This led to this, and now we're here! What started it all was this article by the rabble rouser this post seeks to analyze.
Let us begin by refuting shourie's article point by point:
There are many reasons why someone would mock anyone else's "secular credentials". From the simple of jealousy that stems from feeling inferior in comparision, to the more sinister attempt to influence by the power of suggestion. What is important to note is that the latter stems from an insecurity of losing one's identity. Anyway, mocking a virtue doesn't make it any less of a virtue.
shourie's tendency to ramble makes it difficult to deal with his essay point by point. If you read it you will appreciate the effort I had to make to stay on track.
Hindutva in it's current form is not different from the Taliban's brand of Islam or for that matter any other totalitarian, violent approach.
shourie's meandered about for miles before finally summarizing that Hinduism gives it's followers the Violence go ahead. Yet he keeps referring to a difference that he doesn't seem to demonstrate clearly. Actually Mohammed too gave his followers the battle go ahead when there was no other way out. So there is similarity in the teachings. But shourie is no expert on either religion & must not be taken seriously. People devote entire lives to the study of religion, yet do not overcome the very basic language & contextual barriers so intrinsic to an in-depth understanding of any literature in a foreign language, let alone religion!
shourie is actually an expert at manipulation. He paints a picture of an India ruled savagely by non-Hindu rulers for thousands of years! He very conveniently forgets that across North & South India, the rulers were primarily Hindu by religion. Even under Mughal rule, there were Hindu Kings in other parts of the country. As for savagery, I suppose the savagery of battle in the Mahabharat, at Kalinga, and the patricide that Hindu kings (how I hate myself for having to use this term!) indulged in are meant to be forgotten because of the fact that they happened on what he considers "his side". As for the peaceful, unifying rule of Akbar, the progress in art & culture that India still lays claim to, that needs to be kept a well hidden secret. Typical RSS-BJP type misrepresentation of facts, doctoring of history & propaganda! Not expected of an arun shourie, but what the hell, the man's human!
He forgets conveniently that India has been primarily Hindu ruled, except for the Mughal period. Even in modern day India, no Muslim/Christian/Jewish/Parsi/Jain/Buddhist/Sikh/etc political party has come to power. The rulers have been Hindus. But wait... these aren't shourie's Hindus.. these are the despicable secular Hindus; the kind that have caused the downfall of the great Hindu state of India! The ones who're better dead than alive! Which is what explains why people like Gandhiji, Indira, Rajiv etc. kept getting assassinated, while their leaders continue to die of old age!
shourie's fogginess vis a vis the Palestinian-Arab religions as he puts it (he could just have used the generally accepted term Abrahamic!) is evident in his "exclusivist" statement! The truth is that Christianity recognizes Moses as a prophet, and Islam acknowledges both Moses & Jesus as preceding prophets. If he'd have read the Quran, he'd have known that Adam, Abraham, Noah and many others are also acknowledged as prophets.
Forget reading the Quran, even if he'd watched "The Message", he'd have learnt that the early Muslims took shelter with Christian kings of neighbouring areas. This shelter was granted to them when verses from the Quran were recited, clearly proving Jesus to be a prophet of both religions!
But shourie doesn't want you to know that! Assuming that he knows that himself, that is!
shourie also skilfully tries to dodge the Khajuraho question in response to the MF Husain argument. If it was OK for artisans to depict Gods & Goddesses in naked, thrusting glory then! on temple walls if you please! how come it isn't OK for Husain to depict them thus in his paintings?
Instead he tries to turn the argument to Husain's never having painted the "icons of Islam". He knows only too well that there are no icons in Islam. It is forbidden to paint or sculpt the prophet or his family lest Islam's message too gets lost among another idol worshipping mass of humanity!
At this point it is wholly clear that shourie's piece is not meant for the discerning reader. It is unmitigatedly targeted at further inciting newly English literate RSS sympathisers. It is a dangerous piece of writing & in an ideal scenario shourie would be in jail for acting against the interests of peace in our country! What is surprising is that the Indian Express chose not to see it like that!
More examples of his attempts to incite are here:
What does shourie mean by "serve as a warning to all who keep pushing Hindus around"? WHO is pushing Hindus around in a country where they're the dominant majority???
Or by "... Gandhiji’s incontestable greatness and the fact that it was so evidently rooted in his devotion to our religion... "? Our religion? Is he talking from a Hindu standpoint here? Or is he insinuating that the religion of India is Hinduism?
It doesn't matter. He is talking rubbish!
Now on to the deconstruction that I spoke of.
arun shourie was probably one of India's bravest journalists. All this happened while I was very young, but I have updated myself on shourie through that (often unreliable) source called Wikipedia.
shourie was with the Indian Express. A newspaper I respect. It was unafraid to speak the truth, it set benchmarks in investigative, truth-be-told journalism; what journalism should be. shourie was during his time with them, probably the biggest exponent of these values. so what happened then? how did he become the malicious rumour mongering arun shourie of today?
Well.. it so happened that the I.E. & shourie took on the ruling Congress party at that time & won a few crucial rounds. It was a laudable effort, they even succeeded in forcing AR Antulay's resignation on corruption charges! Unfortunately, they became victims of a witch-hunt, once the Congress came back to power, post the emergency debacle. Interestingly, the party that had briefly replaced them failed miserably.
I am inclined to believe that I.E. & shourie had no vested interests in their campaign, and that what followed was very unfair.
The pressure on I.E.'s owners it is said, forced them to give shourie the sack. You can imagine how traumatizing that must have been for an honest, eager journalist!
They didn't just take his job away from him. They took his career away from him!
I believe that something inside shourie snapped. he began hating everything that the Congress stood for. Even things like secularism!
he went from truthful journalist to shameless rumour monger!
I believe that for shourie, it isn't about national or even Hindu interest. It is about personal vendetta.
What he doesn't realize is that by becoming what he has, he let that handful of crooked elements in the Congress party win! he has become a caricature of what he once was, he has lost his credibility, he has let his detractors win. They wanted to finish him off. And they have succeeded.
Attempted Crosspost
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
The Monsoon hits Pune...!
Ah...! The fresh, clean, crisp air. The clean streets, the washed trees (as my Mom calls them), the fewer people on the roads... WONDERFUL!!!
I need to get drenched! On the outside as well as the inside!!! ;-)
There was lightning & loooouuuuuuud claps of thunder as well. I felt fresh just looking at it!
I need to get drenched! On the outside as well as the inside!!! ;-)
There was lightning & loooouuuuuuud claps of thunder as well. I felt fresh just looking at it!
Today's day...
Originally posted on May 18th. Edited today. See bottom of post.
Today's been a little more packed than other days, despite it being a Sunday. Friends dropped in from Bombay (awfully nice of them!) and that made this Sunday a trifle less lazy!
From the moment I glanced at the papers this morning, I've meaning to write this post. Take a look at the day's headlines:
India tells China off on Sikkim! Great going India! Celebrate this instead of that rubbish called ipl!
Gurgaon techie held for posting derogatory messages against Sonia Gandhi on Orkut! WOW! I'm THRILLED TO BITS! The last time a student was arrested for bad mouthing modi, it didn't cause too much of a flutter. I'm waiting to see what happens this time. Wonder if there'll be any word from the Mutiny on this one.
Railway Porter No. 6362 at Kanpur Central is learning how to read, write! More power to Laloo I say! Laloo for PM!!! If people (I don't even wanna call them that!) are considering advani's name, I think Laloo is by far a better bet! Laloo daudega! Biharis will be safe in Bombay too!!!
Binayak Sen wins the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health & Human Rights! Great news! Another feather in India's cap! And a slap in the face for the bjp govt. in Chattisgarh! Yahoo!
One of my friends from Bombay, a Bihari Brahmin girl with no evinced Congress leanings was relating stories of how the right-wing extremists were putting up propaganda on websites and emails about how Sonia was the daughter of the Mafia and how she'd been planted at Cambridge to rijhao Rajiv Gandhi. The Mafia's idea apparently was to get access to effect deals like Bofors! WOW! What a story! Why can't these nobodies stop obsessing over the Nehru-Gandhi family?
She had more to add on the rss. Apparently a few years back, they sangh parivar stripped a woman in public in Gujarat because she was in jeans, offending Indian culture. These are the people you want in power? They strip women, they kill people from other religions. I can only hope there is truth in the saying, "Vinaash kaale, Viprit budhdhi"!
I went to Landmark in the evening, where the first book on your left as you step out of the lift is "The men who killed Gandhi". I pushed back my nausea and leafed through it. It seems to be an account of the events that led a bunch of mentally ill men to plan the assassination of "The Father of the Nation", an over 80 year old man, one whose ideas for India differentiated us on the global map from other countries. The book ends with a photo of the killer and a line that says something to this effect: "... a hero to the millions who believe that he was right in killing Gandhi"!
I am aghast at how such books do not face censorship in India. Are we taking this tolerant attitude, this freedom of speech thing too far? Are we going to allow a generation of youngsters who do not know the truth to read this crap, and believe that Gandhiji deserved to be shot & that that despicable low-life who shot him was a hero??? Like I've said before, History is fair! The likes of fawkes, hitler, booth, oswald & godse will always be remembered as cold-blooded, mentally ill men, but despite that, this book is taking things too far. I'd say give it a miss. The writer doesn't deserve any reading. May he too be remembered as a traitor!
It's been a long day...
June 3rd edit: One commenter said that he's glad that we don't burn effigies like is done on Guy Fawkes Day in the UK. Actually this is a brilliant idea. In India we burn effigies of living politicians as a mark of protest (among more vile things). Nothing should stop us from burning an effigy of godse every 30th January. We will call it the Indian Guy Fawkes Day! We will commemorate the sad loss of India's Greatest Son at the hands of a cold blooded murderer. Who wants to popularize this? Let's start with communities on Orkut & Facebook! We can even request the Brits to burn 2 effigies every Guy Fawkes Day, one of godse added! And we can return the favour by burning a Guy Fawkes effigy! We're in the Commonwealth after all!
I want to understand what godse would've done had he still been around? Would he have denounced raj thakarey for destroying India's unity? No... wait a minute... He didn't murder Gandhiji in the nation's interest. He murdered Gandhiji in the "Hindu" interest.
Even then, would he have publicly chided raj for destroying "Hindu" unity, by targeting "Hindus" from UP & Bihar? No... I don't think so. He would've sided with his state in all probability. So why exactly did The Father of My Nation, a peace loving man, get murdered (& maligned these days) while these rascals get away with murder & are considered demi-Gods?
I think we deserve every bit of trouble that comes to India. If we can't stand up & speak out against what is wrong, if we don't want to do anything about it, if we want to defend murderers & racists, we deserve all this trouble. I can see a civil war coming. With vested interests outside of India feeding on our lack of unity, I can definitely see it coming! Unless we wake up fast. Unless we denounce all these small time crooks & tell them that you cannot tear us Indians apart!
Today's been a little more packed than other days, despite it being a Sunday. Friends dropped in from Bombay (awfully nice of them!) and that made this Sunday a trifle less lazy!
From the moment I glanced at the papers this morning, I've meaning to write this post. Take a look at the day's headlines:
India tells China off on Sikkim! Great going India! Celebrate this instead of that rubbish called ipl!
Gurgaon techie held for posting derogatory messages against Sonia Gandhi on Orkut! WOW! I'm THRILLED TO BITS! The last time a student was arrested for bad mouthing modi, it didn't cause too much of a flutter. I'm waiting to see what happens this time. Wonder if there'll be any word from the Mutiny on this one.
Railway Porter No. 6362 at Kanpur Central is learning how to read, write! More power to Laloo I say! Laloo for PM!!! If people (I don't even wanna call them that!) are considering advani's name, I think Laloo is by far a better bet! Laloo daudega! Biharis will be safe in Bombay too!!!
Binayak Sen wins the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health & Human Rights! Great news! Another feather in India's cap! And a slap in the face for the bjp govt. in Chattisgarh! Yahoo!
One of my friends from Bombay, a Bihari Brahmin girl with no evinced Congress leanings was relating stories of how the right-wing extremists were putting up propaganda on websites and emails about how Sonia was the daughter of the Mafia and how she'd been planted at Cambridge to rijhao Rajiv Gandhi. The Mafia's idea apparently was to get access to effect deals like Bofors! WOW! What a story! Why can't these nobodies stop obsessing over the Nehru-Gandhi family?
She had more to add on the rss. Apparently a few years back, they sangh parivar stripped a woman in public in Gujarat because she was in jeans, offending Indian culture. These are the people you want in power? They strip women, they kill people from other religions. I can only hope there is truth in the saying, "Vinaash kaale, Viprit budhdhi"!
I went to Landmark in the evening, where the first book on your left as you step out of the lift is "The men who killed Gandhi". I pushed back my nausea and leafed through it. It seems to be an account of the events that led a bunch of mentally ill men to plan the assassination of "The Father of the Nation", an over 80 year old man, one whose ideas for India differentiated us on the global map from other countries. The book ends with a photo of the killer and a line that says something to this effect: "... a hero to the millions who believe that he was right in killing Gandhi"!
I am aghast at how such books do not face censorship in India. Are we taking this tolerant attitude, this freedom of speech thing too far? Are we going to allow a generation of youngsters who do not know the truth to read this crap, and believe that Gandhiji deserved to be shot & that that despicable low-life who shot him was a hero??? Like I've said before, History is fair! The likes of fawkes, hitler, booth, oswald & godse will always be remembered as cold-blooded, mentally ill men, but despite that, this book is taking things too far. I'd say give it a miss. The writer doesn't deserve any reading. May he too be remembered as a traitor!
It's been a long day...
June 3rd edit: One commenter said that he's glad that we don't burn effigies like is done on Guy Fawkes Day in the UK. Actually this is a brilliant idea. In India we burn effigies of living politicians as a mark of protest (among more vile things). Nothing should stop us from burning an effigy of godse every 30th January. We will call it the Indian Guy Fawkes Day! We will commemorate the sad loss of India's Greatest Son at the hands of a cold blooded murderer. Who wants to popularize this? Let's start with communities on Orkut & Facebook! We can even request the Brits to burn 2 effigies every Guy Fawkes Day, one of godse added! And we can return the favour by burning a Guy Fawkes effigy! We're in the Commonwealth after all!
I want to understand what godse would've done had he still been around? Would he have denounced raj thakarey for destroying India's unity? No... wait a minute... He didn't murder Gandhiji in the nation's interest. He murdered Gandhiji in the "Hindu" interest.
Even then, would he have publicly chided raj for destroying "Hindu" unity, by targeting "Hindus" from UP & Bihar? No... I don't think so. He would've sided with his state in all probability. So why exactly did The Father of My Nation, a peace loving man, get murdered (& maligned these days) while these rascals get away with murder & are considered demi-Gods?
