everybody in Rajasthan, at least, seemed to have his or her own blanket or shawl. It was comforting to see whole families cuddled together or folded into every conceivable position, sometimes upside down, over creaky plastic chairs. Around 6 am, the Nescafe booth opened to sell oversweetened mud-colored coffee, which was nonetheless welcome to warm our bones. Indian airports have a practice I've seen nowhere else. After checkin and security check and sitting at the gate, you must walk out to the tarmac--one passenger at a time--to point to your checked bags, at which point they are loaded onto the cart for the aircraft. This makes the preboarding procedure drag, since few passengers know what the officials mean and neglect to do it until the last minute. We made half a dozen domestic flights, and they were all delayed by from one to four hours as a matter of routine. Usually no explanation was given for the delay. Indian (Alliance) Airlines planes are extremely old and have funky interiors, as if someone had smeared grease all over the tacky paisley-print walls. Most of our flights within Rajasthan were no longer than 45 minutes, so the flight attendants were harried even if all they served the passengers were literally bread and water. The bread consisted of anemic white bread with a thin layer of cream cheese, a greasy vegetable samosa, or pakora. Many of the seats were broken, and some overhead bins didn't latch properly. An extreme contrast to the Thai International plane we had left a few hours before.

Frances Loden: Jaipur: After a 20-minute taxi ride (variously costing us 200, 220 and 250 rupees [at 38 rupees to the US dollar, from $5 to $7]), we arrived at the Mansingh Hotel around 7 am and watched the sunrise from our 5th-floor room. It was actually the 6th floor, but Indians follow the British practice of calling the 2nd floor the 1st floor. We sank gratefully into bed, but we didn't count on the fact that, precisely at 7 am every morning, a wailing voice and harmonium (a kind of boxy accordion that sits on the floor as you open and close one wall of it) would start up from a nearby religious school and continue blaring through the PA system for about an hour. But we were too excited to sleep for more than a couple of hours. The view out our window was engrossing enough: rooftop life flourished! As the day began, we saw families lounging on blankets, young men taking sluice baths from buckets in their shorts, a woman combing out her long wet hair, a man banging away on an old typewriter, an old woman watering plants, a dachshund following his bearded old man around, chillies drying in the sun, construction workers taking a break on their precarious-looking bamboo scaffold, a young guy with two textbooks open in front of him, a boy flying a kite, a girl peering through an open window with her leg hitched up on the sill, a woman hanging laundry. Rooftop life is an odd blend of private and public. Most of the buildings presumably held many families, but I don't know how many of them had access to the rooftop. Nobody from the ground can see you, but whoever is higher than you--like us hotel dwellers--can. Throughout Rajasthan, as I guess in most places, there seemed to be a sensitivity to the status accorded people who were higher than others. A wealthy man built his house 2 stories higher than that of the Jaisalmer maharaja, just to insult him. The maharaja wouldn't stand for it and had the extra floors torn down. The Mansingh Hotel is a 5-star, one of only two we stay in on our trip. (We make a practice of staying in nice hotels on entry and exit, just to ease transitions.) It's pleasant but nondescript, with a very good restaurant, tolerable coffee shop, exercise facilities and a pool. There's a small arcade selling overpriced souvenirs, books, and saris. Just standing around in the lobby, I was whisked into the sari shop and found myself wrapped in lengths of luscious green silk by a fast-talking man who reassured me that a woman could do anything easily, especially work, in a sari. The bookstore sold camera film but had no camera batteries or 8mm videotape. You have to go to a film processing specialty shop for those things. On the landing wall of every floor of the service stairs, hotel workers were reminded in big red letters that "Guest Is Always Right." Jaipur Puppet Racket: Five minutes out of the hotel, on the road an intense young man strikes up a conversation with us, and before we know it we're in his shanty/tent to look at his puppets. He says he's a low-caste gypsy named Bangali--someone of his caste has only one name--and can't afford to live in a building, but someday he will buy the building next door. He clears a charpoy, or bed made of rag strips pulled taut across the frame, and orders us to sit down on the clean quilt spread there. He shows us photo albums full of clippings and photos of his performances in Scandinavia, his brother's performances in Japan, etc. I'm a little more interested in the kitchen made of clay and what his brother's wife, mother- in-law and children are doing over in the corner--but they're extremely shy. Soon they are hustled out and a cloth is draped across the interior for the puppet backdrop. I watch fascinated as Brother wraps a vivid turban around his head. The average Rajasthan turban is a colorful oblong scarf about 9 meters long, and it's fun to watch a man wind it rapidly around his head so that he can remove it like a hat. He shows us a naked puppet with visible ribs--a "drug addict" for the educational performances. I ask him if they do stories promoting condom use, and he says some stories are "too difficult" for the audience to understand. The performance begins with a sexy female dancer whose shimmy is controlled by strings. Every movement is signaled by a wheezing sound made by some whistle in the puppeteer's mouth. Brother plays a harmonium and sings. Another guy plays percussion. Attracted by the music, scruffy little kids wander into the tent and Brother yells at them to sit down and not block our view. I give them some Japanese candy which I fail to tell them is gum, and worry later that they've digested it. It seems wrong to see these little kids, ragged and dirty and looking like a "Save the Children" poster, munching on this awful candy I've given them. Often the puppets' heads fly up a foot in the air and come back down. One puppet is astride a horse, both of his arms in flames. Somehow the manipulator gets the puppet to fly under his horse and emerge from the other side without catching everything around it on fire. One puppet is introduced as "Michael Jackson." Later, after our privileged private command performance, we return to the hotel and find another troupe out by the pool also introducing their puppet as "Michael Jackson" and using the same music, dances and puppets. Things are winding up, and it's clear that now money is expected. He says he normally charges 2500 rupees (US$66) for a performance like this, and we're jolted. Joe says, "With a bigger audience, right?" but the guy is insistent that he does it for couples alone. Joe pays him 1200 rupees (US$32), which we think is a lot for just being pulled off the street, and then the