Shaken and Stirred

I saw this movie today...

Kabul Express is about director Kabir Khan's own experience of being a war correspondent. The film is an adventure thriller which tells a tale of 5 different people from 4 different nationalities. Two Indian television war correspondents (John Abrahim and Arshad Warsi), an American journalist (Linda Arsenio) for Reuters, a Pakistani (Salman Shahid) who fought for the Taliban and an Afghan (Hanif Hum Ghum).
John and Arshad land in Kabul to find themselves in the middle of a war-torn heaven. A gorgeous country devastated by war. The scene is from the post 9/11 Afghanistan. The film dwells on some clichés. One, that Afghas love Indians and the Hindi Cinema. This is reiterated when an Afghan warlord comes to know that John and Arshad are from India, he starts to count the names of all the Indian actors (he starts with Amitabh) and then orders a tank which will take them to Kabul (to which Arshad asks "Don't they have taxis here?"). Two, the Pakistanis and the Afghanis hate each other (they keep fighting on who actually started the war which has today torn the country apart). Three, no matter how much they have fought with each other, the common enemy is one - America. In one scene the American planes bomb any vehicle they see at night. In one scene a truck full of can of Pepsi is bombed. The two Indians fight whether it’s Pepsi or Coke. They decide to ask the American reporter who in turn replies that she doesn't drink either :P.
There are moments which show the commonalities shared by all South Asians. Like the Pakistani's fondness for old Hindi movie songs. The same man longing to meet his daughter who lives in a nearby village. But also some truth about the tribal society that Afghanistan is even today. Two Taliban men are caught while trying to escape towards the Pakistani border and are beaten up to death in full public view.
I was particularly intrigued to see this shot where the local Afghan are beating the two Taliban men. Both the Indian and American correspondents are advised to take photos and capture it on the video camera. They start with enthusiasm but are compelled to think about what they are capturing. They realize they are making money out of somebody's pity... and in this case the naked dance of somebody's death while their blood drenched bodies are kicked and trampled upon even further. I relate to this. At time I’m compelled to think if whatever I'm doing will change anything positive for that person or am I just erotizing his misery and poverty. It is a line as delicate as the line between erotica and vulgarity. If crossed its called photo pornography.
Back to the movie, I think Kabul Express is movie worth watching if one is interested to know how Afghani landscape is. Apparently, the crew got dead threats from the Taliban while they were shooting, but the Afghan government provided tight security and the movie was completed in 45 days. The New York Time calls it a Black Comedy but for me it’s realistic comedy where ever it's sprinkled.




And for those interested to know who she is, her name is Linda Arsenio. She worked in a New York Theatre group before deciding to come to India and work for the down trodden. What an act of Charity eh? Enjoy the movie and...Don't leave home...


...and a shot of how the sun looked this evening...


Rushing Home

The Brightest of'em All

Thank You for Reading

Happiness

• Posting the four pics I submitted for a photo competition with the theme "Happiness". Apparently all of them are from Poona :). Comments and suggestion are always appreciated.

While reading some blogs yesterday I came across a very interesting one for people wanting to write about India, especially for western audience. It recommends the Do's and Don'ts for the future author and how to catch the reader's attention right from the start. I recommend the blog for anyone interested in reading it.

The Outline: The view from my balcony during the evening twilight

Yesterday, while at India Habitat Centre I came across a peculiar art exibition, there were photos of circles intertwined together with threads and some peculiar looking figures. I had trouble understanding thought behind the photos but some of them were lovely. Oh! by the way, the most interesting thing on show were not the photos, but this...

and some photos. Good night...

Central Perk

A lil' frustrated these days... No French (fingers crossed), left my previous job rather unscrupulously and I'v decided not to take the new one I went for the interview to on friday. It's interesting but I don't want to do the same to this job. It will be too hectic as I have some important exams coming in march and april. So I rather sit here or read the newspapers. I have loads work but really cold and I'm being rather lazy. I need to submit some photographs to another photo competition and Im still to choose the 4 photo graphs I want to submit. The theme is "Happiness" and my view is not to submit photographs of people smiling or just having "fun". It should something more than people having fun. Happiness is much more than fun, it's more closer to the feeling contentment and goes much deeper. I'll post the 4 photos I finalize finally in the next post. So therefore my lame arse roams from here to there in the room at time watch some music vids I like... Las Ketchup, Céline Dion, Tarkan oh and Careless Whisper and Alizé in Amsterdam... and so on... it's not the best entertainment but still better than most crappy Indian news channels promising the fastest coverage. Actually I love collecting music videos, especially the retro ones- Banarama, Wham, Starship Troopers etc etc...