I think we deserve every bit of trouble that comes to India. If we can't stand up & speak out against what is wrong, if we don't want to do anything about it, if we want to defend murderers & racists, we deserve all this trouble. I can see a civil war coming. With vested interests outside of India feeding on our lack of unity, I can definitely see it coming! Unless we wake up fast. Unless we denounce all these small time crooks & tell them that you cannot tear us Indians apart!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Another not so bad day...
29th May 2008:
News headlines again... Not so bad at all. Fairly encouraging.
The first one that caught my eye saddened my a whole lot. The Indian Express reported an MP minister as having said: "give quotas to beggars who seek it", in response to the recent and ongoing reservation stir. In 21st century India, caste is alive & kicking! Read here.
They say every dark cloud has a silver lining: The fact that it was a bjp minister who said it, in the presence of the bjp CM of Madhya Pradesh is news to take heart from. The more confident & aggressive these people get, the more they expose themselves. Slowly but surely, the country will seem them for who they are & this ugly daag will disappear from the face of Indian political consciousness. For that day, I pray.
Nitish Katara's murderers, Vikas Yadav & Vishal Yadav convicted, despite being well connected! A victory of the Indian judicial system! It gladdens the heart to know that you could be a politician's son, but you cannot get away with murder in this country. All this celebration is a little premature. We still have to ensure that the perpetrators of the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots are brought to justice. We still have to ensure that bal t & raj t are brought to justice. We still need answers to who killed Syed Modi & why is he still roaming free?
This will do very well for a start though. It's a message for us never to back down from demanding justice, to keep at it until we get justice! I hope every Indian is getting this message.
Nepal becomes a republic. Welcome to the secular republic fold people. You have great responsibility and great challenges ahead of you. All the best. May you succeed!
"SIMI faction at helm of all-India terror network": DNA.
Great! Step in the right direction. We know at least which organization was responsible for the terror attacks. So the next step is to curb all activities of this faction! Make it's very existence difficult. Apprehend it's terrorists. And then talk to the terrorists who comprise this network. Ask them what they have against India. If they have any valid arguments, we must fix them immediately, so that we don't have any more organizations like this rising.
For Infosys, growth will take place ‘outside Pune’
The mns has hopefully shot itself in the foot. Instead of giving a boost to employment in Maharashtra, they've managed to send jobs away from Pune! GREAT! I am always the happiest when people like raj fuck up! FANTASTIC News! Suffer buggers suffer!
And here's what a right-winger in power is capable of. Indian's, I've been saying it for very long and I'll say it again... BEWARE!
Hopefully Bush will be brought to justice for his misdemeanours. If not civil/criminal justice, maybe divine justice; but I'd be glad to see him suffer in some form!
That's it for now.
News headlines again... Not so bad at all. Fairly encouraging.
The first one that caught my eye saddened my a whole lot. The Indian Express reported an MP minister as having said: "give quotas to beggars who seek it", in response to the recent and ongoing reservation stir. In 21st century India, caste is alive & kicking! Read here.
They say every dark cloud has a silver lining: The fact that it was a bjp minister who said it, in the presence of the bjp CM of Madhya Pradesh is news to take heart from. The more confident & aggressive these people get, the more they expose themselves. Slowly but surely, the country will seem them for who they are & this ugly daag will disappear from the face of Indian political consciousness. For that day, I pray.
Nitish Katara's murderers, Vikas Yadav & Vishal Yadav convicted, despite being well connected! A victory of the Indian judicial system! It gladdens the heart to know that you could be a politician's son, but you cannot get away with murder in this country. All this celebration is a little premature. We still have to ensure that the perpetrators of the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots are brought to justice. We still have to ensure that bal t & raj t are brought to justice. We still need answers to who killed Syed Modi & why is he still roaming free?
This will do very well for a start though. It's a message for us never to back down from demanding justice, to keep at it until we get justice! I hope every Indian is getting this message.
Nepal becomes a republic. Welcome to the secular republic fold people. You have great responsibility and great challenges ahead of you. All the best. May you succeed!
"SIMI faction at helm of all-India terror network": DNA.
Great! Step in the right direction. We know at least which organization was responsible for the terror attacks. So the next step is to curb all activities of this faction! Make it's very existence difficult. Apprehend it's terrorists. And then talk to the terrorists who comprise this network. Ask them what they have against India. If they have any valid arguments, we must fix them immediately, so that we don't have any more organizations like this rising.
For Infosys, growth will take place ‘outside Pune’
The mns has hopefully shot itself in the foot. Instead of giving a boost to employment in Maharashtra, they've managed to send jobs away from Pune! GREAT! I am always the happiest when people like raj fuck up! FANTASTIC News! Suffer buggers suffer!
And here's what a right-winger in power is capable of. Indian's, I've been saying it for very long and I'll say it again... BEWARE!
Hopefully Bush will be brought to justice for his misdemeanours. If not civil/criminal justice, maybe divine justice; but I'd be glad to see him suffer in some form!
That's it for now.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Indulge me
I'm poetically handicapped. Totally so! Having 5 poets in the family doesn't help, but I'm indulging a recent urge to try my hand at it. Apologies for subjecting you to this, but here goes anyway...
Critique invited. Biting critique welcome as well.
The mind wants Peace
Not fragmented pieces
No conflict, but unity
Ah… my mind eases...
Mann chaahe shaanti
Na ki tukde toote toote
Sangharsh nahin, Ekagrata!
Aah… yeh mera mann loote...!
I would've liked to do an Urdu version, but unfortunately my Urdu is about as good as a dog's meow.
Critique invited. Biting critique welcome as well.
The mind wants Peace
Not fragmented pieces
No conflict, but unity
Ah… my mind eases...
Mann chaahe shaanti
Na ki tukde toote toote
Sangharsh nahin, Ekagrata!
Aah… yeh mera mann loote...!
I would've liked to do an Urdu version, but unfortunately my Urdu is about as good as a dog's meow.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Unaware of Human Rights Violations?
A recent discussion here left me searching Google for Amnesty International articles on Human Rights violations (specially wrt to "Hindus") in Bangladesh & Pakistan. Google readily threw up many Bangladesh links (but no Pakistan links, although I'd have expected more of those!) & I went through some of these, surprised at how this had eluded well-informed old me for so long!
So for everyone who wants to be better informed vis a vis Human Rights Violations worldwide, please subscribe to Amnesty's e-zine here.
And for those who want to contribute in a small way, you can take their survey here.
One thing that is still unclear is how these truly deplorable human rights violations are being referred to as "ethnic cleansing". When exactly did that happen?
So for everyone who wants to be better informed vis a vis Human Rights Violations worldwide, please subscribe to Amnesty's e-zine here.
And for those who want to contribute in a small way, you can take their survey here.
One thing that is still unclear is how these truly deplorable human rights violations are being referred to as "ethnic cleansing". When exactly did that happen?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Art Exhibition in Pune! Calling all art-lovers!
On Mother's Day, Yasmin Zaidi pays a Floral Tribute to her Mother who passed away last year.
The "oils on canvas" series is around flowers and is marked by some excellent detailed work, something normally not seen in modern art.
The Exhibition titled "Mother's Day - A Floral Tribute" begins on Mother's Day, Sunday, 11th May 2008, at the Corinthian's Club, and will continue for a few weeks. Be there for the opening at 11 AM, if you would like to meet the artist...
Yasmin Zaidi has been drawing and painting for nearly forty years now. She has always had a keen eye for colour and composition and an enduring love of nature, which dominates her painting.
However, she has not needed to retreat into the wilderness to transmit this love onto canvas. She has sought, and found, beauty in small gardens in crowded suburbs, bouquets of cut flowers and wild trees fighting against the overbearing concrete in urban spaces. She considers the creation of anything beautiful a "co-creation with the Creator".
The artist comes from a family that has had a close association with various forms of art. Her father Padma Shri Ali Jawad Zaidi was a poet and a scholar; her daughter is a journalist and poet, and her grandfather also painted, though not professionally.
Some of Zaidi's early poems were published by various newspapers and journals and she has painted for and written a children's alphabet book. Her long career in education meant spending at least two decades imparting her painting skills to young and eager students. Post-retirement, she has picked up the brush again and has been painting full time and much of her recent work has been almost exclusively centred around flowers.
The "oils on canvas" series is around flowers and is marked by some excellent detailed work, something normally not seen in modern art.
The Exhibition titled "Mother's Day - A Floral Tribute" begins on Mother's Day, Sunday, 11th May 2008, at the Corinthian's Club, and will continue for a few weeks. Be there for the opening at 11 AM, if you would like to meet the artist...
Yasmin Zaidi has been drawing and painting for nearly forty years now. She has always had a keen eye for colour and composition and an enduring love of nature, which dominates her painting.
However, she has not needed to retreat into the wilderness to transmit this love onto canvas. She has sought, and found, beauty in small gardens in crowded suburbs, bouquets of cut flowers and wild trees fighting against the overbearing concrete in urban spaces. She considers the creation of anything beautiful a "co-creation with the Creator".
The artist comes from a family that has had a close association with various forms of art. Her father Padma Shri Ali Jawad Zaidi was a poet and a scholar; her daughter is a journalist and poet, and her grandfather also painted, though not professionally.
Some of Zaidi's early poems were published by various newspapers and journals and she has painted for and written a children's alphabet book. Her long career in education meant spending at least two decades imparting her painting skills to young and eager students. Post-retirement, she has picked up the brush again and has been painting full time and much of her recent work has been almost exclusively centred around flowers.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Must-visit places in and around Pune... and lesser ones
So what else does Pune have on offer?
First on my list is the Aga Khan Palace. Apart from the pretty edifice and the lawns of what used to be a princely residence, the fact that the Father of the Nation spent a couple of years here makes it well worth a visit. The first time I visited it, I was showing a firangi friend around.
Once we were through with a brief history of the Aga Khans at the ticket counter (you have to ask for this, it isn't part of the tour), we went through the well-labelled rooms, each housing a mini museum to it's famous residents. In fact, so well labelled are the rooms, and so well arranged are the artifacts that one doesn't even need a guide!
It is a great insight into the greatness of the man who is more known for getting India her freedom. Gandhiji's drives around ridding India of untouchability apart from his famous freedom movement initiatives, actually brought tears to my eyes. My firang friend could see that I was moved. I thanked him for coming over as it had given me the opportunity to visit the place.
It is here that Gandhiji lost two of his closest confidantes, his secretary of many years who he treated like a son & his wife Kasturba. Both their samadhis are here, quiet places, strangely in sync with the quiet personalities they seemed to have had.
Shaniwarwada: The place looks like it is falling apart, but it is a tribute to the construction of the monument that it still stands despite it being totally gutted in a fire a few hundred years back. The wooden part of the palace of the Peshwa is totally destroyed, but the stone building still stands practically intact.
The gardens and the water fountains probably give you an insight into the planning & artistry of the Maratha rulers, something they're not well known for.
Lal Mahal: I have only seen it from the outside, as it unfortunately has restricted viewing hours. It is still on my viewing list as I am very keen on seeing what I had hitherto only read about in Amar Chitra Kathas; specially since it has to do with a great king, one whose name has been usurped by & spoilt for political purposes.
Sinhgadh: Fort that was witness to one of the Marathas' greatest victories. Site of the martyrdom of one of Shivaji's greatest generals, Tanaji. Apart from that it is a very green area, where one visit could render the senses fresh.
Lesser places (I guess this varies depending on one's interest) are the temples in Pune.
Dagdusheth & Chaturshringhi, the two that I visited with my firangi friend are deviod of any notable architecture. They're essentially places of faith that are famous I guess for the throngs they attract. One notable thing about Dagdusheth is the amount of gold used in it's inner chamber. It makes ones jaw drop.
Any other ideas about what one can visit in Pune?
Crossposted
First on my list is the Aga Khan Palace. Apart from the pretty edifice and the lawns of what used to be a princely residence, the fact that the Father of the Nation spent a couple of years here makes it well worth a visit. The first time I visited it, I was showing a firangi friend around.
Once we were through with a brief history of the Aga Khans at the ticket counter (you have to ask for this, it isn't part of the tour), we went through the well-labelled rooms, each housing a mini museum to it's famous residents. In fact, so well labelled are the rooms, and so well arranged are the artifacts that one doesn't even need a guide!
It is a great insight into the greatness of the man who is more known for getting India her freedom. Gandhiji's drives around ridding India of untouchability apart from his famous freedom movement initiatives, actually brought tears to my eyes. My firang friend could see that I was moved. I thanked him for coming over as it had given me the opportunity to visit the place.
It is here that Gandhiji lost two of his closest confidantes, his secretary of many years who he treated like a son & his wife Kasturba. Both their samadhis are here, quiet places, strangely in sync with the quiet personalities they seemed to have had.
Shaniwarwada: The place looks like it is falling apart, but it is a tribute to the construction of the monument that it still stands despite it being totally gutted in a fire a few hundred years back. The wooden part of the palace of the Peshwa is totally destroyed, but the stone building still stands practically intact.
The gardens and the water fountains probably give you an insight into the planning & artistry of the Maratha rulers, something they're not well known for.
Lal Mahal: I have only seen it from the outside, as it unfortunately has restricted viewing hours. It is still on my viewing list as I am very keen on seeing what I had hitherto only read about in Amar Chitra Kathas; specially since it has to do with a great king, one whose name has been usurped by & spoilt for political purposes.
Sinhgadh: Fort that was witness to one of the Marathas' greatest victories. Site of the martyrdom of one of Shivaji's greatest generals, Tanaji. Apart from that it is a very green area, where one visit could render the senses fresh.
Lesser places (I guess this varies depending on one's interest) are the temples in Pune.
Dagdusheth & Chaturshringhi, the two that I visited with my firangi friend are deviod of any notable architecture. They're essentially places of faith that are famous I guess for the throngs they attract. One notable thing about Dagdusheth is the amount of gold used in it's inner chamber. It makes ones jaw drop.
Any other ideas about what one can visit in Pune?
Crossposted
Friday, May 02, 2008
Bad Quality of Massages in Pune
Anyone who has experienced an authentic Kerela Ayurvedic massage will know what I am talking about here. A Kerela Ayurvedic massage has to be experienced to be believed. The one I tried was in Goa, at the health club of the beautiful Club Mahindra resort at Varca. An hour long session of pure bliss, which relaxes you to a degree you can only experience not read about.
So when I came to Pune, I thought of going for another Kerela Ayurvedic massage. I called up JustDial & got the number of one heavily advertised centre called Jeevana! I fixed up an appointment & reached them at the appointed hour.
I must state on record, that it was the worst massage I had ever received in my life. It did the exact opposite of relax me, the two massuers were working up a fire on my stomach with their palms. And once I was done, they didn't even have a proper steam room in which to quietly enjoy one's steam bath!!!
And this is true of every other so-called Ayurvedic massage spa in Pune. They don't have steam baths. The have a bag which they put you in & put a kettle in with you!!! It's hilarious!!! Call up JustDial & take the number of anyone who claims to be an Ayurvedica Massage Spa & ask them whether they have a proper steam room. I can guarantee you that they will say no!