percussionist asks if he and Brother can have "beer money." So I give a few hundred rupees to the musicians. As we walk out of the tent feeling a little wrung out, Bangali comes running out holding two of the puppets as gifts, and says if we don't feel good about what we've paid, he'll give it back to us. It's a routine that we'll hear incessantly: the push-and-pull of "I don't want your money" versus "Pay whatever you like, we are very poor family." He tries to escort us back to the hotel, but I want to be free of him and we shake him off. Still, we feel so taken and have spent so many hours in the puppet tent that it's almost dark and we want to return to the hotel for dinner anyway. I've been told that you have to identify your luggage before boarding the plane in Indonesia, but this policy is 20 years old and not done as of 5 months ago. One other thing about flying domestically in India--you don't get a seat assignment. So you have to scramble on and grab several seats if you're a group. I think, however, that tour packages have it taken care of for them. There was definitely better treatment of tour groups than of independent travelers in Rajasthan. Jaipur, continued: City of Jaipur: The next morning we start out afresh, cheerfully saying "no" to everybody who approaches us to visit their art school, jewelry store or leather shop. We stumble upon a street filled with camels, all resting or waiting for their load to arrive. I have never seen dozens of camels in one place. They look regally past you, heads above it all, munching meditatively on something. Some wear large beaded necklaces or macramed cord neckpieces doubling as bridles. Most have a sharp piece of bone or wood that has pierced the interval between their nostrils and is connected to reins. Pulling on the rein must be painful to them, as the camels groan and follow the tug. Their eyes are huge and brown, with eyelashes that Maybelline would lust after. Their legs are folded amazingly beneath them, so they look formal and poised. Their rumps have been shaved to form floral or geometric patterns. Where the head joins the neck their hide is covered with rich, curly hair. When they walk, their feet widen and spread themselves like cushions over any hard surface. Nothing seems to perturb their easygoing, strangely elegant gait. There are plenty of other animals too. Dogs are everywhere, cuddling in the sunny dust or hanging hungrily around the cauldrons of milky liquid, or khoya, being boiled and reduced. (Was that the base for what I was to start ordering on a daily basis--the lovely saffron-flavored rice pudding called kheer?) The cows have floppy ears and creamy complexions, with the eyes of a Bambi. Sometimes the goats are wearing little T-shirts or vests. I watch an ox being fitted with new shoes--two men are holding it down, and it has shat all over itself in alarm. We walk through the different bazaars on the way to the City Palace and the marble district, hearing the marble workers clinking away at kitschy-looking Western-style statues and big images of Ganesh the elephant god. I'm struck by the street stalls selling colorful hair ornaments. Scrunchies are enormous here. Women wear them more than anything else, it seems. In South India women wore jasmine flowers, but not here. Coconut oil in the hair seems nationwide. I can't tell the difference here between police and military men, who wear berets or hard helmets and seem to cluster at large intersections. They are a drab, stern contrast to the women, who all seem to favor chartreuse, shocking pink or blindingly yellow saris if they aren't dressed completely in black--a kind of chador that leaves most of their face free. I saw far more women with heads uncovered in Jaipur, the capital and largest city of Rajasthan since 1956, than in other cities or the countryside. It seemed the more west we went, the less visible women's faces became. When I see lime green and go-go pink together, I will always think of Rajasthan now. The most common pattern found on shawls men wore was a pink- and-green check, seen everywhere. In the distance surrounding Jaipur, you can see the sandy-colored fortifications of nearby ancient strongholds. It is the color contrast--the sun-baked desert and sand-castle forts as a backdrop to the brilliant greens and pinks of the people's clothing--that makes Rajasthan so delicious to the eye. Then there was the pink and green against a man's dark face and even darker eyes and moustache. I would say maybe 98% of all men have rich moustaches. Jaipur itself is called the "Pink City" because in 1876 Maharaja Ram Singh ordered all buildings in the old city to be painted pink in honor of the Prince of Wales (Edward VII)'s visit, and thereafter all fa ades must be of a color that seems more brick-red than pink to me--a reddish sandstone, I think. The first thing we visited was the Jantar Mantar, an early 18th-century astronomical observatory spread out over a spacious grounds, built by Jai Singh II (1693-1743), the founder of Jaipur. It was fun to watch other Indian tourists wandering from one huge curious instrument to another, climbing stairs that led nowhere, peering into concave structures that measure something of a celestial nature. The site resembles an enormous deChirico painting. The current maharaja of Jaipur is now the ambassador to Brunei, but it was said he was home for the holidays. He would be staying in a section of the City Palace, which we visited next. The various different palaces contain exhibits of textiles, costumes, and weaponry. There were plenty of specimens of "the notorious Rajput scissor-action daggers--when the dagger enters the body, the handles are released, causing the blades to spread. The dagger is then withdrawn, virtually disembowelling the hapless victim" (Lonely Planet, _Rajasthan_). Just the first sign, among many others, that made me feel I wouldn't have had many Rajput friends back then. The historical rulers of Rajasthan did seem like a fierce, bloodthirsty, hardheaded and "honor"-obsessed lot. Yet their architecture, safely sheltered behind massive ramparts and imposing gates, could be delicate and fanciful, even psychedelic. I especially liked one pavilion decorated in a peacock (the state bird) motif, with shapes infinitely echoing a peacock's graceful neck and feathers. We were starving, so we bought samosas at a stall and dipped them in a honeylike sauce. But postcard and hat vendors and beggars would not leave us alone if we sat down, so we had to get up and move. We walked on to see the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds, an elaborate 5- story facade built in 1799 to allow court ladies to watch life and special occasions go by without being seen themselves. But we had little peace to look at this amazing building, since we were being invited by everybody and his uncle (literally!) to visit the roof of his shop to get a better view. It was awfully cold, even though the sun was shining. We knew it would get colder as we headed west into the desert, so I bought a heavy woven jacket for 300 rupees (US$8). Even this would be insufficient. We were beginning to realize that we had packed too much summer wear for this trip.