Central Perk

This is where we went last night. Central Park was one of New Delhi's landmark even before the a Métro station was built underneath. For 2 years now it was under construction and was recently restored with an amphitheatre and lush green freshly manicured lawns. The day ended with a nice dosa at Banana Leaf, one of Delhi's most famous place for south Indian cuisine located in Connought Place. Central Park these days has some photos being displayed on its foot paths. Some of them are below, from the 80's and the 60's when most of its parking lot used to empty and the only visible cars were the Ambassadors and Fiats. There are no neon signs and hardly any traffic in the inner circle. Some of them are posted below. Enjoi.




The 80's

Classic CP

...Also some pictures from a beautiful nursery near Khan Market

...and the Mosque by the side...

Quote: Purpose of Aggression is to destroy, purpose of persuasion is to restore.

Distances

I'm more compelled to write today rather than feeling an urge to write. They say it's the age of globalization, where borders are fading, distances are reducing and people are becoming freer to move from one nation to another without out hurdles. There was a time, not to long back, when going to the west of the privilege of a select few in India. And people who were about to go and had been to trips abroad would flaunt it with vigor. I remember some Punjabi pop stars even adding the name of countries like UK or Canada to their name to show where they live now. It was a thing to boast about. They would come back with pictures clicked under Big Ben or the Vancouver harbor or better still pictures taken with White people, especially White women as trophies of their conquest of the West or foreign lands. They had stories of how the "goras" want to be friendly with them and what to "adopt" the desi culture. A way to say how superior Indian Culture is that even the ones who ruled us once want to indulge in the very same culture they once considered slavish. But the distances no longer exists now. It's more convenient and faster to take a flight from New Delhi to New York today than to take the 3 days atrocious train journey to Madras. Many upper class Indians have more friends they boast about in Europe and America than in Delhi. They eat in Singapore, shop in Dubai and have an apartment in East London or Queens in New York. The media call them "The Global Indian". Boundaries don't exist for them. The world is their play ground. And so the governments and scientists can pat their back. We even have an Indian in space these days. You can find one even in the Canadian Rockies living alongside the Red Indians. Distances have ceased to Exist. But what about the distances that two minds create between them? No physical boundary exists between minds... and even if they do, nobody can see them. We talk about equality today... Gender Equality... Social Equality… and most importantly Economic Equality. But does somebody recognize the increasing inequalities of minds? Where one is recognized by the "difference" or inequality of thought rather than inequality of status. And does somebody know that the barriers minds create amongst them are even tougher to break than physical barriers? Just because those barriers, those walls cannot be sensed by one or more of our five senses does not mean they don't exist... Who will bridge those distances? Who will break those wall barriers? The modern world, especially our so called modern intellectuals and social scientists don't seem to have an answer and neither do the modern world discourages their construction. We have found a way to bridge the physical distances but unfortunately the inequalities of minds have only increased. So what even if two people sleep side by side, they can still be poles apart and on the other hand even if they are poles apart physically they can still be very close.
Has somebody realized that the difference between men and women is the greatest in countries with the best record in Gender Equality? They are the countries with some of the most furious feminist movements today. Has somebody realized that most secular countries have the worst cases of communal violence cases today? Or has somebody realized that some of the most unsatisfied and depressed people are found in some of the richest nations of the world? I don't have answers to these questions. We are moving fast to eliminate physical distances but nobody cares about these unseen distances...Who will bridge them?... who will break the walls? The modern world doesn't have an answer.
We MUST address these issues. We MUST make an effort to eliminate psycological barriers and they will not be ended through reservations. They will end by one complimenting the other rather than becoming the competitor. The problem is real and imminent and we must find way to bridge them sooner or later otherwise our societies will disintegrate and fall apart. The only way out is dialogue and mutual understanding rather than agression and ego.