Jeevana is an exercise in pulling wool over the public's eyes! Avoid it at all costs!
The next massage I tried was at the health club at the Le Meridien Pune. I must say that the massage was good. It succeeded in putting me to sleep in 40 minutes flat. I wish I'd opted for the hour long one instead of the 45 minute one!
The third one I tried was at the health club at the very elegant Corinthians Club. (The Nyati group makes some beautiful buildings! I must say that they're probably one of the best builders I have seen!) However, this one would probably qualify as either worse than Jeevana or equally bad! In their defence, they're not a speciality massage spa, while Jeevana claims to be one! They need to train their current masseuse better or outsource the spa to someone else. I have provided them with the contact details of person who runs the Goa spa. Let's see what they do. They do have a proper steam bath though!
There is a Naturopathy Institute that apparently offers a good massage, but that is one I still have to try!
So essentially, my 2 years in the city could lead me to believe that there is only one thing to be said for Pune: that they have a variety of very interesting food joints! Is that all that the city has to offer?
I will very grudgingly say, "Not really". There are a couple of interesting places to visit in Pune. Not too many but that in a separate post.
So when I came to Pune, I thought of going for another Kerela Ayurvedic massage. I called up JustDial & got the number of one heavily advertised centre called Jeevana! I fixed up an appointment & reached them at the appointed hour.
I must state on record, that it was the worst massage I had ever received in my life. It did the exact opposite of relax me, the two massuers were working up a fire on my stomach with their palms. And once I was done, they didn't even have a proper steam room in which to quietly enjoy one's steam bath!!!
And this is true of every other so-called Ayurvedic massage spa in Pune. They don't have steam baths. The have a bag which they put you in & put a kettle in with you!!! It's hilarious!!! Call up JustDial & take the number of anyone who claims to be an Ayurvedica Massage Spa & ask them whether they have a proper steam room. I can guarantee you that they will say no!
Jeevana is an exercise in pulling wool over the public's eyes! Avoid it at all costs!
The next massage I tried was at the health club at the Le Meridien Pune. I must say that the massage was good. It succeeded in putting me to sleep in 40 minutes flat. I wish I'd opted for the hour long one instead of the 45 minute one!
The third one I tried was at the health club at the very elegant Corinthians Club. (The Nyati group makes some beautiful buildings! I must say that they're probably one of the best builders I have seen!) However, this one would probably qualify as either worse than Jeevana or equally bad! In their defence, they're not a speciality massage spa, while Jeevana claims to be one! They need to train their current masseuse better or outsource the spa to someone else. I have provided them with the contact details of person who runs the Goa spa. Let's see what they do. They do have a proper steam bath though!
There is a Naturopathy Institute that apparently offers a good massage, but that is one I still have to try!
So essentially, my 2 years in the city could lead me to believe that there is only one thing to be said for Pune: that they have a variety of very interesting food joints! Is that all that the city has to offer?
I will very grudgingly say, "Not really". There are a couple of interesting places to visit in Pune. Not too many but that in a separate post.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Pune - Foodie's Paradise
Despite my utter dissatisfaction with the Pune's traffic situation & it's citizens WRT the traffic situation, Pune does have quite a few things to be thankful for. The greenery in it's army areas, the tree-lined, shady roads, the old colonial homes.
What's that? You don't want to know what retirees enjoy? You want to know what a migrant yuppie moving to the city can look forward to?
Well, there's the food... Pune is literally the foodie's paradise!
There are no discos worth going to, the multiplexes & malls aren't anything to write home about, but the glut of restaurants that spoil you for choice... aah!
From the ubiquitous, humble Joshi & Rohit vadewale to the surprisingly unpretentious Arthur's Theme & Swiss Cheese Garden, from Sheesha Cafe (despite it's snobbish owner) serving Iranian fare, to the newly opened Litti Chokha (run by 4 very friendly software professionals, all under 30!) serving humble Bihari fare with pride. Litti Chokha is in Katraj, near BVP. The landmark is Care & Cure Girls Hostel.
Mind you, none of the fare can be called truly authentic, but like I said, Pune is the foodie's paradise, not the gastronome's!
Take Arthur's Theme in Koregaon Park for example. They've kept some basic French dishes on the menu, changed them a little to suit the Indian palate, and crammed the rest of the menu with regular Continental & Indian stuff. The least one would expect going to a French restaurant would be some nice wine, but their selection disappoints!
The ambience is nice, not overtly classy, but the type that a group of friends would enjoy a trifle more than a family.
It's not the kind of place you'd go to if you were looking for a quiet classy evening though.
Sheesha Cafe, at ABC Farms on the Koregaon Park-Mundhwa road, has something called the Chello-Burg Kabab (I hope I got the name right), which is essentially a meat dish with rice. It's laden with butter, which makes it great for the tongue but terrible for your arteries! A once in a year kind of calorie indulgence, but well worth it!
Make sure you try & get one of the corner seating areas instead of the tables in the centre. They're carpeted takhats, and you can put your feet up & relax.
Classier ambience wise than anything else I've visited in Pune. Plus they have Jazz festivals!
Anyone who wants a taste of Marwar (the part of Rajasthan that borders Gujarat), should go to Chokhi Dhani! It's a little outside the city; they had to since they require a lot of space to develop that mela atmosphere! Keep driving down past The Aga Khan palace until you start seeing signs for Chokhi Dhani.
To people who've never been to Rajasthan, the entire experience is amazing. To someone like me who hasn't been "home" in 9 years, it's a fairly close reminder of what life used to be like there!
There's Mainland China, an import from Bombay, but extremely popular! Looks like Chinese food is probably the most popular foreign cuisine in India!
Right next to it stands an Italian joint called La Dolce Vita, one I still have to sample.
And after that is Sigri with some of the most uninspiring fare in all of Pune. Give it a miss!
(All the three mentioned above are near Dhole Patil road, in a bylane off Pune Central)
Another place that has great food & some nice wine as well is Nawabs. Nawabs is above Aakar Furniture, on the Blue Nile-Inox road. Peppy music (fairly loud though), great kababs, the kind of place a bunch of migrant yuppies would feel home at!
Northern Frontier, opposite the Aga Khan Palace, apparently serves the best Mutton Roganjosh in the city. This is something I have yet to sample, and I will get back to you after authenticating this claim.
Another place that makes a mean Roganjosh is Chillies at Elysium (a little ahead of ABC Farms on the opposite side of the road)! Worth a try, just for that, although the place is essentially a party/shaadi hall these days!
Perfect way to beat the summer heat: Eat light, eat green! Go check it out & post your comments here as feedback!
Crossposted
What's that? You don't want to know what retirees enjoy? You want to know what a migrant yuppie moving to the city can look forward to?
Well, there's the food... Pune is literally the foodie's paradise!
There are no discos worth going to, the multiplexes & malls aren't anything to write home about, but the glut of restaurants that spoil you for choice... aah!
From the ubiquitous, humble Joshi & Rohit vadewale to the surprisingly unpretentious Arthur's Theme & Swiss Cheese Garden, from Sheesha Cafe (despite it's snobbish owner) serving Iranian fare, to the newly opened Litti Chokha (run by 4 very friendly software professionals, all under 30!) serving humble Bihari fare with pride. Litti Chokha is in Katraj, near BVP. The landmark is Care & Cure Girls Hostel.
Mind you, none of the fare can be called truly authentic, but like I said, Pune is the foodie's paradise, not the gastronome's!
Take Arthur's Theme in Koregaon Park for example. They've kept some basic French dishes on the menu, changed them a little to suit the Indian palate, and crammed the rest of the menu with regular Continental & Indian stuff. The least one would expect going to a French restaurant would be some nice wine, but their selection disappoints!
The ambience is nice, not overtly classy, but the type that a group of friends would enjoy a trifle more than a family.
It's not the kind of place you'd go to if you were looking for a quiet classy evening though.
Sheesha Cafe, at ABC Farms on the Koregaon Park-Mundhwa road, has something called the Chello-Burg Kabab (I hope I got the name right), which is essentially a meat dish with rice. It's laden with butter, which makes it great for the tongue but terrible for your arteries! A once in a year kind of calorie indulgence, but well worth it!
Make sure you try & get one of the corner seating areas instead of the tables in the centre. They're carpeted takhats, and you can put your feet up & relax.
Classier ambience wise than anything else I've visited in Pune. Plus they have Jazz festivals!
Anyone who wants a taste of Marwar (the part of Rajasthan that borders Gujarat), should go to Chokhi Dhani! It's a little outside the city; they had to since they require a lot of space to develop that mela atmosphere! Keep driving down past The Aga Khan palace until you start seeing signs for Chokhi Dhani.
To people who've never been to Rajasthan, the entire experience is amazing. To someone like me who hasn't been "home" in 9 years, it's a fairly close reminder of what life used to be like there!
There's Mainland China, an import from Bombay, but extremely popular! Looks like Chinese food is probably the most popular foreign cuisine in India!
Right next to it stands an Italian joint called La Dolce Vita, one I still have to sample.
And after that is Sigri with some of the most uninspiring fare in all of Pune. Give it a miss!
(All the three mentioned above are near Dhole Patil road, in a bylane off Pune Central)
Another place that has great food & some nice wine as well is Nawabs. Nawabs is above Aakar Furniture, on the Blue Nile-Inox road. Peppy music (fairly loud though), great kababs, the kind of place a bunch of migrant yuppies would feel home at!
Northern Frontier, opposite the Aga Khan Palace, apparently serves the best Mutton Roganjosh in the city. This is something I have yet to sample, and I will get back to you after authenticating this claim.
Another place that makes a mean Roganjosh is Chillies at Elysium (a little ahead of ABC Farms on the opposite side of the road)! Worth a try, just for that, although the place is essentially a party/shaadi hall these days!
I cannot close this post without mentioning what is now called Not Just Jazz by the Bay (very outdated website! It's located at ESQUARE). It's my favourite restaurant in Bombay, but the Pune one doesn't thrive the way the Bombay one does. I'm certain this has to do with the lifestyle choice differences that exist between the cities. The Bombay Jazz is packed on weekends & you have to pay to enter. In contrast the Pune one is barely hanging in there. It is badly in need of some patronage. Hopefully the yuppie migrant population is listening!
The reason Jazz suffers so in Pune are many. The Long Island Iced Tea of the Bombay joint is worth killing for. As is it's Macroni & Cheese! The Pune one serves a Long Island you wish you had made instead. And the worst feature of the restaurant is it's manager. A moustached man in a funny green suit, who has the worst manners of any customer service professional ever!
Go to Jazz by all means, but give him hell please!
AND... the latest eatery to open up in the city, jostling for space among the surplusage in Koregaon Park (just before Tequeela), differentiated purely by virtue of it's organic health food menu is Liquid! The young owner & his team whip up some great salads & fresh fruit juices that are a must for every health conscious foodie! No added sugar, no added water, just pure tasty fruit juice blends. My personal favourite is the one they call Ultimate Detox! And there's a Tuna salad for me! The vegetarians may want to try the Broc Doc. You may also want to sample some of the regular coolers.Perfect way to beat the summer heat: Eat light, eat green! Go check it out & post your comments here as feedback!
Crossposted
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
twerp!
This is one thing I have to get out of my system. You come across all kinds of animals in the blogosphere, but some of them get your goat so bad that despite being unworthy of even a whisper, happen to merit special mention. One such absolute twerp is shaan khan.
I don't know much about the bounder but by the looks of it he is a mulish, wet behind the ears, galling gadfly.
I'd rarely say anything so venomous about anyone, but this one like I said deserves special mention. He also contributes to a theiving site that reproduces my posts without permission, he freely deletes comments from the comments forum if the views don't agree with his. It is impossible to have an intelligent conversation with him (partly because of the absolute lack of intellect on his part) because he deletes any comment that proves his point of view wrong. Like a little schoolboy tearing out pages from a rival's homework!
One look at a few of his posts (please do forgive me for forwarding you there) shows how biased his writing & reviewing is. He has the temerity to be disappointed with Khuda ke Liye, he constantly writes lewd posts about Abhishek-Aishwarya (no well brought up boy would say all that), he considers Jodha-Akbar to be a bad movie, he has an irritating contant anti-Bachchan stance, he can't even spell stellar right! And worst of all, he considers the movie that murdered the sweet memory of Karz, OSO a better film than the ones we just mentioned!
So once all of you have gone through the links & read his puerile vomit once, please do stay away from his bullcrap!
I don't know much about the bounder but by the looks of it he is a mulish, wet behind the ears, galling gadfly.
I'd rarely say anything so venomous about anyone, but this one like I said deserves special mention. He also contributes to a theiving site that reproduces my posts without permission, he freely deletes comments from the comments forum if the views don't agree with his. It is impossible to have an intelligent conversation with him (partly because of the absolute lack of intellect on his part) because he deletes any comment that proves his point of view wrong. Like a little schoolboy tearing out pages from a rival's homework!
One look at a few of his posts (please do forgive me for forwarding you there) shows how biased his writing & reviewing is. He has the temerity to be disappointed with Khuda ke Liye, he constantly writes lewd posts about Abhishek-Aishwarya (no well brought up boy would say all that), he considers Jodha-Akbar to be a bad movie, he has an irritating contant anti-Bachchan stance, he can't even spell stellar right! And worst of all, he considers the movie that murdered the sweet memory of Karz, OSO a better film than the ones we just mentioned!
So once all of you have gone through the links & read his puerile vomit once, please do stay away from his bullcrap!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
11 match ban??? Is that all???
Looks like the Pakis have more balls than us!
Shoaib Akhtar is handed a life ban for hitting a colleague.
Shane Warne was out of the game for 2 years(?) in his prime because of a drug-related charge.
And Harbhajan gets a piddly 11 match ban?????????
We're truly a nation of losers!
Ban the offie for a minimum of 1 year from all forms of the game! That's the minimum punishment he deserves! 2 would be really nice!
That's the ONLY thing that will teach him a lesson! That's the only thing that will ensure that when he comes back, his temprament has undergone a change. Let him use the free time to undergo anger management lessons!
He has shamed all of us and totally embarassed us in front of the Aussies!
Shoaib Akhtar is handed a life ban for hitting a colleague.
Shane Warne was out of the game for 2 years(?) in his prime because of a drug-related charge.
And Harbhajan gets a piddly 11 match ban?????????
We're truly a nation of losers!
Ban the offie for a minimum of 1 year from all forms of the game! That's the minimum punishment he deserves! 2 would be really nice!
That's the ONLY thing that will teach him a lesson! That's the only thing that will ensure that when he comes back, his temprament has undergone a change. Let him use the free time to undergo anger management lessons!
He has shamed all of us and totally embarassed us in front of the Aussies!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Ethnicity, Politics or Progress?
Thankfully the discussion on this Blogathon is around a pet topic, one that will not unduly tax the limited resources at my disposal.