And more from the same source: Jaipur Movie Palaces: To be honest, I was almost more interested in Indian movie palaces than maharajas' palaces. After all, it's a novelty for an American to see a country that still has only 1000-plus-seat houses. The Premprakash Theatre, "Rajasthan's First 70mm Theatre," seemed to have come down in status. Now it was showing the "Lady Fighter," or Caucasian martial arts star Cynthia Rothrock, in "Undefeatable," rated "A"--Only For Adults. Tickets were available for Noble Circle (25R or 66 cents--901 seats), Dress Circle (20R--334 seats), Upper Circle (16R--77 seats), and Lower Circle (14R--38 seats), with separate ladies' and gents' ticket windows. I was pissed not to make it into the Raj Mandir, "Show Place of the Nation," a most beautiful pink restored movie theatre where a current hit, "Dil To Pagal Hai" starring the great favorite Shah Rukh Khan, was playing. Diamond Box (40R or $1.16--40 seats), Emerald Noble Circle (30R--909 seats), Ruby Dress Circle (26R--201 seats), and Pearl Lower Circle (17R--36 seats)--all seats were booked for the rest of the evening. I really wanted to see the latest hit of this No. 1 box office star of India--posters of him in a black leather jacket sold next to posters of Krishna and Radha running through the wilderness. We were taken to a much grubbier theatre by auto rickshaw. The ticket taker gave each of us Halls cough drops as we entered the vast auditorium, and the most expensive balcony seats were as tattered and broken-down as the seats on the main floor. The movie was "Shapath," with a cast of about 50 men, all unshaven and pointing and punching at each other. I only recognized the star, Jackie Schroff, and that was easy because he was tallest and the only guy who was nice to his mother. After two hours and no hint of the movie's ending we had had enough, but we couldn't get out of the theatre. We had to ask the manager to unlock the door and cage and let us out. Amber Fort: Throughout Asia, we are very careful not to drink tap water and brush our teeth with bottled water. Luckily I hadn't experienced significant diarrhea for 6 years. But the next morning at 4:30 the deadly traveler's syndrome hit me, and by 7 am I was completely wrung out, familiar with every crack in the tile, and questioning my ability to be driven even the 20 minutes it took to get to Amber Fort. But with a dose of loperamide hydrochloride we made it there, although I spent most of the day at the fort finding sunny, comfortable places to sit and laughing weakly at the antics of the Hanuman langurs, lanky black-faced primates with incredibly long tails, who scrambled along the parapets and played leapfrog with each other. Tourists were being given elephant rides in and out of the fort. It looked too much like a slow Disneyland ride, and I wasn't interested. I was impressed by the mazelike structure and all the different levels of a 12th-century fortification. In retrospect, I think it was one of the more magnificent ones we had seen. It was too crowded, though, and I got tired of backing up on narrow staircases for oncoming traffic or dodging other people's viewfinders. Whenever I could escape the crowd I'd sit and look at the fancy, intricate stone carvings of flowers and butterflies and marvel that they were still here after all these centuries. Always at the entrance of any fort or temple complex, several men will offer to be your guide for a price (usually not agreed upon beforehand, but a tip ranging from 100 to 200 rupees depending on the number of hours and special errands). Even if they sport official-looking badges, their English language ability and level of knowledge are very hit-and-miss. Most of the time we refused guides because of this and because we don't like repeatedly having to say "Really!" or even "Hmmmm" when we could enjoy all this grandeur in silence.

India The Indian Tourism Development Corporation has launched a new train package tour traveling to Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Northern India. The six day tour departs from Calcutta and travels to Varanasi, Rajgir and Gaya before returning to Calcutta. The cost per person (including food and accommodation) is US$379 for the ordinary traveler to US$799 for the luxury traveler. Tickets can be obtained from the India Tourism Development Corporation in New Delhi.

