MiDDAY retrospective of the past decade (1999-2009)

As the curtain comes down on this year and we roll on to a new decade, here is looking at transformations and their effect upon our lives. From sex to cellphones and looks to books on gay lifestyles, there has been a vast difference between 1999 and 2009, proving there is nothing constantu00a0-- except change.
- Hemal Ashar, Issue Editor

Politics
Days of the Raj
Political analyst Pratap Asbe introspects about what has changed for the Shiv Sena after the emergence of the MNS in the years between 1999 and 2009

The young and the restless
The number of young persons in politics has shown a heartening increase but much more needs to be done, say our young ministers

Technology
How phone-tastic
From Rs 16 a minute to now, we wonder how we lived without the cell phone

Defenceu00a0and Security
The fuzz, the buzz
Some marked changes have been the hallmark of the police force, but experts say that much sophistication is needed to combat crime in the future

Not for glory, not for gold
A decade after guns boomed in Kargil, the top brass speak about whether things have changed for our men in uniform and what the future holds

Housing and Real Estate
Flat out, ridiculous
If you thought homes in landmark Mumbai buildings cost the earth in 1999, they cost the entire galaxy in 2009 with experts saying rates are to show a similar pattern of spiralling upward in the next decade

The mall merrier
From no mall in 1999 to over a hundred this year, the mall business has been an undulating graph of hits and misses

Transport
Equals in the air
The airline boom and competitive pricing has made flying a reality for everyone

Hail, the new order arriveth
In 1999, good ol' Fiat cars ruled the cabbie roost but today, private players and modern models are nudging them out

Health
Online, you're fine
Health sites rode the dotcom boom, some fizzled, the others sizzled

Shutter Sharp
Let's year it for...
If pictures could speak, they would say more than a thousand words now. The lens eye blinked to capture the most compelling memories of the 365 days that have flown past. Pictures to make you pause, introspect or smile in delight -- this is 2009 framed for posterityu00a0

Entertainment
Faces going places
Never mind the Botox, Bollywood hotties believe in change. Ten years earlier, to the present and the future -- their visages spell transformation with a capital T, says Tushar Joshi

Pop Culture
Split at the seam
Shweta Shiware longs for Retro, for a time when the Indian fashion industry was one, and fashion week meant a unified, country-wide celebration of style

Schoolgirl-in-heat fires up the charts
Britney Spears, and a few more made 1999 special for the world of music. And 2009 saw Yoko Ono resuscitated to life

Lifestyle
Not just between the book covers
It was back in 1999-2000 when the first mainstream books on same-sex love were released in India. A decade later, tales of gay love have flown out of the pages and onto the roads