Family Possesions

The temperature this morning is 19 Degree celcius (67 F) in my room, its much colder outside. Though this is still not the height of Delhi's winter, I'm positive the mercury will still dip further. For a few days I've been busy, not with work but with homely affairs and French. I went to my uncle's place (lets call him M1) yesterday to bring my maternal grandmother who has been asking us on and off to bring her to our place. It's another matter that when we arrived she refused to accept that she had called us. She said she will have trouble climbing the stairs to our apartment. She can hardly walk and have fallen down 2 or 3 times at M1's place. While there was nobody to talk M1 and me sat and talked from things to the first time he arrived (without being seen off properly at home) in the city to find work to how efficient the Japanese are (he worked for a factory which was taken over by Yamaha). While we were talking Mum was busy trying to persuade my grandmother to come with us. She won't budge. She is almost 82 and over a period has grown quite weak. She also has trouble urinating and eating. Mum tells me that in her heydays she was a good looking tall young Punjabi broad. She had 7 children and when the last was born the eldest was young enough to look for a job. She herself hardly did any household work but left it to her daughters to do it. the eldest was married when my Mum was in 6th standard or something. I think about it in our context. Mine to be specific. We are 4 people in the household, each with his or her own physical and mental space. But we still fight whenever we are in the common room. My grandmother brought up 7 children in a 2 or 3 bedroom house and still their relationship with each other is cordial if not the best. They have their occasional fights and misunderstanding but the best part is whenever one is in need the others will not refuse to help or sometimes they even leave their work to offer help. But on the other hand there are even those who don't want to see each other's face. They avoid each other at social functions and don't even greet if they come across. A pity I'd say. The latest juggle was on none other than their mother. My grandmother has stayed in Jamshedpur all her life (since 1951 to be precise). She was married at the age of 13 to my grandfather. That was not the unusual age for marriage in those days. My grandfather, a little older than her, didn't have any stable job in Lahore, he was spiritually inclined though. He used to spend hours meditating at the Gurudwara and also learnt to play the Tabla. He regularly toured with the Kirtan band to other places of religious interest, until someone asked his father to withdraw him back into the "real" world least he becomes a saint. As a result, to keep him away from becoming a sanyasi, they married him off early. During the Indian partition of 1947, there were riots all around when he came to see off his wife and family at the Lahore railway station when somebody told him that the whole town has been set on fire and instead of returning home he better take the train with his wife and family too. Mum recalls that during her conversation with him, he often used to regret that… "I even left the main door open in a hurry" he would often say while recalling that night. All the jewelry and precious belongings were in the house. After partition he could never go back to Pakistan to see anything that was left over. He rather moved to the industrial town of Jamshedpur. The Tata's steel plant was always in a look out for labour. Being a Sikh (they have the reputation of being laborious and hard working and there is a huge Sikh population in the town) he got it easy. The company gave him, house and other perks. He worked there until his retirement in the mid-90’s. He also got his youngest son (lets call him M2) employed at the same company as the sons get easily employed if their fathers had been the company’s employee. He died in 1999 leaving behind his only possession- his wife. When he was alive, they would sit in the veranda for hours talking about things their sons and daughters would mock about. "Look they are still talking about that old stuff" they would say. I rarely sat with either of them, but when I did I was a curious soul asking about the times, the people and most importantly how my mum was I her childhood (so that I could retaliate whenever she points out my mistake and believe me I did get some pointers and I still tease her about them). I realized that in their own mind they had built-in libraries of the by-gone era. They often talked about the customs, the traditions and most importantly the facts, which perhaps no one knew apart from them. I would engage them for hours in a conversation and realized they have sooo much to talk about, you just have to be a good listener. Infact, they don't even need the occasional "hmmm" or superficial question to make them feel you are interested (which you HAVE to do with your girlfriend). Life for them was an incomplete journey, but I never heard them making a noise about it. They accepted it the way it was, no value judgements. Now that her husband is gone she feels lonely. The concept of a soul-mate hardly existed at that time. The woman was satisfied that she has a decent husband who can get her three meals a day. When he was alive they would talk for hours, these days hardly anybody has time or they are least interested to listen to her anarchic talks. But I’ve never heard her talk about Death. She can still eat a slab or two of Cadbury chocolate and is never hesitant to ask for help. She enthusiastically attends all wedding ceremony and social functions of the family, travels frequently by train and even goes out for walks. In an era where people talk about to have perished by the age of 60 (yes I know many) or better still don’t want to be old at all I salute her courage to be Alive, to be a Participant in the workings of the family. Only her two sons (M1 and M2) are engaged in rather bitter egoistic battle to throw her custody (not a legal one) on one another. She is stunned, bewildered but still not ready to give up. Long live my Grandmother and her spirit!

(From 2004)

Whoa!