(whiteherne) Tue Jan 5 '99 (12:24) 164 lines Here are some of my impressions of life in Bangalore: Bangalore was once known as the Garden City of India, although it does not feel like one these days. Unrestricted growth, although in �clean� industries, has led to a large increase in the number of motorized vehicles, which include cycles, autorickshaws, cars, scooters, motorcycles, lorries and buses. The odd bullock cart can be seen now and then, as also hand carts bearing miscellaneous cargo. (The autorickshaw is a three-wheeled, motorized vehicle. It is sheltered but open on the sides. It can carry two or three passengers, and has become the cab of the middle-class, regular taxis having vanished almost entirely from the streets here.) Unleaded petrol (gasoline) is still not a requirement in most parts of India, and the higher powered vehicles use diesel fuel here, resulting in black, noxious emissions. The roads haven�t been upgraded to deal with all this new traffic and the main city arteries are always snarled. Frustrated traffic constables in their ancient uniforms of wide khaki shorts (and now wearing gas masks) cut a sorry but comical figure on the islands of five and six-point intersections from where they try to cope with the mess. For the Western visitor, the traffic can seem utterly chaotic and maddening. This is true for me as well, having lived away from India. There is a sort of law of the jungle at work here: the larger the vehicle, the more aggressive the driving. (A new Indian SUV with the appropriate name of �TATA SUMO� has recently made its appearance. Why someone who lives in the city and drives in crowded, slow-moving streets needs a gas-guzzling, polluting, road-hogging SUMO beats the hell out of me.) In general traffic moves slowly, and although drivers engage in a game of brinkmanship to try to get ahead, there aren�t as many accidents as one would expect. Lane markers are strictly academic, and whenever traffic stops at a light, the two-wheelers seem to fill any available spaces around cars so as to position themselves favourably for the impending green light. Since my parents live here, I stay with them. Indian hotels, with the exception of the best ones, which are outrageously expensive for Indians, aren�t as good as their American counterparts. The equivalent of a clean, comfortable, no-frills �Motel 6� that is much cheaper than a luxury hotel is generally not to be found. One must either fork out the money for a Hyatt or equivalent, or be terribly disappointed with the results. Which is why most middle-class Indians, when they travel on their own nickel to another city end up staying with relations, friends, or even friends of friends. The way it generally works is that you make your house available to a wide circle of people, and the gesture will be reciprocated when you are on the road. But remember to carry your own soap and towel! My parents have been retired for some time and with the attendant infirmities of age, getting through each day can be an adventure. There are part-time helpers at home for cooking, cleaning and gardening. In India help is very specialised, and one person will not do another�s job. There is a maid who washes the pots and pans, sweeps and mops the floors daily (a necessity here), and washes the clothes by hand (my mother refuses to buy a washer or let me buy one for her and I have given up trying to convince her). The other is a part-time cook who has now been with her for four years. She is known as the "Cook Maami". They speak to each other in Tamil. Each one calls the other "Maami". This is a respectful mode of address to an older lady -- the universal aunt, if you will -- and their conversation to each other is always in the exceedingly respectful second person formal, whether they are joking, arguing or discussing some culinary fine points. On days that the maid or the cook go AWOL, chaos ensues, as my parents scramble to make do. It is a very interesting relationship to observe. The "Cook Maami" is extremely talented and makes the most delectable South Indian dishes I have eaten, even tastier than my mother 's cooking, and my mother is a published author of three cookbooks and a lifelong aficionado of Indian �haute cuisine�. But the cook is very shrewd and knows this, for she endeavours (in my mother�s opinion) to take advantage of the situation by extracting various concessions, knowing that it will be difficult for my mother to find a replacement. Domestic help is harder to come by these days in India, and although it is frustrating for my folks, from an economist's point of view, it illustrates progress. I watch a little television to get a feel for contemporary Indian culture. Cable TV has found its way here, and there is something called Star Plus that beams CNN, BBC and other international programmes from Hongkong. I notice a new phenomenon. People speak in something called �Hinglish� here, a mixture of Hindi and English. Hindi and English sentences are intermingled liberally, and sometimes people switch tongues mid-sentence. For us it seems most natural, for we have grown up this way. The television people seem to recognise this and have tailored their programs accordingly, but this might well confound a foreign ear. My brother insists that I see a few films with him. We go to one called �Hyderabad Blues�, playing in a local cinema. This is an Indian-made English language film, another relatively new phenomenon. This was very rare in the past. The film is a romantic comedy about a person who leaves Hyderabad for the US. When he returns for a holiday, he finds that he cannot adjust to Indian culture, and finds fault with everything, except the Indian doctor he falls in love with. But I shan t say any more and spoil the film for you. Although the film was an amateur effort made by a youngster and his few friends on a shoestring budget, it has surpassed all box-office expectations, and everyone is talking about it. For my part I don�t find the film subtle in the least. My brother, who enjoys the film very much, argues that a film made for Indians cannot be subtle. There is another recent happening in Bombay that makes the front pages almost daily. It is the extortion racket. Normally placid Bombay seems to have changed, I am told. Well-heeled people get cold calls demanding lakhs or crores. (A lakh is 100,000 rupees, and a crore is 100 lakhs. A middle-level manager in a private company might earn 4-5 lakhs a year.) People who refuse to pay up are gunned down, some in broad daylight. This extortion has now trickled down to the professional classes. Ostentatious displays of wealth in the form of lavish banquets at hotels have, for the most part, stopped because nobody wants to get the dreaded �call�. I wonder why this is taking place and wonder if people have taken leave of their senses, so I start to make some enquiries. This is what I learn. For many years, the Bombay underworld was involved in the smuggling of gold and other prohibited substances. With the recent liberalization and the restrictions being removed, a lucrative business for the gangsters has dried up. So they have now taken to extortion. A new Hindi film, called �Satya� has been made, and I get the opportunity to watch it on late night television, where a special nationwide screening is being held. (Satya is one of those films that is exempt from entertainment tax, which means that it costs a third less than a regular film at the theatre. The government usually exempts a few films that are deemed to have �social value�, so that more people will see it on account of the reduced price.) Satya is the name of the anti-hero of this film, and it also means truth. The film is well-made and authentic, depicting the lives of real people as opposed to the usual fantasy world of Indian cinema. It shows how a newcomer to Bombay, the tough Satya, who goes there to make an honest living, falls into a gang, and later becomes one of the most feared gangsters. Gangsters are getting more efficient, carrying their cellular telephones everywhere. The papers say that the leaders have fled the country and are masterminding the operations from safe havens like Dubai, from where the hapless government is unable to extradite them. The newspapers are also full of the controversy regarding the film �FIRE�. The Shiv Sena (a right-wing Hindu party) wants the film banned on account of its un-Indian values. I decide I must see it, so we all troop to town. �FIRE� is another English-language Indian film, and it has been released abroad earlier. The film is about two brothers and their wives, living in a joint family arrangement along with their invalid mother. The elder brother has become celibate in pursuit of God, while the younger one, who is newly-married, is carrying on an open extra-marital affair with his old flame, whom he is not allowed to marry. The two frustrated sisters-in-law fall into a lesbian relationship, and although the love scenes are not explicit, many people are upset. This is new ground for Indian cinema, and I applaud Deepa Mehta, an Indo-Canadian for having the guts to make this film. We have come a long way, for thirty years ago, even kissing on the lips was not allowed by the censors in Indian films. I complete this account with a tale of a Christmas lunch for which we were invited. Bangalore has a sizeable Christian population (mostly Roman Catholics), and my parents have good friends among them. Our hostess has made a number of vegetarian dishes for us, but my brother, who is a confirmed carnivore, derives immense pleasure from something called 'Sorpotel'. This is made from a pig as follows: the blood of a pig is poured on a tray and allowed to dry. When fully congealed it is cut into squares, and then pickled in a mixture of oil, vinegar and whole peppers, among other things. I am told that this dish originated in Goa, originally a Portuguese colony. I wonder if Sorpotel is eaten anywhere else in the world.