Ever since we gained some social consciousness, through newspapers & DD Samachar, thanks to the GK & Current Affairs awareness drives in school, it was amply clear that politics in India was inextricably intertwined with the despicable religion-caste-ethnicity mix! So one didn't react too much to the situation as we didn't know any better!
Until PV Narsimha Rao became India's Prime Minister! & appointed Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister! For the first time since my socio-political awakening, I was witnessing a period where the Government focused solely on development issues. Every move of theirs, every newspaper article was chronicling globalization, open-markets, economy, growth, development etc. The leading opposition party (as is their wont) tried to drag PVN Rao into political debate, into religion & caste issues, but Rao didn't bite the bait. He had his agenda right. He would give his country something new to talk about! That was the first time that everyone in the country was talking about Development! That was the first time that the Finance Minister was a bigger hero than the Home Minister & the Defence Minister combined! That was the first time that we heard of the Montek Singh Ahluwalias of the world. Suddenly uma bharti, ashok singhal & the shahi imam(?) ceased to exist in socio-political conversations! WOW!!!
This is something that Dr. Singh has tried to replicate in his tenure as PM. Unfortunately this is something that he or his party cannot do alone. If the opposition is truly nationalist, then they must join hands in this movement & commit to keeping the discussions around areas that pertain to development. Maybe someone needs to put a code in place, the way an EC code exists?
I was recently talking to one of my ex-bosses about the state of India's affairs, and he said the very same thing! He pointed out that there was only one thing that made us shift focus from politics to development. And that was Economics! And now that the Commerce juggernaut has started to roll, it will only gather more momentum! Once people in the villages realise that it is development that will feed them, clothe them & educate their young, they too will cut ties with parties focused on petty religious-caste-ethnicity centred politics! And that day, a new India will rise!
In my humble opinion, India needs a unifying force. And that unifying force will be Economics! When the money starts to roll in people forget about caste differences. I am certain that India's BPO industry is replete with examples where the reporting structure has shattered caste or gender norms! And not one subordinate whether upper caste or male, has the guts to say anything! His newly acquired lifestyle is at stake!
So let Economics rule! Let Commerce rule! And watch a unified India take shape!
Ever since we gained some social consciousness, through newspapers & DD Samachar, thanks to the GK & Current Affairs awareness drives in school, it was amply clear that politics in India was inextricably intertwined with the despicable religion-caste-ethnicity mix! So one didn't react too much to the situation as we didn't know any better!
Until PV Narsimha Rao became India's Prime Minister! & appointed Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister! For the first time since my socio-political awakening, I was witnessing a period where the Government focused solely on development issues. Every move of theirs, every newspaper article was chronicling globalization, open-markets, economy, growth, development etc. The leading opposition party (as is their wont) tried to drag PVN Rao into political debate, into religion & caste issues, but Rao didn't bite the bait. He had his agenda right. He would give his country something new to talk about! That was the first time that everyone in the country was talking about Development! That was the first time that the Finance Minister was a bigger hero than the Home Minister & the Defence Minister combined! That was the first time that we heard of the Montek Singh Ahluwalias of the world. Suddenly uma bharti, ashok singhal & the shahi imam(?) ceased to exist in socio-political conversations! WOW!!!
This is something that Dr. Singh has tried to replicate in his tenure as PM. Unfortunately this is something that he or his party cannot do alone. If the opposition is truly nationalist, then they must join hands in this movement & commit to keeping the discussions around areas that pertain to development. Maybe someone needs to put a code in place, the way an EC code exists?
I was recently talking to one of my ex-bosses about the state of India's affairs, and he said the very same thing! He pointed out that there was only one thing that made us shift focus from politics to development. And that was Economics! And now that the Commerce juggernaut has started to roll, it will only gather more momentum! Once people in the villages realise that it is development that will feed them, clothe them & educate their young, they too will cut ties with parties focused on petty religious-caste-ethnicity centred politics! And that day, a new India will rise!
In my humble opinion, India needs a unifying force. And that unifying force will be Economics! When the money starts to roll in people forget about caste differences. I am certain that India's BPO industry is replete with examples where the reporting structure has shattered caste or gender norms! And not one subordinate whether upper caste or male, has the guts to say anything! His newly acquired lifestyle is at stake!
So let Economics rule! Let Commerce rule! And watch a unified India take shape!
Jai_Choorakkot's Question
Jai seems to be fairly popular in the blogosphere despite his own blog not having been updated for years now! This is the second post one of this comments has inspired, and I'm happy to answer the question he raised here:
http://indianmuslims.in/amar-akbar-anthony/
Jai,
Your reference to the propaganda on the right-wing site intrigued me a lot. I wanted to speak to the more learned elders in my family to learn more about this, but didn't get the opportunity. So I looked it up on the net.
One only needs to know the name of the Prophet Muhammad's so-called "child-bride" to get the right results in Google. Her name was Ayesha.
http://www.guidedones.com/metapage/frq/Aisha.htm
The comments here are from the likes of Dr. Annie Besant, not indoctrinated mere nobodies.
Most interesting is Geoffrey Parrinder's comment. Or should I say the non-reaction of the Church to his comment. This is what I find admirable in Christianity & the West. You can lampoon anyone, burn the flag if you please, depict Christian sects as evil, but it will not elicit a violent reaction, nor stupid PIL's, nor despicable fatwas! We really should learn all this from them instead of importing high-fat burger chains from them. Don't you think?
http://indianmuslims.in/amar-akbar-anthony/
Jai,
Your reference to the propaganda on the right-wing site intrigued me a lot. I wanted to speak to the more learned elders in my family to learn more about this, but didn't get the opportunity. So I looked it up on the net.
One only needs to know the name of the Prophet Muhammad's so-called "child-bride" to get the right results in Google. Her name was Ayesha.
http://www.guidedones.com/metapage/frq/Aisha.htm
The comments here are from the likes of Dr. Annie Besant, not indoctrinated mere nobodies.
Most interesting is Geoffrey Parrinder's comment. Or should I say the non-reaction of the Church to his comment. This is what I find admirable in Christianity & the West. You can lampoon anyone, burn the flag if you please, depict Christian sects as evil, but it will not elicit a violent reaction, nor stupid PIL's, nor despicable fatwas! We really should learn all this from them instead of importing high-fat burger chains from them. Don't you think?
Friday, April 25, 2008
Cinegod...!
With everyone from A to Z in Bollywood being given some epithet or the other, with ALL of them being referred to as superstars or megastars, where does that leave those who are head and shoulders above the rest?
If hrithik is a greek god, if srk is king khan, what does one call Mr. Bachchan? A superstar? Just another superstar? Where's the distinction?
To be fair, Rajnikanth did say that there is only one Shahenshah & that is Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, but the press isn't given to using too many epithets with Mr. Bachchan. This may have to do with his earlier relationship with the press, but boy do those guys hold a grudge!
So coming back to the point of this post: What does someone address a Supernova of Mr. Bachchan's stature as?
I cannot think of a better suited word than Cinegod!
Awaam ki raae...?
If hrithik is a greek god, if srk is king khan, what does one call Mr. Bachchan? A superstar? Just another superstar? Where's the distinction?
To be fair, Rajnikanth did say that there is only one Shahenshah & that is Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, but the press isn't given to using too many epithets with Mr. Bachchan. This may have to do with his earlier relationship with the press, but boy do those guys hold a grudge!
So coming back to the point of this post: What does someone address a Supernova of Mr. Bachchan's stature as?
I cannot think of a better suited word than Cinegod!
Awaam ki raae...?
The men with the silvern touch...
Not Midas obviously, but close. This is a person whose antics I have resented in the past (with valid reasons at that point in time), but with more maturity & a calmer disposition, not anymore.
Shahrukh Khan. Much of what I said about him previously on this blog & in conversations, I still stand by; but one thing I cannot take away from the guy... practically everything he touches turns to silver. Despite limited acting, he still draws in the crowds; despite doing the same type of movies repeatedly, he still manages to set the cash registers ringing (largely). His touch seems to worked with the Calcutta team in the IPL circus, and the KBC debacle (and the DON damp-squib) notwithstanding, by the looks of it, he is set to romp home with his latest quiz show on TV.
Not that others don't outdo him in all these areas. Aamir, Saif, Hrithik etc. are better actors (and with probably better track records); Akshay reportedly is paid more than him these days. Shekhar Suman's rip off of Jay Leno did better than Khan's KBC... Yet Shahrukh makes all the news. And I am past blaming his PR machinery for that. They're only doing a good job of what they're hired to do!
On a separate note, it is sad that Shekhar Suman doesn't get the celebrity he deserves. The man is probably older than Khan, built up a great physique before Khan, recorded an album (in the process adding to his already long list of many many talents!), yet it was Shahrukh's apparent six-pack that made the news! Quite a shame actually.
Yet, it isn't all of that that I admire the man for. I have very little respect for SRK the actor, but I have immense respect for the man.
To the casual observer, he seems blessed, a modern day Midas (that's why I said silvern. I wouldn't wish that on anyone!); but anyone who has delved a little deeper will realise that he has had more than his share of misfortunes. His parents died young, his sister apparently still suffers from the impact of those early blows. He's had a serious spine problem. He has to face critics like me, worse probably, all the time. Yet the man carries on bravely!
It is this trait that I admire most about him. His ability to keep on moving.
He has got to a point where he doesn't let criticism bother him too much, and this is a trait very few men can develop. He is content to be who he is, and make himself successful with his limited means. Very admirable traits!
So, all the best Shahrukh. Keep on moving!
Similarly, Hrithik. Leads an apparently perfect life, looks like God sculpted him with His own hands; but look a little closer and you'll see. Hrithik isn't perfect. For all his God-made looks, he has two thumbs that give the impression of a claw. And the man has developed the guts to flaunt it on screen. His father was shot at by goons. He was unsure of the industry, unsure of whether he'd be able to make it, yet he hung in there, dug deep and gave it his best shot! And look what he came up with! Again & again!
No one is perfect, no one has it easy, everyone has to stand up & be brave, face his fears, & fight to come out a winner. Hrithik has done all of that and handles immense pressure. Till now. And my he continue to do so. All the best dude!
And who knows pressure better than Sachin Tendulkar? Who has people writing him off time & again? And who slams cricket ball after cricket ball deep down the throats of his critics to silence them again & again? Despite 20 years in the game having taken a toll on his body & mind, despite numerous surgeries, despite recent recurrent injury enforced hiatuses from the game, who comes up trumps again & again? Sachin Tendulkar! Absolutely Saluteworthy!
To these men of mettle...
Shahrukh Khan. Much of what I said about him previously on this blog & in conversations, I still stand by; but one thing I cannot take away from the guy... practically everything he touches turns to silver. Despite limited acting, he still draws in the crowds; despite doing the same type of movies repeatedly, he still manages to set the cash registers ringing (largely). His touch seems to worked with the Calcutta team in the IPL circus, and the KBC debacle (and the DON damp-squib) notwithstanding, by the looks of it, he is set to romp home with his latest quiz show on TV.
Not that others don't outdo him in all these areas. Aamir, Saif, Hrithik etc. are better actors (and with probably better track records); Akshay reportedly is paid more than him these days. Shekhar Suman's rip off of Jay Leno did better than Khan's KBC... Yet Shahrukh makes all the news. And I am past blaming his PR machinery for that. They're only doing a good job of what they're hired to do!
On a separate note, it is sad that Shekhar Suman doesn't get the celebrity he deserves. The man is probably older than Khan, built up a great physique before Khan, recorded an album (in the process adding to his already long list of many many talents!), yet it was Shahrukh's apparent six-pack that made the news! Quite a shame actually.
Yet, it isn't all of that that I admire the man for. I have very little respect for SRK the actor, but I have immense respect for the man.
To the casual observer, he seems blessed, a modern day Midas (that's why I said silvern. I wouldn't wish that on anyone!); but anyone who has delved a little deeper will realise that he has had more than his share of misfortunes. His parents died young, his sister apparently still suffers from the impact of those early blows. He's had a serious spine problem. He has to face critics like me, worse probably, all the time. Yet the man carries on bravely!
It is this trait that I admire most about him. His ability to keep on moving.
He has got to a point where he doesn't let criticism bother him too much, and this is a trait very few men can develop. He is content to be who he is, and make himself successful with his limited means. Very admirable traits!
So, all the best Shahrukh. Keep on moving!
Similarly, Hrithik. Leads an apparently perfect life, looks like God sculpted him with His own hands; but look a little closer and you'll see. Hrithik isn't perfect. For all his God-made looks, he has two thumbs that give the impression of a claw. And the man has developed the guts to flaunt it on screen. His father was shot at by goons. He was unsure of the industry, unsure of whether he'd be able to make it, yet he hung in there, dug deep and gave it his best shot! And look what he came up with! Again & again!
No one is perfect, no one has it easy, everyone has to stand up & be brave, face his fears, & fight to come out a winner. Hrithik has done all of that and handles immense pressure. Till now. And my he continue to do so. All the best dude!
And who knows pressure better than Sachin Tendulkar? Who has people writing him off time & again? And who slams cricket ball after cricket ball deep down the throats of his critics to silence them again & again? Despite 20 years in the game having taken a toll on his body & mind, despite numerous surgeries, despite recent recurrent injury enforced hiatuses from the game, who comes up trumps again & again? Sachin Tendulkar! Absolutely Saluteworthy!
To these men of mettle...
I'm a fair man
I never thought I'd get round to doing this, so never say never again.
I saw Chak De a few days back. And I'm going to retract part of what I said earlier. And I don't do this grudgingly, I do this with a touch of respect & admiration.
SRK is not a bad actor as I may have sometimes over-aggressively claimed. He is an actor that decides to do good work in patches. Chak De has him in probably the 2nd best performance of his career. Mr. Bachchan's influence over filmdom's collective conciousness is evident even in SRK. In the scene when he's talking to the 2 warring forwards before the final, there are not just shades of Mr. Bachchan, but it almost seems like Mr. Bachchan has taken on a shorter, younger body! ;-)
To be fair there are some scenes that could've been done better. For example the coach pep-talking the team scenes were a little insipid in comparision to Hollywood sports movies. Remember the Titans? But for that one has to talk to the director. Can't blame SRK for everything. I'm actually a little tired of blaming him now. Yes he could've turned the scene around if he wanted to, but compared to what he has been doing recently, this will do just fine. Yes, this will do very well!
Kudos Shahrukh! If only we got to see more of this stuff.
I saw Chak De a few days back. And I'm going to retract part of what I said earlier. And I don't do this grudgingly, I do this with a touch of respect & admiration.