I found this wonderful tour of India purely by an accidental click: http://www.gurlpages.com/obsess/xtiesue/

You can always count on India for a different take on the state of the world. Here's an essay on the value of silence: http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=935263925

http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_ID=1454238160 India helped FBI trace ISI-terrorist links MANOJ JOSHI TIMES NEWS NETWORK NEW DELHI: While the Pakistani Inter Services Public Relations claimed that former ISI director-general Lt-Gen Mahmud Ahmad sought retirement after being superseded on Monday, the truth is more shocking. Top sources confirmed here on Tuesday, that the general lost his job because of the "evidence" India produced to show his links to one of the suicide bombers that wrecked the World Trade Centre. The US authorities sought his removal after confirming the fact that $100,000 were wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta from Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh at the instance of Gen Mahumd. Senior government sources have confirmed that India contributed significantly to establishing the link between the money transfer and the role played by the dismissed ISI chief. While they did not provide details, they said that Indian inputs, including Sheikhs mobile phone number, helped the FBI in tracing and establishing the link. A direct link between the ISI and the WTC attack could have enormous repercussions. The US cannot but suspect whether or not there were other senior Pakistani Army commanders who were in the know of things. Evidence of a larger conspiracy could shake US confidence in Pakistans ability to participate in the anti-terrorism coalition. Indian officials say they are vitally interested in the unravelling of the case since it could link the ISI directly to the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Kathmandu-Delhi flight to Kandahar last December. Ahmad Umar Sayeed Sheikh is a British national and a London School of Economics graduate who was arrested by the police in Delhi following a bungled 1994 kidnapping of four westerners, including an American citizen.

*I've Been Expecting This One: The Poor Man's Cruise Missile *8-( ISI plans 'toy plane' attacks on Indian VIPs EW DELHI: Pakistan's ISI has directed the militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir to use explosive-laden toy planes to hit VIPs in the state and Delhi, official sources said here. The sources said following some confessions by arrested militants and wireless intercepts about the use of "toy plane", intelligence agencies were making necessary reviews of securities provided to VIPs. "Toy plane" is the new armoury which has the capacity of carrying 10-15 kgs of explosive material. The plane takes a trajectory path and can hit the target within a range of 300 metres and can be operated by a remote control. Taking a cue from the method adopted by militants during the September 11 attacks, the sources said Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has been carrying out a series of suicide attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, is reported to be planning such attacks on VIPs in the national capital. The intelligence agencies have also flashed messages to various state capitals in order to gather more information on this novel modus-operandi besides passing on a word of caution. Some security measures had already been taken to prevent any such attack, the sources said, but admitted that more strict vigil needed to be maintained. The sources said these novel methods were being used after the ISI conduits were unable to penetrate the security in any part of the country. They said some militants, caught at the border, had revealed that the ISI was desperately trying to cause havoc in Delhi and was adopting such measures. The militants disclosed that the new chief of ISI was trying to create some disturbance in the capital in order to ease the pressure from domestic criticism, the sources said. Meanwhile, amidst reports of Pakistan-based militants planning suicide attacks on important personalities, security agencies had again reviewed security of Home Minister L K Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah. A close watch was being maintained on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah as some intercepts suggested that militants might try to carry out a "massive suicide attack" on him in Srinagar or Jammu. ( PTI )

Lots to catch up on, first the 10 day thing - terry Will India strike back after 10 days? MOHUA CHATTERJEE TIMES NEWS NETWORK NEW DELHI: To strike or not to strike? The government has given itself 10 days to decide this paramount question. The answer will depend on the evaluation report which it has sought from the Army and intelligence sources. This was decided at the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting on Friday. According to official sources, the government has sought answers to the following queries: Will a full-fledged war situation emerge if India strikes terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)? How will the Pakistani army retaliate and is it prepared for a full-scale war? These reports will be ready in 10 days. In an informal briefing before the CCS, the Army has already expressed its preparedness for a strike. Furthermore, it has pointed out that a limited action in PoK could not lead to a large-scale conflagration since Pakistan's political situation will not allow its army to undertake a full-fledged war. Defence Minister George Fernandes' scheduled four-day trip to the border areas from Sunday has been cancelled. A Cabinet Committee on Security meeting has been called on Sunday. The CCS will meet to decide whether the government will go ahead with the strike even if Pakistan bans Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Pressure is mounting on Pakistan to ban the outfits since US and UK have communicated to India that they too have sent diplomatic letters to Musharraf asking him to ban the LeT and Jaish. Currently, the government is weighing four military options aimed at striking terrorist camps in PoK: Land operation: Mortar, tanks and cannon attacks, which would include the Bofors guns. Camps within a range of 18 to 20 km can be completely destroyed by these means. Air strikes: Missile attacks can also destroy the camps. The most effective will be the Prithvi missiles, which have a strike range of 150 to 200 km. Mirage-2000 or Sukhoi aircraft can also be used for the strikes. Crossing the LoC: The Army crosses over, bombards the camps and returns to its own territory within 24 hours. Surface to surface: Surface-to-surface Prithvi missiles, with a range of 175 km, can also be used. Meanwhile, to prevent a Kargil-type intrusion at this juncture, India has installed Battle Field Surveillance Radars (BFSR), bought from Israel and France. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has also developed indigenous BF radars, and these are ready for trial. These are short-range, portable radars weighing 30 kg, which can spot a crawling man from 500 metres, a walking man from 2 km, and a group of men from 5 km. Intelligence reports say there is Pakistani troop movement near the LoC, specifically in the chicken neck belt area. These are Pakistani Special Service Group men, whose main job is destruction and sabotage activities. In the 1971 war, the SSGs had played an active part. There is also information that Lashkar and Al Badr men, along with the Pakistani army, have formed a Border Action Team (BAT). They are trained in guerrilla warfare and are already stationed at 17 sensitive areas along the border. Indian unmanned spy planes are keeping vigil over Pakistani army movement. Satellites are being used to identify camps in PoK and ascertain the number of men stationed there. What about this jerk. - terry Parliament staffer arrested for selling secrets to Pakistan NEW DELHI: Amidst a new low in Indo-Pakistan ties, the Delhi Police arrested an official of the Parliament secretariat for allegedly supplying to a Pakistan high commission staffer certain "sensitive" information on national security. The police are also probing if Pakistan high commission officials were involved in the December 13 terrorist strike on Parliament. Senior executive assistant in Parliament secretariatUs question cell Ajay Kumar was caught on Saturday supplying a bag containing documents relating to defence, atomic energy, nuclear research, railway security, ship- designing, and technology upgradation to Pakistan high commission staffer Mohammed Sharief Khan, the police said in a statement. During interrogation, Kumar revealed that Khan had several times in the past asked him about the security arrangements around Parliament House and he had arranged a pass for him (Khan) to watch Parliament proceedings. Kumar had also informed Khan that parliamentary security staff, when on duty, remain unarmed. "It is being probed if there is involvement of Pakistan high commission- based information officers in the recent (December 13) attack on Parliament," the statement said. Kumar told the police that he had been working for Pakistan-based intelligence operatives for the past couple of years and was getting paid for it. It said Kumar used to provide information about locations of various defence units and their movements on the basis of his personal observation and pass on "sensitive" documents, which he had access to because of his official position. Earlier in a statement, India described as "completely false" IslamabadUs allegations that the Pakistan high commission staffer was "kidnapped" and "tortured" by Indian intelligence officials here. Ministry of external affairs sources said the staffer was "caught red- handed" while collecting documents from his contact and was handed back to the Pakistan high commission. The laptop! - terry Terrorists posed as tourists to take snaps of Parliament NEW DELHI: It may sound like a replay of a Bollywood film or a subtle spy plot of James Bond but the investigations into the December 13 attack have so far revealed that conspirators had posed as tourists and taken pictures of the Parliament House with a digital camera while carrying out the recee of the area. Commissioner of Delhi Police, who is now looking after the intelligence unit, R S Gupta had said the terrorists had used the television snaps to generate a visual topography of the Parliament, investigations have found that militants had used as many as 22 exposures from highly sophisticated digital camera for framing their plan of action. Informed sources said that the pictures from memory card of the digital camera had been fed into the laptop and an analysis of the security arrangements at various gates of the Parliament was undertaken. The sources said the shots were taken mainly between 10.30 and 11.30 hours when the VVIPs including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani used to visit the Parliament for Question Hour. Some of the shots were taken minutes before the Prime Minister was to arrive at the House to ascertain how the barricades were removed to facilitate hassle free entry. To a question how terrorists managed to do all this, an investigative officer said that "Mohammed Afzal, Shaukat Hussain and Mohammed posed as tourists near Vijay Chowk and used to click the pictures." These pictures were later fed into the laptop for a detailed study of presence of armed guards at various times in the Parliament. However, the informed sources said that other crucial details from the laptop were yet to be decoded and the help of experts from various agencies were being used for the purpose. The sources said that some exposures of the diplomatic enclave at Chanakya Puri and that of Old Secretariat in Delhi Assembly were also used by the suicide squad for analysing. The digital camera was compatible with the laptop, the sources said. About the mobile phones recovered from the killed militants, the sources said the analysis of the SIM card had shown that several phone calls were made by the suicide squad to the port-city of Karachi in Pakistan, Dubai and Germany. The sources said that the militants were under clear instructions not to call Pakistan directly and that is why they re-routed their telephone conversation either from Dubai or Germany. A similar modus operandi was used by militants during the IC-814 hijacking case. ( PTI ) Dust this website under the carpet. - terry Lashkar deletes Pak address from website NEW DELHI: The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been charged with the December 13 attack on Parliament and whose assets have been frozen by Washington and Islamabad, has "changed its address". Its official website, which till recently, gave its address as 5 Chamberlane road, Lahore, now no longer mentions it. Instead, the contact leads one to the e-mail address of the Markaz-e-Dawa, the political wing of the terrorist outfit which last week changed its name to Pasban-e-Ahle-Hadith. According to retired itelligence officer B Raman, Lashkar in their propaganda literature and official websites, projected themselves as Pakistan-based organisations. "They also gave their addresses and telephone/fax numbers in Pakistan and particulars of Pakistani banks in which their accounts are held and to which their supporters should send their contributions," Raman has written in a new book, 'A Terrorist state as a Frontline Ally.' Interestingly, even as US President George Bush has described Lashkar as a Kashmir-based organisation, the Herald, a prestigious monthly journal of the Dawn group, described it as "Pakistan's largest so-called jehadi organisation." ( PTI )

World Trade Center Down, Buddhist Statues Blown Up, Taj Mahal Next On List *8-/ Lashkar threatens to blow up Taj Mahal LUCKNOW: A Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant group, who New Delhi blamed for an attack on its Parliament last month, has threatened to blow up the Taj Mahal, an Indian official said on Wednesday. Security around the 17th century marble monument had been tightened following an e-mail threat from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a senior government official in Agra said. "They have threatened to blow up the Taj Mahal, some other monuments and important government buildings in Lucknow," the official, who did not want to be identified, said. "We have enhanced security in and around the Taj Mahal which was mentioned among Lashkar-e-Taiba's main targets in the e-mail sent to the chief minister," the official said. India has blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups for the December 13 attack on its Parliament in which 14 people, including five attackers, dead. Both groups have denied involvement in the attacks. The official said Lashkar had also threatened to blow up a makeshift temple built at the site of the Babri masjid in Ayodhya. ( REUTERS )