SRK is not a bad actor as I may have sometimes over-aggressively claimed. He is an actor that decides to do good work in patches. Chak De has him in probably the 2nd best performance of his career. Mr. Bachchan's influence over filmdom's collective conciousness is evident even in SRK. In the scene when he's talking to the 2 warring forwards before the final, there are not just shades of Mr. Bachchan, but it almost seems like Mr. Bachchan has taken on a shorter, younger body! ;-)
To be fair there are some scenes that could've been done better. For example the coach pep-talking the team scenes were a little insipid in comparision to Hollywood sports movies. Remember the Titans? But for that one has to talk to the director. Can't blame SRK for everything. I'm actually a little tired of blaming him now. Yes he could've turned the scene around if he wanted to, but compared to what he has been doing recently, this will do just fine. Yes, this will do very well!
Kudos Shahrukh! If only we got to see more of this stuff.
Friday, April 18, 2008
more on balatkar
I was going through sitemeter's stats recently to check details of the incoming traffic to this blog.
Would you believe that about 35% of all people who come to this blog are sent here by Google searches for the word "balatkar"!!!
It just gives you a idea of the number of wierdos that abound on the net.
Probably explains why we encounter so many wierdos in the comments section on the Mutiny...! ;-)
Maybe I should publish IP details of all the people who visited via the "balatkar" gateway... Interesting thought...
Would you believe that about 35% of all people who come to this blog are sent here by Google searches for the word "balatkar"!!!
It just gives you a idea of the number of wierdos that abound on the net.
Probably explains why we encounter so many wierdos in the comments section on the Mutiny...! ;-)
Maybe I should publish IP details of all the people who visited via the "balatkar" gateway... Interesting thought...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Why can they not leave the Nehru-Gandhi clan alone?
What is it with people in this country? Why're they obsessed with the Nehru-Gandhi clan??? And WHY on earth are they obsessed with the negative?
Sonia Gandhi commutes Nalini's sentence from death to life and there's no applause from her detractors. Maybe because her detractors are killers by nature and have no respect for greater virtue...
Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra visits her father's killer in jail, in an attempt to bury the ghosts that may have haunted her for years and what do I see the next day? Yahoo India carrying a poll on their home page, submitted by a lowly user, asking whether Priyanka's visit is a pre-election stunt???
Only the lowly can think so low.
Crossposted
Sonia Gandhi commutes Nalini's sentence from death to life and there's no applause from her detractors. Maybe because her detractors are killers by nature and have no respect for greater virtue...
Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra visits her father's killer in jail, in an attempt to bury the ghosts that may have haunted her for years and what do I see the next day? Yahoo India carrying a poll on their home page, submitted by a lowly user, asking whether Priyanka's visit is a pre-election stunt???
Only the lowly can think so low.
Crossposted
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
History & lies
Recently, whenever I quote from History, I have often been told that History is written by the ruler or the victor, therefore implying that whatever I know about India or the world is a lopsided even untrue view of things.
It is this claim that I seek to challenge with my post.
If History is indeed written by the victor or the ruler, how is it that we remember the 1857 Mutiny as our first war of Independence? We lost the damn war didn't we? Yet, we seem to have very clear accounts of the heroism of Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmibai, Tatya Tope, Tipu Sultan etc. How come we've never heard of the Britishers heroics in that war?
We seem to have very clear memories of Porus conversation with ol' Alex & ensuing honourable discharge; despite Alexander being the victor.
We remember Siraj-ud-Daula as a hero despite his loss at the Battle of Plassey. Mir Jafar who won the battle for the British is remembered as a traitor.
How is it that the Indians heroism is well documented (including Sitting Bull's victory over Custer, an American war hero) despite them having lost overall to the marauding early Americans?
History is fair. It isn't only commissioned by the ruler. There are independent scholars who write it as well, taking into account a number of facts.
So where does this recent phenomenon of lamblasting known History come from? Where does this lamblasing of our schooling as British fed or Congress fed (or Macauly led!!!) come from?
I'll tell you. It's the recently English literate right-wing. After centuries of wallowing amongst dead languages, they've given up & adopted the medium of instruction that will give them access to PR machinery and media (in addition to better paying jobs). And they're using it to further their evil purposes!
I've heard that the Purana Qila excavations have unearthed artifacts about 2500 years old. Great news! I've yet to see a news item that boldly proclaims that 5000 year old remains of Indraprastha have been found! But rumours abound...
Soon, I guess there'll be a theory propogated that the Taj Mahal was actually built by a descendant of Chandragupta Maurya, but the ruling Mughals tampered with History & usurped his claim to it.
That's it ladies & gentlemen... the difference between History & lies!
It is this claim that I seek to challenge with my post.
If History is indeed written by the victor or the ruler, how is it that we remember the 1857 Mutiny as our first war of Independence? We lost the damn war didn't we? Yet, we seem to have very clear accounts of the heroism of Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmibai, Tatya Tope, Tipu Sultan etc. How come we've never heard of the Britishers heroics in that war?
We seem to have very clear memories of Porus conversation with ol' Alex & ensuing honourable discharge; despite Alexander being the victor.
We remember Siraj-ud-Daula as a hero despite his loss at the Battle of Plassey. Mir Jafar who won the battle for the British is remembered as a traitor.
How is it that the Indians heroism is well documented (including Sitting Bull's victory over Custer, an American war hero) despite them having lost overall to the marauding early Americans?
History is fair. It isn't only commissioned by the ruler. There are independent scholars who write it as well, taking into account a number of facts.
So where does this recent phenomenon of lamblasting known History come from? Where does this lamblasing of our schooling as British fed or Congress fed (or Macauly led!!!) come from?
I'll tell you. It's the recently English literate right-wing. After centuries of wallowing amongst dead languages, they've given up & adopted the medium of instruction that will give them access to PR machinery and media (in addition to better paying jobs). And they're using it to further their evil purposes!
I've heard that the Purana Qila excavations have unearthed artifacts about 2500 years old. Great news! I've yet to see a news item that boldly proclaims that 5000 year old remains of Indraprastha have been found! But rumours abound...
Soon, I guess there'll be a theory propogated that the Taj Mahal was actually built by a descendant of Chandragupta Maurya, but the ruling Mughals tampered with History & usurped his claim to it.
That's it ladies & gentlemen... the difference between History & lies!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Another time, another country, another martyr...
This was supposed to go up on the Mutiny, but their editors seem a trifle busy at the moment (with more contributors than they can handle!).
I sometimes wonder why we don't celebrate World Martyrs. We speak in glowing terms about Gandhiji (and we should!); there was recently a post on Bhagat Singh (and a well deserved one!). There was a wonderful live-blogging experiment to commemorate the martyrs in India's first war of Independence!
If this is so because the Mutiny intends to focus only on issues that concern India & Indians, maybe I have my answer; but the kind of people that started & run the Mutiny, and my conversations with them, makes me believe that they don't intend to limit the remit of the Mutiny to only what happens in India.
So again, are only our martyrs deserving of remembrance? Not to me. Those kind souls who have been reading my comments, posts and blog will know that national boundaries, concepts of race, birth, origin etc. mean nothing to me. So here's remembering one of the world's foremost men, on the day he was martyred.
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 to April 15, 1865):
Anyone who has read anything about the man cannot help being inspired by Lincoln. He was a colossus who strode through the consciousness of the American public then & continues to inspire thousands more today. (Thankfully, no imbecile can blame this on Macaulay!). He is remembered primarily for his abolishment of slavery in America, (and as it often happens to people who fight for equal rights for the underdog) for being the first American President to be assassinated. He is remembered for his leadership during the Civil War, despite his thorough dislike of of the ills of war. Quite a contrast from his trigger happy current day counterparts. One can't even speak of them in the same breath!
I present a few links that will give an insight into the mind of a man of strong values, a leader of men who fought when the cause was right, a man who believed in the equality of man irrespective of colour, region (among other bullshit) etc., and a man of immense humility:
Lincoln's letter to the Headmaster of the school his son went to.
Lincoln's letter to a lady who lost her sons in the Civil War. What other man would do/has done something like this?
Not many people know that Abe was not formally schooled as a young boy. He educated himself & went on to qualify as a lawyer. Not many people know that he single-handedly & successfully defended himself against a band of robbers once. The attack left a telltale scar that is visible in his photos. Not many people are aware that he had a string of failures (as a lawyer, as a businessman, as a Vice-Presidential candidate) before he finally made it as President, and the most respected President in America's history ever! Very few people realize that often it takes time to realize one's true potential, but when one does...
Don't we too need a leader like him that does away with the differences in our society? Even at the cost of a civil war? Maybe not, then again maybe...
I sometimes wonder why we don't celebrate World Martyrs. We speak in glowing terms about Gandhiji (and we should!); there was recently a post on Bhagat Singh (and a well deserved one!). There was a wonderful live-blogging experiment to commemorate the martyrs in India's first war of Independence!
If this is so because the Mutiny intends to focus only on issues that concern India & Indians, maybe I have my answer; but the kind of people that started & run the Mutiny, and my conversations with them, makes me believe that they don't intend to limit the remit of the Mutiny to only what happens in India.
So again, are only our martyrs deserving of remembrance? Not to me. Those kind souls who have been reading my comments, posts and blog will know that national boundaries, concepts of race, birth, origin etc. mean nothing to me. So here's remembering one of the world's foremost men, on the day he was martyred.
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 to April 15, 1865):
Anyone who has read anything about the man cannot help being inspired by Lincoln. He was a colossus who strode through the consciousness of the American public then & continues to inspire thousands more today. (Thankfully, no imbecile can blame this on Macaulay!). He is remembered primarily for his abolishment of slavery in America, (and as it often happens to people who fight for equal rights for the underdog) for being the first American President to be assassinated. He is remembered for his leadership during the Civil War, despite his thorough dislike of of the ills of war. Quite a contrast from his trigger happy current day counterparts. One can't even speak of them in the same breath!
I present a few links that will give an insight into the mind of a man of strong values, a leader of men who fought when the cause was right, a man who believed in the equality of man irrespective of colour, region (among other bullshit) etc., and a man of immense humility:
Lincoln's letter to the Headmaster of the school his son went to.
Lincoln's letter to a lady who lost her sons in the Civil War. What other man would do/has done something like this?
Not many people know that Abe was not formally schooled as a young boy. He educated himself & went on to qualify as a lawyer. Not many people know that he single-handedly & successfully defended himself against a band of robbers once. The attack left a telltale scar that is visible in his photos. Not many people are aware that he had a string of failures (as a lawyer, as a businessman, as a Vice-Presidential candidate) before he finally made it as President, and the most respected President in America's history ever! Very few people realize that often it takes time to realize one's true potential, but when one does...
Don't we too need a leader like him that does away with the differences in our society? Even at the cost of a civil war? Maybe not, then again maybe...
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Airtel Indictment!!!
Link from a post that I put up on the Mutiny.
Mutiny uses Wordpress, which has some amazing features, but it's pro-tech-savvy approach sometimes makes the most simple tasks like linking to a photo extremely difficult. So here's the original photo in a more viewable format. Enjoy!
Mutiny uses Wordpress, which has some amazing features, but it's pro-tech-savvy approach sometimes makes the most simple tasks like linking to a photo extremely difficult. So here's the original photo in a more viewable format. Enjoy!
Spread the good word!
Monday, March 31, 2008
The Genesis of Wanderlust
If you've grown up travelling boxed in a huge rectangle on metal wheels, it is unlikely that you will be an avid traveller. If you spent most of your journeys devouring Hardy Boys & Enid Blytons on the top berth, you are even more unlikely to undertake a journey just for the journey!
If however, you naturally relate to verdant hillsides, lush green woods, the sound of gushing streams; if you know what it feels like after 5 minutes under a waterfall that's crashing on to your back and head, you genetic inclination may have triumphed over your circumstances! Wanderlust may still get you!
Man was meant to be an outdoors animal. This entire business of air-conditioned offices & laptops is ungodly!!!
I'd been mentioning this to a friend of mine for some time & he's been goading me to accompany him on a bike ride through the wilderness, but my conditioning kept making me postpone the trip. Finally about 2 weekends ago, I made the trip.
I travelled on Saturday night to Bombay, where we were to begin the trip from early Sunday morning. Now early mornings are not something BPO-ites are programmed to do; but we did manage to set out by a very sunny 11 AM. We made 2 stops for fuel before we hit the highway out of Bombay. 2 fuel stops, you ask? What were we riding? No, the Thunderbird isn't a fuel guzzler but we are!!! So after the Bharat Petroleum stop, we rode to Dara's Dhaba, parked the Thunderbird and swaggered in. We looked for a nice shady charpai, got rid of the shades, leaned back and ordered a hops flavoured brew that is more coolant than fuel! The shade cooled us from the outside, the brew from inside, light snacks & some heavy conversation (my friend leans towards the right & I'm a moderate) later, we were smiling relaxed smiles & looking forward to the trip.
Surbex T (my friend, the biker) decided to ride first as I'd never ridden the Thunderbird for long distances before this, least of all on the highway. It was my first bike-trip after all!
Surbex turned out to be a road-rules respecting rider, and initially I tried getting into the swing of things by trying to appreciate the multi-hued scenery that you encounter on the highway out of Mira-Bhayandar; but the fun caught up when I started enjoying what we had set out to enjoy... the ride! The sheer excitement of watching the Thunderbird gobble up road, knowing that you're leaving the city & vehicles behind, just enjoying the experience of being on a bike. If it weren't for the helmet, the wind-in-your-face element that is such an inseparable part of enjoying a bike ride, would've added to the thrill! I am of course omitting that the dust would've played havoc with your eyes, face & hair, but that's what city-slickers think like. I must think like a rider!
I took over from Surbex, after a while. I've always found the Thunderbird very easy to handle, and slowly I let her rip! I got to 104 kmph when I felt Surbex gently tapping me on the shoulder. Out of respect for his nerves (not mine, mind you!), I came back to cruise mode. The thrill of that short stretch, the experience of "biking" was slowly putting me in a very good mood!
We stopped at Mastan Naka to "re-fuel". A light lunch of Dal-Fry & Kadak Tandoori Roti later, we were on our way to Sajjan.
The road that leads away from Mastan Naka towards Sajjan, takes you into a different world altogether. It is impossible to imagine that merely 80 kms outside of Bombay, there are villages where people live in thatched roof houses & draw water from wells! India truly is bounteous and diverse!!!
If however, you naturally relate to verdant hillsides, lush green woods, the sound of gushing streams; if you know what it feels like after 5 minutes under a waterfall that's crashing on to your back and head, you genetic inclination may have triumphed over your circumstances! Wanderlust may still get you!
Man was meant to be an outdoors animal. This entire business of air-conditioned offices & laptops is ungodly!!!
I'd been mentioning this to a friend of mine for some time & he's been goading me to accompany him on a bike ride through the wilderness, but my conditioning kept making me postpone the trip. Finally about 2 weekends ago, I made the trip.