KUPWARA, India India's prime minister told soldiers on the tense Kashmir frontier Wednesday to prepare for a "decisive battle" against Pakistan-supported Islamic insurgents, sending a warning to its nuclear-armed neighbor. A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman called for negotiations to ease tensions between the rivals, who have fought two wars over the disputed Himalayan region, but said his nation too was prepared for war. Cross-border shelling in the last week has killed dozens and reignited fears of a conflict. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed more than 600 soldiers at an army base near the cease-fire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Vajpayee told the soldiers "to be ready for sacrifice. Your goal should be victory. It's time to fight a decisive battle." Vajpayee said that India has been forced to fight a proxy war with Pakistan, which New Delhi accuses of training and arming the Islamic militants who have waged a battle for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan for 12 years. Islamabad says it has no control over the militants and only supports the ideology of the "freedom fighters." Vajpayee said his morale booster for the troops should indicate to Pakistan that India is prepared for war. "Whether our neighbor gets that signal or not, whether the world keeps record of that or not, we will write a new chapter of victory," he said. "Our neighbor has found a new way of fighting, through a proxy war." Vajpayee said the attack last week on an army camp on the outskirts of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, by suspected Islamic militants posed a new challenge. The assault killed 34 people - mostly soldiers' wives and children. India blamed Pakistan and Islamic militants based there for the attack, expelled the Pakistani ambassador and reorganized maritime and ground forces under the military. An additional 3,000 soldiers were sent to the frontier Tuesday. "The challenge has been thrown at India and we accept it," he told the soldiers who were sitting cross-legged on a field. In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan told The Associated Press that Pakistan was also prepared for war. "Pakistan wants to resolve all outstanding issues with India through peaceful talks and negotiations, but our armed forces are also fully prepared to face any aggression," he said. Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes, who also addressed the troops, said the soldiers appeared ready for war. "Everywhere I go, soldiers ask me when will we get an opportunity to attack," Fernandes said. Gen. V.G. Patankar, the officer who commands the troops in Kashmir, said the leaders' visit had raised troop morale. "We have a desire to die," Patankar said. "We have a resolve to wage war." Neither Vajpayee nor Fernandes talked about the steps India would take to fight the "proxy war." The tough talk by India and Pakistan in the last week is typical of the longtime enemies who often threaten war. However, the 1 million troops dispatched by both countries to their border is the biggest military buildup since their last war in 1971. They have already fought wars in 1948 and 1965 over the Himalayan province. "We know how to respect our enemy, but let this not be regarded as our weakness," Vajpayee said. "Do not think that our limits of patience will just go on stretching." Still, many analysts believe that with the U.S. military presence in neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan and Washington's efforts to defuse tensions, war may not be imminent. "In the immediate future, we are not going to launch an operation," said J.N. Dixit, former foreign secretary and ambassador to Pakistan. "Of course, public opinion and our soldiers are tired of all this. They want the government to do something. But there are many factors." Dixit said he expected the government to wait for the visits of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw later this month before taking a final decision on a course of action. Straw said the potential for war had grown too strong. "The possibility of war between India and Pakistan is real and very disturbing," he said. "This is a crisis the world cannot ignore." Shortly after Vajpayee arrived in Kashmir on Tuesday, masked gunmen assassinated a leading Kashmiri peace advocate during a ceremony marking the murder of another independence leader 12 years ago. Abdul Ghani Lone, a moderate, soft-spoken Muslim separatist leader, had sought dialogue with India to bring self-determination to Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state in predominantly Hindu India. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Lone's murder, and the assailants got away. The Kashmir Valley was on strike Wednesday, with public transportation, shops and businesses shut down in protest of the killing and Vajpayee's visit. The shutdown was organized by a political group that favors independence for Kashmir. KUPWARA, India India's prime minister told soldiers on the tense Kashmir frontier Wednesday to prepare for a "decisive battle" against Pakistan-supported Islamic insurgents, sending a warning to its nuclear-armed neighbor. A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman called for negotiations to ease tensions between the rivals, who have fought two wars over the disputed Himalayan region, but said his nation too was prepared for war. Cross-border shelling in the last week has killed dozens and reignited fears of a conflict. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed more than 600 soldiers at an army base near the cease-fire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Vajpayee told the soldiers "to be ready for sacrifice. Your goal should be victory. It's time to fight a decisive battle." Vajpayee said that India has been forced to fight a proxy war with Pakistan, which New Delhi accuses of training and arming the Islamic militants who have waged a battle for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan for 12 years. Islamabad says it has no control over the militants and only supports the ideology of the "freedom fighters." Vajpayee said his morale booster for the troops should indicate to Pakistan that India is prepared for war. "Whether our neighbor gets that signal or not, whether the world keeps record of that or not, we will write a new chapter of victory," he said. "Our neighbor has found a new way of fighting, through a proxy war." Vajpayee said the attack last week on an army camp on the outskirts of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, by suspected Islamic militants posed a new challenge. The assault killed 34 people - mostly soldiers' wives and children. India blamed Pakistan and Islamic militants based there for the attack, expelled the Pakistani ambassador and reorganized maritime and ground forces under the military. An additional 3,000 soldiers were sent to the frontier Tuesday. "The challenge has been thrown at India and we accept it," he told the soldiers who were sitting cross-legged on a field. In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan told The Associated Press that Pakistan was also prepared for war. "Pakistan wants to resolve all outstanding issues with India through peaceful talks and negotiations, but our armed forces are also fully prepared to face any aggression," he said. Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes, who also addressed the troops, said the soldiers appeared ready for war. "Everywhere I go, soldiers ask me when will we get an opportunity to attack," Fernandes said. Gen. V.G. Patankar, the officer who commands the troops in Kashmir, said the leaders' visit had raised troop morale. "We have a desire to die," Patankar said. "We have a resolve to wage war." Neither Vajpayee nor Fernandes talked about the steps India would take to fight the "proxy war." The tough talk by India and Pakistan in the last week is typical of the longtime enemies who often threaten war. However, the 1 million troops dispatched by both countries to their border is the biggest military buildup since their last war in 1971. They have already fought wars in 1948 and 1965 over the Himalayan province. "We know how to respect our enemy, but let this not be regarded as our weakness," Vajpayee said. "Do not think that our limits of patience will just go on stretching." Still, many analysts believe that with the U.S. military presence in neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan and Washington's efforts to defuse tensions, war may not be imminent. "In the immediate future, we are not going to launch an operation," said J.N. Dixit, former foreign secretary and ambassador to Pakistan. "Of course, public opinion and our soldiers are tired of all this. They want the government to do something. But there are many factors." Dixit said he expected the government to wait for the visits of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw later this month before taking a final decision on a course of action. Straw said the potential for war had grown too strong. "The possibility of war between India and Pakistan is real and very disturbing," he said. "This is a crisis the world cannot ignore." Shortly after Vajpayee arrived in Kashmir on Tuesday, masked gunmen assassinated a leading Kashmiri peace advocate during a ceremony marking the murder of another independence leader 12 years ago. Abdul Ghani Lone, a moderate, soft-spoken Muslim separatist leader, had sought dialogue with India to bring self-determination to Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state in predominantly Hindu India. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Lone's murder, and the assailants got away. The Kashmir Valley was on strike Wednesday, with public transportation, shops and businesses shut down in protest of the killing and Vajpayee's visit. The shutdown was organized by a political group that favors independence for Kashmir. KUPWARA, India India's prime minister told soldiers on the tense Kashmir frontier Wednesday to prepare for a "decisive battle" against Pakistan-supported Islamic insurgents, sending a warning to its nuclear-armed neighbor. A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman called for negotiations to ease tensions between the rivals, who have fought two wars over the disputed Himalayan region, but said his nation too was prepared for war. Cross-border shelling in the last week has killed dozens and reignited fears of a conflict. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed more than 600 soldiers at an army base near the cease-fire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Vajpayee told the soldiers "to be ready for sacrifice. Your goal should be victory. It's time to fight a decisive battle." Vajpayee said that India has been forced to fight a proxy war with Pakistan, which New Delhi accuses of training and arming the Islamic militants who have waged a battle for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan for 12 years. Islamabad says it has no control over the militants and only supports the ideology of the "freedom fighters." Vajpayee said his morale booster for the troops should indicate to Pakistan that India is prepared for war. "Whether our neighbor gets that signal or not, whether the world keeps record of that or not, we will write a new chapter of victory," he said. "Our neighbor has found a new way of fighting, through a proxy war." Vajpayee said the attack last week on an army camp on the outskirts of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, by suspected Islamic militants posed a new challenge. The assault killed 34 people - mostly soldiers' wives and children. India blamed Pakistan and Islamic militants based there for the attack, continuted at http://www.iht.com/articles/58567.html