I travelled on Saturday night to Bombay, where we were to begin the trip from early Sunday morning. Now early mornings are not something BPO-ites are programmed to do; but we did manage to set out by a very sunny 11 AM. We made 2 stops for fuel before we hit the highway out of Bombay. 2 fuel stops, you ask? What were we riding? No, the Thunderbird isn't a fuel guzzler but we are!!! So after the Bharat Petroleum stop, we rode to Dara's Dhaba, parked the Thunderbird and swaggered in. We looked for a nice shady charpai, got rid of the shades, leaned back and ordered a hops flavoured brew that is more coolant than fuel! The shade cooled us from the outside, the brew from inside, light snacks & some heavy conversation (my friend leans towards the right & I'm a moderate) later, we were smiling relaxed smiles & looking forward to the trip.
Surbex T (my friend, the biker) decided to ride first as I'd never ridden the Thunderbird for long distances before this, least of all on the highway. It was my first bike-trip after all!
Surbex turned out to be a road-rules respecting rider, and initially I tried getting into the swing of things by trying to appreciate the multi-hued scenery that you encounter on the highway out of Mira-Bhayandar; but the fun caught up when I started enjoying what we had set out to enjoy... the ride! The sheer excitement of watching the Thunderbird gobble up road, knowing that you're leaving the city & vehicles behind, just enjoying the experience of being on a bike. If it weren't for the helmet, the wind-in-your-face element that is such an inseparable part of enjoying a bike ride, would've added to the thrill! I am of course omitting that the dust would've played havoc with your eyes, face & hair, but that's what city-slickers think like. I must think like a rider!
I took over from Surbex, after a while. I've always found the Thunderbird very easy to handle, and slowly I let her rip! I got to 104 kmph when I felt Surbex gently tapping me on the shoulder. Out of respect for his nerves (not mine, mind you!), I came back to cruise mode. The thrill of that short stretch, the experience of "biking" was slowly putting me in a very good mood!
We stopped at Mastan Naka to "re-fuel". A light lunch of Dal-Fry & Kadak Tandoori Roti later, we were on our way to Sajjan.
The road that leads away from Mastan Naka towards Sajjan, takes you into a different world altogether. It is impossible to imagine that merely 80 kms outside of Bombay, there are villages where people live in thatched roof houses & draw water from wells! India truly is bounteous and diverse!!!
As you go on, the road gets more & more deserted, the ride gets quieter and the air gets cooler. You pass Sajjan and head towards the Dam that Surbex keeps talking about as if it's paradise. I can understand why he speaks of it there. He's been there so often, done such speakable (& unspeakable) things there, that he practically owns the place.
About 30 minutes after we took the turn from Mastan Naka, Surbex goes off the road. We ride over the gently undulating dirt path for a while, then the Thunderbird skillfully negotiates a slight rise in the dirt road & suddenly we're in view of this vast expanse of cool, deep-blue water body. This is our destination. It's a river that has been stopped by the damn & the reservoir is straight out of Nat Geo!!!
It's fairly close to what Surbex has been describing it as. It's peaceful, it's cool, it's quiet. We spend some time in idle chatter. Surbex is distraught because his favourite tree has fallen. He oscillates between decrying this to me & talking to the stump of the tree... yes, I have some very strange friends. At least they're all real friends!
We proceed to the small waterfall that is formed by the dam letting some water through. It's not an easy path. One has to be almost goat-like sure-footed in order to reach it without slipping & falling! The water actually falls from a height & has the potential to hurt less able-bodied people! Surbex & I strip down to our undies (or his undies & my boxers to be precise) & venture under the "waterfall". Initially the force of the waterfall is a little intimidating; but we're brave young men. Plus we're already semi-naked, so no point turning back now. (How many times have you done that, huh?) So we slip under the waterfall, and let it beat down upon our heads, neck & backs. It's cold & we slip out almost instantly. Then we realize that it's colder outside when you're wet, so we slip back right under it. I had to because my left arm cramped the first time I went under it. So I went under it the second time to let the force of the water massage my cramp out! The waterfall oxygenates me & thrills me! I step out & roar to the world, "THIS IS WHAT MAN WAS MEANT TO DO!!! NOT SIT AT A DESK ALL DAY IN FRONT OF A LAPTOP!!!". Surbex, equally excited, joins me and hollers to the world, "LISTEN TO WHAT THIS MAN IS SAYING... HE IS RIGHT!!!" Not that there's anyone there to hear us. Not that they would've paid heed had they been there...
After 4 trips, it's clear that any more cascading water on our backs will lead to bruising or worse, vertebral dislocation. We step away, towel off, get dressed and decide to call it our "Brokeback Waterfall"! I'm going to get into trouble with my wife for saying such things...
Night falls quickly. We spend a couple of hours lazing on the stone & concrete dam. It's a clearer sky than in the city & one can see the stars. If we were younger, we'd be drawing Orion in the sky! We decide to head back once we've had enough conversation (we're not women for God's sake!)
I want to ease the "bird" down the rough but Surbex has some reservations. After some cajoling on my part & much pondering on his, he decides to take the risk. He thinks it's risky for a first time Thunderbirder to try off-road descent, with a pillion, but he's a brave boy. What he doesn't know that I am a natural. I ease the bike down so smoothly that he is impressed. I tell him that if I'm on a good bike, the man & the machine become one! He is very kicked about that statement!
I ride on gently over the aforesaid undulating path, enjoying the silence & the cool air that the night offers. I am transported to a trip to Goa about 5 years back. It brings a smile to my face. I realize that one of the things that makes me happiest is feeling the breeze in my face on a bike. I also get in touch with why I've always loved the night so much! It's the most relaxed time of the day.
I ride back until Surbex feels the urge to ride. He then proceeds to drive rasher than he has all day! Thankfully, he has to stop for dinner!!! Dinner is Dal fry & tandoori roti again! :-) I haven't done this highway dhaba food in 8 years maybe! What was I doing all this time???
Post dinner, Surbex decides to give me another scare; he cuts through two trucks driving alongside for a brief rush of adrenaline!
I holler at him, ask him to pull over, take over & promptly return the favour! :-D
This is fun, but I realize that we're tired and need to ride carefully. We do so, with the help of some terrible dhaba chai. We get into Bombay about 3 AM, thoroughly kicked, but just as exhausted.
I'm a convert! I intend to join Surbex on more of these trips, longer ones too which will entail lugging his 5-man(!) tent around. Don't ask me what he had in mind when he bought it. I might say something very incriminating!!! I am even considering buying a Thunderbird sometime late in the year. I know now that I will see more of India on a bike than I will in a car! It's so much more personal. And a LOT MORE FUN!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A Joke... and a Question.
Joke first. For all the stark raving mad pseudo-nationalists...
Santa radio lekar POTTY karne gaya. Jab woh baahar aaya toh...
Banta: aaj to mazey se ki hogi?
Santa: khaak mazey se ki...! radio par jan-gan-man aa gaya, khade-khade karni padi...!
Now the question: Who is going to file a case against the originator of this SMS joke? Will the Bhopali & the Tirupati lawyers file a case, will NDTV discuss this as an affront to a national icon?
And now the Real Question... If "Hinduism" accepts Atheism as a valid religious philosophy, if people walk around claiming to be agnostics & atheists, why can I not be a Nation-atheist?
Answers, gentle readers?
Santa radio lekar POTTY karne gaya. Jab woh baahar aaya toh...
Banta: aaj to mazey se ki hogi?
Santa: khaak mazey se ki...! radio par jan-gan-man aa gaya, khade-khade karni padi...!
Now the question: Who is going to file a case against the originator of this SMS joke? Will the Bhopali & the Tirupati lawyers file a case, will NDTV discuss this as an affront to a national icon?
And now the Real Question... If "Hinduism" accepts Atheism as a valid religious philosophy, if people walk around claiming to be agnostics & atheists, why can I not be a Nation-atheist?
Answers, gentle readers?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
My quiet half century...
I quietly crossed the 50 mark in posts on this blog some time back.
I doff my hat in respect to the gentle readers of this blog in appreciation of their continued reading.
I doff my hat in respect to the gentle readers of this blog in appreciation of their continued reading.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
On India’s National Symbols
There has been a lot of talk on our National Symbols recently. I’d written about it earlier and I’m picking up the thread here again.
Narayana Murthy, Tendulkar, Sania, Mandira Bedi & a host of celebrities (only them, mind you!) have recently been in trouble for apparent disrespect to the National Flag. It’s an altogether different story that I consider Mr. Murthy, Tendulkar & Sania National Symbols as well!
Parties who have zero achievements otherwise, like to rename cities in the name of Nationalistic pride. Going back to our old glory. Glory???? What glory can the village of mumbai have claim to?
I would like to initiate a debate on how much our National Symbols actually mean to us Indians.
The National Emblem: How many people actually know about the exact location or the history of the emblem? How many people ever visit it?
The Tricoulour: How many Indians are aware of what the 3 colours represent?
The National Anthem: Isn’t it true that this song was written to honour a visiting foreign monarch? Or is this just hearsay? If this is hearsay, why hasn’t it been effectively squashed? And if it’s true, where are the Nationalists who’re trying to rid India of her Colonial past?
The National Animal: What’s happening on the Tiger’s numbers in India? Shouldn’t it be as sacred as the Cow? There’s a lot of noise about putting country over religion… Only noise, huh?
The National Flower: If I say Lotus, what’s the first image that springs to mind?
The National Tree: Anyone who has stayed in rural India has probably heard stories about ghosts inhabiting our National Tree. Is that how one of our national symbols deserves to be known?
The National Fruit: What pride do we take in the lofty mango? Isn’t most of our finest produce exported? Oh! Ah..! That’s the source of pride then…? The $$$..! I get it!
Do we have a national drink? Tea anyone? Who popularized tea in India? Is it even indigenous to India? Now, if anyone tries to take my tea away from me, I swear I’ll kill them!!! Bombay’s name change I may be able to forgive, but tea is sacred!!!
National Language: This one I’m leaving blank. I seek the awam’s inputs.
We talk about preserving our heritage, our culture. We talk like experts on the origin of ancient Indian customs. Yet how many of us know what happened to Patliputra? Where are all the palaces from the Magadha dynasty that should’ve existed there? Why isn’t it on the tourist’s itinerary? We go to Lahore to watch a cricket match, but we don’t visit Mohen-jo-daro! This is nationalistic pride??? Bah!!! Humbug!!!
That’s it, I’m done. Over to you. Nationalists & pseudo-nationalists welcome.
Crossposted
Narayana Murthy, Tendulkar, Sania, Mandira Bedi & a host of celebrities (only them, mind you!) have recently been in trouble for apparent disrespect to the National Flag. It’s an altogether different story that I consider Mr. Murthy, Tendulkar & Sania National Symbols as well!
Parties who have zero achievements otherwise, like to rename cities in the name of Nationalistic pride. Going back to our old glory. Glory???? What glory can the village of mumbai have claim to?
I would like to initiate a debate on how much our National Symbols actually mean to us Indians.
The National Emblem: How many people actually know about the exact location or the history of the emblem? How many people ever visit it?
The Tricoulour: How many Indians are aware of what the 3 colours represent?
The National Anthem: Isn’t it true that this song was written to honour a visiting foreign monarch? Or is this just hearsay? If this is hearsay, why hasn’t it been effectively squashed? And if it’s true, where are the Nationalists who’re trying to rid India of her Colonial past?
The National Animal: What’s happening on the Tiger’s numbers in India? Shouldn’t it be as sacred as the Cow? There’s a lot of noise about putting country over religion… Only noise, huh?
The National Flower: If I say Lotus, what’s the first image that springs to mind?
The National Tree: Anyone who has stayed in rural India has probably heard stories about ghosts inhabiting our National Tree. Is that how one of our national symbols deserves to be known?
The National Fruit: What pride do we take in the lofty mango? Isn’t most of our finest produce exported? Oh! Ah..! That’s the source of pride then…? The $$$..! I get it!
Do we have a national drink? Tea anyone? Who popularized tea in India? Is it even indigenous to India? Now, if anyone tries to take my tea away from me, I swear I’ll kill them!!! Bombay’s name change I may be able to forgive, but tea is sacred!!!
National Language: This one I’m leaving blank. I seek the awam’s inputs.
We talk about preserving our heritage, our culture. We talk like experts on the origin of ancient Indian customs. Yet how many of us know what happened to Patliputra? Where are all the palaces from the Magadha dynasty that should’ve existed there? Why isn’t it on the tourist’s itinerary? We go to Lahore to watch a cricket match, but we don’t visit Mohen-jo-daro! This is nationalistic pride??? Bah!!! Humbug!!!
That’s it, I’m done. Over to you. Nationalists & pseudo-nationalists welcome.
Crossposted
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
New Year SMSes
I had intended to this in January, but the fact that I've gotten round to it now could point to anyone of the following:
- I am a lazy, procrastinating no-gooder!
- I am a committed workaholic with no time for myself!
- Since there are a gadzillion new years in this country & on this planet, there's never one time to put these up!
- Smetmes d Road traveld Turns out 2b More Beautiful thn d Destination reachd..! njoy leadng Ur Life no Mater wt it Turns out 2b..! Wish U a gr8 '08 happy New Yr
- Faith makes all things possible. Hope makes all things work. Love makes all things beautiful, May you have all the three this coming year.
- Happy new year happy lohri, maghi, holi, id, visakhi, ram naumi, shivratri, janamashtmi, diwali, sare gurpurban diyan lakh lakh vadhaiyan, merry chrismas 2008, vichale jedo hove thoda happy bday, je exam hove taan best of luck, 365 gud mrng, noon, night,kuch reha taan nahin, chalo saal bhar da syapa mukeya................ Wishing you a year full of laughter................
- Swarglok se samast devta,Vaikunth se Laxmi -Narayan,Kailash se Uma -Shankar,Brahmlok se Brahma, aur
Prithvi se Swayam HUM, aapko kehte Hai.. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
temporarily available on the Mutiny
So the Mutiny is taking up most of my time, eh...? Worry not dear reader. Just giving back to the Mutiny. They're a bunch of wonderful people (most anyway) & they deserve our support.
Here's my latest original post for them. No crossposting! :-)
Here's my latest original post for them. No crossposting! :-)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
"Jodhaa-Akbar" review
I'd told Chacko once that I may not be able to find time to write a post solely for the Mutiny, but fate had willed otherwise.
So my first original work for Mutiny lies here.
Do let us know your thoughts.
As an aside, I have been struggling to find like minded people for quite some time in my new city. That didn't happen, but through the Internet, I chanced upon some wonderful folks at the Mutiny.
And also thanks to some commentors on that site, my eyes have also been opened to the abundance of anti-national elements in my India. These are the people that could potentially engineer India's downfall. They must be stopped. Join us in the fight to save India.
So my first original work for Mutiny lies here.
Do let us know your thoughts.
As an aside, I have been struggling to find like minded people for quite some time in my new city. That didn't happen, but through the Internet, I chanced upon some wonderful folks at the Mutiny.
And also thanks to some commentors on that site, my eyes have also been opened to the abundance of anti-national elements in my India. These are the people that could potentially engineer India's downfall. They must be stopped. Join us in the fight to save India.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Jaldi 5!!!
Another 5 posts in one day!!! Though I'm getting better productivity-wise, I just hope that I'm not sacrificing too much style for substance...!
So here are the posts that made up my second 5 wicket haul:
This is me at my controversial, iconoclastic best!
Monday, February 11, 2008
What's there to be proud of???
It's such a shame that something like this happens in India!!!
We have bastards arguing that Indian culture & religion ought to be preserved, and NO ONE to champion these causes!
To think that narendra modi (my fingers cringe as I type out his name) is the hero of Gujaratis instead of men like Keshav...
To think people from Gujarat caught a train to Bombay to watch Fanaa, but no one will catch a train to go to Surat & protest in front of the police station or the court until justice is done!!!
WHAT IS THERE TO BE PROUD OF IN OUR COUNTRY?????
Hats off to Nana Patekar (& the lyricist & the filmmaker) for having the balls to mouth those immortal lines:
Sau mein se ninyanve beimaan,
Phir bhi mera desh mahaan!
(99% of the people are dishonest,
Yet... my country is great!)
I present a line from a previous post here to illustrate why I am so frustrated. "No one seems to mind when Indians litter, spit, defecate, piddle etc on roads". What is more frustrating is that all the noise in the country is about relative non-issues! Whether it's the politicians or their misguided common man.
We need a movement that focuses on the real issues. So here's calling all real Indians to unite & form active groups in their cities & towns to focus on the real issues. Any ideas?
We have bastards arguing that Indian culture & religion ought to be preserved, and NO ONE to champion these causes!
To think that narendra modi (my fingers cringe as I type out his name) is the hero of Gujaratis instead of men like Keshav...
To think people from Gujarat caught a train to Bombay to watch Fanaa, but no one will catch a train to go to Surat & protest in front of the police station or the court until justice is done!!!
WHAT IS THERE TO BE PROUD OF IN OUR COUNTRY?????
Hats off to Nana Patekar (& the lyricist & the filmmaker) for having the balls to mouth those immortal lines:
Sau mein se ninyanve beimaan,
Phir bhi mera desh mahaan!
(99% of the people are dishonest,
Yet... my country is great!)
I present a line from a previous post here to illustrate why I am so frustrated. "No one seems to mind when Indians litter, spit, defecate, piddle etc on roads". What is more frustrating is that all the noise in the country is about relative non-issues! Whether it's the politicians or their misguided common man.
We need a movement that focuses on the real issues. So here's calling all real Indians to unite & form active groups in their cities & towns to focus on the real issues. Any ideas?
NDTV's "We the People"
I'm more an Internet addict than a TV buff, but sometimes I do catch a few programmes on the telly. One show that caught my eye was the recent debate on our National icons.
I SO wanted to participate because expectedly I have strong (not to mention enlightened & progressive) views on the subject. :-D
(On one ocassion in the past, I'd found the anchor to be slightly opinionated, but on this show she was much better.)
I thank the show for introducing me to Harish Salve! And the likes of Amit Varma, Jaideep Sahni, etc.
Think about this:
For everything that happens in India, some idiot somewhere will object. Sample these:
Shriya Saran wears a lovely dress to an award function for her film! And HMK from Tamil Nadu has to take offence!
Tendulkar cuts a cake with the national flag on it & someone decides that it calls for an objection!
Sania wears skirts, some jokers object!
Vikram Chauhan refuses to stand for the National Anthem & he gets lynched in a Bombay theatre!
Sania puts her feet up on a table that has the Indian flag on it, and someone from Tirupati & Bhopal has to object!
You target Sania and someone somewhere will take offence, saying that she's being targeted because she's got a name that gives away her community.
And if you say THAT, someone somewhere will again, take offence!
WTF are we so easily offended about everything? Why can't we be more like the West (in this respect) here? You can burn the flag in America, you can show women wearing knickers made out of the Union Jack in British Comedies, Mel Brooks can parody Moses & Jesus both in one film & not invite censure, The Da Vinci Code can depict the Opus Dei in a monstrous light and yet not be banned as a book or movie. Why all the fuss in India??? Do the people actually care so much? Are they even that tuned in to the news? Or is it the political parties that need to be blamed for leading our people astray?
Now consider this: All these people who are in the eye of a storm for apparent disrespect to national icons, Indian culture etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. , are SOMEBODY! And those people who object, are nobodies!
Think about what this means. And about how much attention we should pay to these nobodies.
Consider this too. Harish, Jaideep, Amit etc. were standing up for the right of the common Indian to freedom of expression, to individual freedom. They're all educated men, achievers who deserve to have an opinion. MORE than I can say about a Smriti Irani! Who by the way found Sania's faux pax the most offensive!
I would like to give Amit Varma a STANDING OVATION for his unshakeable belief in his right to say things the way he sees fit. This man is truly Superman! He has balls of steel!
Harish Salve echoed the sentiments of every true Indian when he said that our nation & our constitution are insulted everyday in our country. No one seems to mind when Indians litter, spit, defecate, piddle etc on roads. No one seems to catch the ordinary citizen peeing on a wall that is painted in the colours of the flag by a party seeking election. And no one seems to consider that the very same nobodies who object to everything, could be the guilty of the very same things I just listed above!
Is anyone watching them???
I SO wanted to participate because expectedly I have strong (not to mention enlightened & progressive) views on the subject. :-D
(On one ocassion in the past, I'd found the anchor to be slightly opinionated, but on this show she was much better.)
I thank the show for introducing me to Harish Salve! And the likes of Amit Varma, Jaideep Sahni, etc.
Think about this:
For everything that happens in India, some idiot somewhere will object. Sample these:
Shriya Saran wears a lovely dress to an award function for her film! And HMK from Tamil Nadu has to take offence!
Tendulkar cuts a cake with the national flag on it & someone decides that it calls for an objection!
Sania wears skirts, some jokers object!
Vikram Chauhan refuses to stand for the National Anthem & he gets lynched in a Bombay theatre!
Sania puts her feet up on a table that has the Indian flag on it, and someone from Tirupati & Bhopal has to object!
You target Sania and someone somewhere will take offence, saying that she's being targeted because she's got a name that gives away her community.
And if you say THAT, someone somewhere will again, take offence!
WTF are we so easily offended about everything? Why can't we be more like the West (in this respect) here? You can burn the flag in America, you can show women wearing knickers made out of the Union Jack in British Comedies, Mel Brooks can parody Moses & Jesus both in one film & not invite censure, The Da Vinci Code can depict the Opus Dei in a monstrous light and yet not be banned as a book or movie. Why all the fuss in India??? Do the people actually care so much? Are they even that tuned in to the news? Or is it the political parties that need to be blamed for leading our people astray?
Now consider this: All these people who are in the eye of a storm for apparent disrespect to national icons, Indian culture etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. , are SOMEBODY! And those people who object, are nobodies!
Think about what this means. And about how much attention we should pay to these nobodies.
Consider this too. Harish, Jaideep, Amit etc. were standing up for the right of the common Indian to freedom of expression, to individual freedom. They're all educated men, achievers who deserve to have an opinion. MORE than I can say about a Smriti Irani! Who by the way found Sania's faux pax the most offensive!
I would like to give Amit Varma a STANDING OVATION for his unshakeable belief in his right to say things the way he sees fit. This man is truly Superman! He has balls of steel!
Harish Salve echoed the sentiments of every true Indian when he said that our nation & our constitution are insulted everyday in our country. No one seems to mind when Indians litter, spit, defecate, piddle etc on roads. No one seems to catch the ordinary citizen peeing on a wall that is painted in the colours of the flag by a party seeking election. And no one seems to consider that the very same nobodies who object to everything, could be the guilty of the very same things I just listed above!
Is anyone watching them???
my friend, the right-winger
A very very close friend of mine, is like me in many many ways. Except in his support of the bjp. This one is for him...
While I have referenced to one piece in my last post, the following is a list of articles written not by me, but by prominent men whose unbiased credentials can't be easily disputed.
Here's one by a former intelligence operative, a Kashmiri Pandit, whose rights the bjp ostensibly fights for. "Dhar's record makes it clear that notwithstanding all the refutations of Sangh Parivar leaders, they had planned the demolition of the Babri Masjid in great detail". Read more here.
This one is not really meant for him as he is more bjp than rss, but I humbly request the sanjay's, smartopinion's, mad mullah's, chirag's, amit's etc. to read through it with an open mind. Some may want to instantly label it rubbish & untrue, but it's worth examining as another point of view.
Here's another expose from the UK.
And this one. Scroll down to the third article & read it to the very end before jumping to any conclusions. Now it's very possible to dismiss this one as it appears on an Indian Muslims website instead of a more credible source, but just in case it's true...
Your comments please.
While I have referenced to one piece in my last post, the following is a list of articles written not by me, but by prominent men whose unbiased credentials can't be easily disputed.
Here's one by a former intelligence operative, a Kashmiri Pandit, whose rights the bjp ostensibly fights for. "Dhar's record makes it clear that notwithstanding all the refutations of Sangh Parivar leaders, they had planned the demolition of the Babri Masjid in great detail". Read more here.
This one is not really meant for him as he is more bjp than rss, but I humbly request the sanjay's, smartopinion's, mad mullah's, chirag's, amit's etc. to read through it with an open mind. Some may want to instantly label it rubbish & untrue, but it's worth examining as another point of view.
Here's another expose from the UK.
And this one. Scroll down to the third article & read it to the very end before jumping to any conclusions. Now it's very possible to dismiss this one as it appears on an Indian Muslims website instead of a more credible source, but just in case it's true...
Your comments please.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Could the rss be a CIA stooge...?
It's possible...
To begin with, what are their contributions to India's freedom movement? To my knowledge, there is only one Hindutva proponent who was involved in the freedom struggle & that was a much marketed, rather iffy Sarvarkar. And this isn't only my view. Here is another section that lends credence to my belief.
I'd heard the allegation before that the rss was a CIA stooge, but had then summarily dismissed the claim as a baseless conspiracy theory. Of late however, I've been paying more attention to their history & current affairs, and somehow things point to something very sinister...
The rss & it's cohorts by other names are constantly working at keeping India internally unstable. First the Harijans, then the Muslims, then the Dalits again, then Muslims again, then harassing the Christians from time to time as well; creating & keeping the instability intact, the way it always has been.
This internal instability, this infighting is what kept India from ever becoming a globe conquering nation. And that is exactly what will keep us back now, thanks to efforts of the sangh parivar.
So who benefits from keeping India from becoming a global superpower? Maybe the current superpowers? Somehow things are beginning to add up. I may be wrong, totally wrong, but it's seeming increasingly possible to me...
CIA stooge... the words keep playing in my head...
To begin with, what are their contributions to India's freedom movement? To my knowledge, there is only one Hindutva proponent who was involved in the freedom struggle & that was a much marketed, rather iffy Sarvarkar. And this isn't only my view. Here is another section that lends credence to my belief.
I'd heard the allegation before that the rss was a CIA stooge, but had then summarily dismissed the claim as a baseless conspiracy theory. Of late however, I've been paying more attention to their history & current affairs, and somehow things point to something very sinister...
The rss & it's cohorts by other names are constantly working at keeping India internally unstable. First the Harijans, then the Muslims, then the Dalits again, then Muslims again, then harassing the Christians from time to time as well; creating & keeping the instability intact, the way it always has been.
This internal instability, this infighting is what kept India from ever becoming a globe conquering nation. And that is exactly what will keep us back now, thanks to efforts of the sangh parivar.
So who benefits from keeping India from becoming a global superpower? Maybe the current superpowers? Somehow things are beginning to add up. I may be wrong, totally wrong, but it's seeming increasingly possible to me...
CIA stooge... the words keep playing in my head...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Hinduism I know
Like I stated earlier, the Internet is overflowing with communal outpourings and facist propoganda! The fact that the web allows one to publish stuff that no self respecting newspaper or daily would carry is a boon for raving maniacs. It is dangerous as wel,l as it has the ability to influence minds, young & old alike. More so in a country like India where people are only beginning to become literate & are positively unaware of the unreliability of the information available on the net!
I am providing links here to some of the more grisly comments that some posts have attracted in recent times. Go through these & be shocked at the kind of India we live in! Nothing in school or college or even work life prepared us for this shock. Did you realize that the person walking next to you on the road could possibly be one of the commentors on these posts? Somebody at work maybe?
We were taught not to discuss religion while we were growing up. We were told that it is impolite & in bad taste. And above all that it was personal. So despite the urgings of the sabziwala, the train companion, the new friend in school & college, I stoutly refused to answer any questions or indulge in any conversations pertaining to religion.
Until I realized recently that the only way we can live harmoniously is through better understanding achieved through dialogue. My friend Chacko too made that mistake. And LOOK where that landed us...!!!
Dialogue with who??? Who are these people that we are trying to talk sense into? You & I have grown up reading English Literature and therefore don't have a problem accepting their culture or religious choices. We grew up reading Amar Chitra Katha editions on the lives of Jesus, Buddha & Ram. So we don't have a problem accepting that culture or religion either.
The newspapers we read, the magazines we read, were the likes of the Indian Express, Outlook & Reader's Digest. Respectable journalism, neutral writing went into making us the tolerant forward looking Indians we became.
So who are these "other" people? What did they read while they were growing up? panchjanya sapthik??? And if they did read what we read, how come they turned out so different??? Who is to blame for corrupting a young mind? Who is to blame for creating hate-filled, pro-violence creatures from humans???
I have ranted enough. Here are the links to the comments that I am speaking of. See for yourself & judge.
See how the comment forum of a secular thinkers indictment of modi was corrupted by baseless propaganda!
This one is a set of slightly saner responses, but the strong indoctrination & factually incorrect view of history is evident in some of the comments.
& more defilers here...
It does seem to point to education & exposure doesn't it? If not that what else is it?
I am quoting a prominent Indian here, one obviously more qualified than the rabid-ranters I provided links to above. This gentleman is qualified, educated & has the kind of understanding & view-point that a only an open, tolerant mind can develop. In light of the previous comments you read above, please read what he has to say on Swami Vivekananda. And do please note the difference in his viewpoint & shourie's nonsensical propoganda!
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/264498.html
This one should rank as one of the best short essays on tolerance & secularism. Do help in popularizing it.
God Bless the CJ.
I am providing links here to some of the more grisly comments that some posts have attracted in recent times. Go through these & be shocked at the kind of India we live in! Nothing in school or college or even work life prepared us for this shock. Did you realize that the person walking next to you on the road could possibly be one of the commentors on these posts? Somebody at work maybe?
We were taught not to discuss religion while we were growing up. We were told that it is impolite & in bad taste. And above all that it was personal. So despite the urgings of the sabziwala, the train companion, the new friend in school & college, I stoutly refused to answer any questions or indulge in any conversations pertaining to religion.
Until I realized recently that the only way we can live harmoniously is through better understanding achieved through dialogue. My friend Chacko too made that mistake. And LOOK where that landed us...!!!