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/02222207.htm New Delhi, May 22. (PTI): Even as Prime Minister Vajpayee warned of a decisive battle against terrorism, Pakistan army is reported to have stepped up efforts to infiltrate militants across the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army during the past 24 hours detected and foiled two major attempts to push in militants in Uri sector in Kashmir valley killing two Pakistani mercernaries. "There may have been a number of more such attempts which went undetected," officials here said. With the melting of snow, these were the first two major attempts which came to light and both the bids made during early morning were foiled, officials said. They said for the past several months, army patrols had witnessed a new pattern in the infiltrations bids, with the militants being pushed in being all Pakistani or Afghan nationals. "Unlike in the past attempts are now made to push in smaller groups, as against groups of 20 to 40 militants earlier," officials said adding that the infiltrators were now very lightly armed indicating that they were being provided heavier weapons inside Jammu and Kashmir.

Things seem to be cooling down a bit, from the reports I read yesterday. It's up the Pakistanis to agree to the Indian Prime Ministers requests at this stage. Can they do it in time?

SHANWA, India (AP) -- It comes in the night, a flying sphere emitting red and blue lights that attacks villagers in this poor region, extensively burning those victims it does not kill. At least that's what panic-stricken villagers say. At least seven people have died of unexplained injuries in the past week in Uttar Pradesh state. "A mysterious flying object attacked him in the night," Raghuraj Pal said of his neighbor, Ramji Pal, who died recently in Shanwa. "His stomach was ripped open. He died two days later." Many others have suffered scratches and surface wounds, which they say were inflicted while they slept. In the village of Darra, 53-year-old Kalawati said she was attacked last week and displayed blisters on her blackened forearms. "It was like a big soccer ball with sparkling lights," said Kalawati, who uses only one name. "It burned my skin." "I can't sleep because of pain," she said. Doctors dismiss the stories as mass hysteria. "More often than not the victims have unconsciously inflicted the symptoms themselves," said Narrotam Lal, a doctor at King George's Medical College in Lucknow, the state capital. The police have another explanation: bugs. "It is a three-and-a-half-inch-long winged insect" that leaves rashes and superficial wounds, Kavindra P. Singh, a superintendent of police, told the Press Trust of India news agency. Police drew this conclusion after residents of one village found insects they had never seen before. Villagers are unconvinced. In the most affected area, the Mirzapur district, 440 miles southeast of New Delhi, people have stopped sleeping outdoors despite the sweltering heat and frequent power outages. Villagers also have formed protection squads that patrol Shanwa, beating drums and shouting slogans such as, "Everyone alert. Attackers beware." Some accuse district officials of inaction and failing to capture the "aliens." One person died Thursday in nearby Sitapur when police fired shots to disperse a 10,000-strong crowd demanding that authorities capture the mysterious attackers. "People just block the roads and attack the police for inaction each time there's a death or injury," said Amrit Abhijat, Mirzapur's district magistrate, who claims he has captured the UFO on film. "It's scary stuff", commented Koti Nandipati.

India UFO attacks 'are coloured lightning balls' A scientist claims the 'UFOs' behind a series of attacks on Indian villagers are just balls of lightning. Professor Ravindra Arora says the coloured balls ranging from tennis to football size are caused by dry weather. Villagers in Uttar Pradesh claim they're being attacked by flying spheres emitting red and blue lights. At least seven people have died of unexplained injuries and others have suffered scratches and burns in the last week. Police say a 9cm-long winged insect may be responsible for the attacks while doctors think the wounds are self-inflicted. Professor Arora, of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, told Rediff.com: "I have sufficient reason to believe that the burn injuries on the faces of victims were caused by nothing other than these lightning balls. "Dry spells increase the soil resistance while decreasing its conductivity, and in the process attract lightning balls that emit different colour lights - mostly blue, green, yellow or red. "There is constant evidence of these balls over the ages. In all cases, people can see a ball-like object travelling sideways in the air that can produce up to 100 watts of current." One Uttar Pradesh villager, who claims to have been attacked, said: "I can't sleep because of the pain. It was like a big soccer ball with sparkling lights." Professor Arora says the problem should disappear once heavy rains arrive in the region. Story filed: 13:03 Thursday 15th August 2002 on ananova