Dialogue with who??? Who are these people that we are trying to talk sense into? You & I have grown up reading English Literature and therefore don't have a problem accepting their culture or religious choices. We grew up reading Amar Chitra Katha editions on the lives of Jesus, Buddha & Ram. So we don't have a problem accepting that culture or religion either.
The newspapers we read, the magazines we read, were the likes of the Indian Express, Outlook & Reader's Digest. Respectable journalism, neutral writing went into making us the tolerant forward looking Indians we became.
So who are these "other" people? What did they read while they were growing up? panchjanya sapthik??? And if they did read what we read, how come they turned out so different??? Who is to blame for corrupting a young mind? Who is to blame for creating hate-filled, pro-violence creatures from humans???
I have ranted enough. Here are the links to the comments that I am speaking of. See for yourself & judge.
See how the comment forum of a secular thinkers indictment of modi was corrupted by baseless propaganda!
This one is a set of slightly saner responses, but the strong indoctrination & factually incorrect view of history is evident in some of the comments.
& more defilers here...
It does seem to point to education & exposure doesn't it? If not that what else is it?
I am quoting a prominent Indian here, one obviously more qualified than the rabid-ranters I provided links to above. This gentleman is qualified, educated & has the kind of understanding & view-point that a only an open, tolerant mind can develop. In light of the previous comments you read above, please read what he has to say on Swami Vivekananda. And do please note the difference in his viewpoint & shourie's nonsensical propoganda!
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/264498.html
This one should rank as one of the best short essays on tolerance & secularism. Do help in popularizing it.
God Bless the CJ.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A PERSONAL RECORD!!!
For the first time today, this blog has been updated with 5 new posts! 6 if you include this one!
I'm more surprised (even a little worried about Internet addiction) than kicked, and am providing links to each of the posts lest my beloved readers miss them!
Here they are:
Sports snippets
Tennis Update
Bollywood's two sides
King Roger v/s Pistol Pete
Sania... and a gloat!
ENJOY!!! And do let me know if you did!
I'm more surprised (even a little worried about Internet addiction) than kicked, and am providing links to each of the posts lest my beloved readers miss them!
Here they are:
Sports snippets
Tennis Update
Bollywood's two sides
King Roger v/s Pistol Pete
Sania... and a gloat!
ENJOY!!! And do let me know if you did!
Sania... and a gloat!
Sania Mirza is probably the most talented player Indian Tennis has seen yet. She has the groundstrokes, she has the power, she has the appetite for competition.
What she lacks is that one factor that separates the champions from the also rans: Consistency!
- She has the ability to hit an excellent groundstroke to set up a point, but lacks the consistency to follow it up with another one to finish off the point.
- She can hit an excellent approach shot, but totally botch up the volley.
- She can break serve, but lacks the consistency to hold her own & wrap up a set.
All of this is on display in her match against an obviously downhill Venus. She had the former Wimbledon champion on the run, but allowed Venus to come back & dominate the match.
Her talent is obvious. What is not so obvious is that she isn't in great hands at the moment!
She needs a Nick Bolletieri to coach her. He's the kind of coach who infuses players with consistent shotmaking & rallying ability. He's the kind that helps players improve their basics. Sania's groundstrokes & volleying, maybe even her serve would definitely benefit from a longish stint with Bolletieri. Not to mention that he would work her to the point that she isn't lugging around any left-over puppy fat!
Indian coaches & managers shouldn't lose heart. They've done their bit by getting her up to this point. Now it's time for them to take a bow & let the other's take Sania to her destination.
One thing to remember is that the people who've coached/guiding Sania uptil now have themselves not achieved much at the international level.
One has to pick coaches accoring to the need of the hour. Even Agassi needed a tour veteran like Brad Gilbert to teach him how to pull off matches despite not playing one's best!
So Sania, please go to Bolletieri for about a year. And that is when you WILL triumph over players of Venus' calibre. Consistently!
Edit: As I was hitting "Publish Post", I heard the crowd applaud Sania's spirited performance. Or was it Venus' victory?
... And I was right!
- Fedex came through in a 5 setter despite playing well below par.
- Team India stopped the Australian cheating machine in it's tracks. India will be remembered for snapping the Aussies match winning streak on the most acrimonious tour in recent history. Somehow the last acrimonious tour I remember was one that involved the Aussies too! Remember the Sri Lankans? That tour came back to bite the Aussies in the backside! Sri Lanka made Oz their # 1 enemy & demolished the myth of Aussie supremacy convincingly in the next World Cup.
Has Australia done India that favour this time? Have they managed to awaken Indian pride? Permanently? Only the 4th Test (& then some more) will tell.
Edit: In a later match Hewitt overcame the immensely talented youngster Baghdatis in a see-saw 5 set battle.
Don't misread me as an Aussie hater here, but I'm not too fond of Hewitt either, specially after his flirt with racism in that infamous match against James Blake.
The Aussies seem like some of the most misbehaved people on the planet. I speak from personal experience. I met a bunch of them at a party & they were making an absolute nuisance of themselves! They of course seemed to believe that they were having fun. Much like the eve-teasers that infest India.
What she lacks is that one factor that separates the champions from the also rans: Consistency!
- She has the ability to hit an excellent groundstroke to set up a point, but lacks the consistency to follow it up with another one to finish off the point.
- She can hit an excellent approach shot, but totally botch up the volley.
- She can break serve, but lacks the consistency to hold her own & wrap up a set.
All of this is on display in her match against an obviously downhill Venus. She had the former Wimbledon champion on the run, but allowed Venus to come back & dominate the match.
Her talent is obvious. What is not so obvious is that she isn't in great hands at the moment!
She needs a Nick Bolletieri to coach her. He's the kind of coach who infuses players with consistent shotmaking & rallying ability. He's the kind that helps players improve their basics. Sania's groundstrokes & volleying, maybe even her serve would definitely benefit from a longish stint with Bolletieri. Not to mention that he would work her to the point that she isn't lugging around any left-over puppy fat!
Indian coaches & managers shouldn't lose heart. They've done their bit by getting her up to this point. Now it's time for them to take a bow & let the other's take Sania to her destination.
One thing to remember is that the people who've coached/guiding Sania uptil now have themselves not achieved much at the international level.
One has to pick coaches accoring to the need of the hour. Even Agassi needed a tour veteran like Brad Gilbert to teach him how to pull off matches despite not playing one's best!
So Sania, please go to Bolletieri for about a year. And that is when you WILL triumph over players of Venus' calibre. Consistently!
Edit: As I was hitting "Publish Post", I heard the crowd applaud Sania's spirited performance. Or was it Venus' victory?
... And I was right!
- Fedex came through in a 5 setter despite playing well below par.
- Team India stopped the Australian cheating machine in it's tracks. India will be remembered for snapping the Aussies match winning streak on the most acrimonious tour in recent history. Somehow the last acrimonious tour I remember was one that involved the Aussies too! Remember the Sri Lankans? That tour came back to bite the Aussies in the backside! Sri Lanka made Oz their # 1 enemy & demolished the myth of Aussie supremacy convincingly in the next World Cup.
Has Australia done India that favour this time? Have they managed to awaken Indian pride? Permanently? Only the 4th Test (& then some more) will tell.
Edit: In a later match Hewitt overcame the immensely talented youngster Baghdatis in a see-saw 5 set battle.
Don't misread me as an Aussie hater here, but I'm not too fond of Hewitt either, specially after his flirt with racism in that infamous match against James Blake.
The Aussies seem like some of the most misbehaved people on the planet. I speak from personal experience. I met a bunch of them at a party & they were making an absolute nuisance of themselves! They of course seemed to believe that they were having fun. Much like the eve-teasers that infest India.
King Roger v/s Pistol Pete
There's been some valid debate about who is the greater champion, Pete Sampras or Roger Federer.
Comparisions are bound to happen as both them of them had a fairly complete, all court game. Great one handed backhands both, very capable volleyers both. Sampras possibly had a slight edge on his serve, but undisputably the factor that sets Federer apart is his unrivalled domination of the sport.
Sampras was the dominating force in his time yes, but against players like Agassi & a few others, he seemed beatable. Federer's domination of men's Tennis is almost complete!
The above may be debatable, but then one has to consider this:
Sampras finished his career with 14 Grand Slam titles.
Federer has another 5 years left and already has 12 Grand Slams in his kitty! Barring a total unforeseen breakdown of the mind & body that make up the winning machine called Roger Federer, he will set records that will not be broken for decades to come!
But the sealing argument comes from Sampras himself. After the 3 exhibition matches they played, and Sampras winning the third, Sampras admitted that Federer was probably exhausted coming off a long season. He also stated that Roger had things to his game that he himself didn't have in his prime!
Read here.
I agree with Sampras.
Comparisions are bound to happen as both them of them had a fairly complete, all court game. Great one handed backhands both, very capable volleyers both. Sampras possibly had a slight edge on his serve, but undisputably the factor that sets Federer apart is his unrivalled domination of the sport.
Sampras was the dominating force in his time yes, but against players like Agassi & a few others, he seemed beatable. Federer's domination of men's Tennis is almost complete!
The above may be debatable, but then one has to consider this:
Sampras finished his career with 14 Grand Slam titles.
Federer has another 5 years left and already has 12 Grand Slams in his kitty! Barring a total unforeseen breakdown of the mind & body that make up the winning machine called Roger Federer, he will set records that will not be broken for decades to come!
But the sealing argument comes from Sampras himself. After the 3 exhibition matches they played, and Sampras winning the third, Sampras admitted that Federer was probably exhausted coming off a long season. He also stated that Roger had things to his game that he himself didn't have in his prime!
Read here.
I agree with Sampras.
Bollywood's two sides
Aamir's supremacy:
I've always maintained that Aamir Khan is the best actor of his generation. And if weren't for the malleability of the media, he would've been universally acknowledged as such.
With TZP Aamir debuted as director. Coupled with the theme he chose, the child star he picked, there were quite a few firsts involved. He was doing things he had never done before. And came up the way he has always done before: Triumphant!
And without the help of media machinations!
Wherever I look, whatever I read, whichever channel I watch, all I hear is praise for TZP. Not one soul has said anything negative about the movie.
In comparison, the apparent success of that OSO-sorry-a-film, was forcefed down our throats! No one seemed to mention that in the UK, DDD Goal made more money than this out & out commercial venture. I picked this tidbit off a solitary news channel, God Bless their souls & may their tribe increase!
Aamir has a history of successes with first-time or little known directors. In comparison, SRK fails even with established directors!
How then is srk the King of Bollywood??? (Commercially speaking, I've heard that Akshay Kumar currently charges more than anyone else in Bollywood?)
Aamir is the true King. And long after their careers are over, & the media has no incentive to back the pretender, Aamir's body of work will establish him as the undisputed King.
.............
Sajid's stupidity:
In response to this, I have the following to say to Sajid Khan:
Sajid... If Hey Baby made more money than VVC's earlier films, it's partly because the times in which you have begun to make movies are more expensive times.
Also people today have higher disposable incomes.
Thirdly, the money a film makes isn't the greatest barometer of a film's worth. Every initial Govinda-David Dhawan film was a big grosser. Doesn't make them works of art.
Lastly, the difference between the likes of VVC & Govind Nihalani and a you is that, Tum log kiranewale ho, woh log artists hain. You're in it for the money, they're in it for good cinema. You're dancers on a kotha, they're part of the bolshoi ballet.
To each his own, like you eloquently began, touting democracy & freedom of speech.
I've always maintained that Aamir Khan is the best actor of his generation. And if weren't for the malleability of the media, he would've been universally acknowledged as such.
With TZP Aamir debuted as director. Coupled with the theme he chose, the child star he picked, there were quite a few firsts involved. He was doing things he had never done before. And came up the way he has always done before: Triumphant!
And without the help of media machinations!
Wherever I look, whatever I read, whichever channel I watch, all I hear is praise for TZP. Not one soul has said anything negative about the movie.
In comparison, the apparent success of that OSO-sorry-a-film, was forcefed down our throats! No one seemed to mention that in the UK, DDD Goal made more money than this out & out commercial venture. I picked this tidbit off a solitary news channel, God Bless their souls & may their tribe increase!
Aamir has a history of successes with first-time or little known directors. In comparison, SRK fails even with established directors!
How then is srk the King of Bollywood??? (Commercially speaking, I've heard that Akshay Kumar currently charges more than anyone else in Bollywood?)
Aamir is the true King. And long after their careers are over, & the media has no incentive to back the pretender, Aamir's body of work will establish him as the undisputed King.
.............
Sajid's stupidity:
In response to this, I have the following to say to Sajid Khan:
Sajid... If Hey Baby made more money than VVC's earlier films, it's partly because the times in which you have begun to make movies are more expensive times.
Also people today have higher disposable incomes.
Thirdly, the money a film makes isn't the greatest barometer of a film's worth. Every initial Govinda-David Dhawan film was a big grosser. Doesn't make them works of art.
Lastly, the difference between the likes of VVC & Govind Nihalani and a you is that, Tum log kiranewale ho, woh log artists hain. You're in it for the money, they're in it for good cinema. You're dancers on a kotha, they're part of the bolshoi ballet.
To each his own, like you eloquently began, touting democracy & freedom of speech.
Tennis Update
Cilic beat Gonzalez in 4 sets. Just as I predicted.
Tipsarevic is giving Fedex a hard time, but I'm fairly certain that the World No. 1 will wake up soon enough to triumph. The young boy is good though. Stretching Federer is good enough for most people!
Update @ 3:46 PM IST: Federer pulls it off in a 5 setter. The day belonged to young Tipsy though! Federer is expected to come through. He is a champion, he's probably going to set records that'll not be broken for decades, Agassi rates him as the "Best Ever"! But Tipsy made the day his own. He's the only one in recent memory to make Roger Federer scurry all around court like a mere mortal. Agreed that Fedex wan't at his best, but this kind of stretching of King Roger doesn't exist in recent memory!
And if Sania does manage to pull off a miracle upset over Venus Williams, it'll be a huge day for Indian sport! If the Indian cricket team wins as well, double celebrations!
Tipsarevic is giving Fedex a hard time, but I'm fairly certain that the World No. 1 will wake up soon enough to triumph. The young boy is good though. Stretching Federer is good enough for most people!
Update @ 3:46 PM IST: Federer pulls it off in a 5 setter. The day belonged to young Tipsy though! Federer is expected to come through. He is a champion, he's probably going to set records that'll not be broken for decades, Agassi rates him as the "Best Ever"! But Tipsy made the day his own. He's the only one in recent memory to make Roger Federer scurry all around court like a mere mortal. Agreed that Fedex wan't at his best, but this kind of stretching of King Roger doesn't exist in recent memory!
And if Sania does manage to pull off a miracle upset over Venus Williams, it'll be a huge day for Indian sport! If the Indian cricket team wins as well, double celebrations!
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