Whoa! What a Daiiiii. I didn't sleep much last night and went on striaght to the bathroom this morning. I wasn't feeling sleepy. First I got an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from my French teacher to sit for the exams (I had thought attendance might be a problem, as always :( ). Anyhow, I sat in the Alliance's library for a while but later left to get my cell phone recharged to Khan Market. The mornings at Khan Market are GRRREAT! Most of the shops are closed (apart from the coffee shops) and the golden sunshine falling on the old buildings and tree leave makes you wonder if this is what people call a perfect morning. Everyone knows Khan Market is an up market place to shop, mostly catering to the rich and famous of Delhi (I saw Priyanka Gandhi today, the other days I’ve seen Rohit Bal, Farroq Abdullah and the list goes on...). But my association with the place goes way back into my psyche. I’ve know this place since childhood. In those days Khan Market meant a nice evening meal after a nice evening spent at India Gate or any closer locality of interest. But the most I remember of Khan Market is for this...
The Annual Day of our school used to be a grand affair. I have seldom performed at Annual Day of my school and even more seldom got any prize or award. Our Annual Day function was usually held in a place called Guru Nanak Auditorium at the Qutab Institutional area. It would usually end late in the night, say around 9 or 10. My family along with the family of another girl who used to study in the same school and used to live closely would go to the Bengali Sweets shop at Khan Market. The day used to be full of joy as I didn't had to study or do other mundane jobs. The four of us would arrive in my father's scooter (Long live the Vespa) with me crushed between Dad in front and Mom in the rear. The Annual Day was mostly held in the month of December and it used to be cold especially when driving down the leafy Lutyen's Delhi. Mom would often cover me with her shawl during our ride from the auditorium to the market. I would just open my eyes to the traffic at the swanky market. Having a Papri Chat or a plate of Gulab Jamuns after a nice treat of Masala Dosa was a perfect end to the perfect day. I never knew Khan Market for any other reason until college, when I would randomly stop by to grab a burger or wedges at the newly opened McDonalds. I would also come by while randomly wandering around the city (which I used to love to do) to look for stylish people and imported cars. I still go for the same reason (and some good bookstores too). But I hardly think of the Bengali Sweets Shop now. The memories, just like the shop, have been lost in time...The place today houses two showrooms of multinational sportswear brands.

Delhi's Italian topping

For the last few days Delhi is not reeling under cold but it's typically Delhi style winters... chilly, grey and foggy. For the last two days it was foggy and typically grey. Infact, many psychologists have sounded a red alert, for this kind of Delhi winter is the reason for depression for many people.
I like dark because I prefer the night rather than the day to write. I have no particular answer why it is so. But I feel that at night I think better, creatively and aesthetically. The mood also seems perfect, for in the day I am grumpy. Nights bring me calmness and I can think better when my mind is calm thought I admit that most of the ideas I get to write about things comes from two places. One, when I'm under the shower and second, when I’m driving. I see a similarity between the two activities. When I'm under a shower I'm doing something which more or less requires no use of an active mind. The water is flowing by itself, my hands are scratching the soup on their own and therefore the mind can concentrate on the essential part - Thinking. Same goes for driving. I have been driving for a while now and though any neglect or a lost-in-thought attitude can prove to be an accident, my reflexes now are trained enough to spot any untoward activity happening on my way to sound the alarm bell to my main CPU, while my sub-conscious is busy thinking about a topic. Though I admit that at times it has almost lead to small mishaps.
Ending that point, I want to mention a beautiful photograph I saw in the latest issue of the Outlook Magazine. It's included in an article on certain Gina Lollobrigida, an Italian screen icon of the 50’s, who made a documentary on Indira Gandhi when she was the Prime Minister. She said the Prime Minister used to live in a small house and Rajiv and Sonia had one room in which they were perfectly happy. The picture, it says was taken in the mid- 70's. There is Maneka on the left, but not seen fully seen and Rajiv Gandhi (a little out of the frame) on the right. Next to Rajiv is a gorgeous Sonia Gandhi, who looks like a 70's European model brought straight from a fashion show. She is wearing, what seems like a pair of trousers with a silky red shirt and a woolen over coat. Her hair is hanging loose up to her chest and part of them is in front while her eyes are fixed at Rajiv. She is standing with her hands one in another(see pictures below) with red nail polish clearly visible on her left thumb (so very typically Sonia), exactly the way she stand outside her 10, Janpath residence in front of the cameramen these days. Next to Sonia is Gina Lollobrigida standing with Indira. She is wearing a black Chinese styled dress with flowery print with several pearl necklaces. She has a short boyish haircut and her eyes quite look like an Italian Brigitte Bardot. Indira stands next to her in a brown Saree with a little smile. I'm mentioning this because of Sonia Gandhi. Since the time I’ve seen some of her old pictures from her book - Rajiv. I have developed a deep fascination for Sonia, especially before she joined politics. I like her for her Europeaness more than her Indianess though I think today she is more "Indian" is every sense of the word we assume Indian to be. I would love to see Gina's documentary, who is marrying a guy 34 years her junior (She is 79 now). Time goes by so fast...

And for those interested in reading the articles...here's the Link

Retailing and the French Wine

While going through the swanky Khan Market today, I saw this...

It's a retro style single CD player with cassette player, FM Radio with a USB port to play songs from USB device like a pen drive. Neat aye?
Anyways, I saw a documentary today called Mondovino. The documentary explores the effect of globalization on the wine industry. It had many tradition French wine makers complaining about the competition from other wine producing nation mainly the US and Australia. It also brought up the issue of Retailing in the wine industry these days.
Talking about retailing... It’s a retailing boom in India. I read Wal-Mart is coming to India in collaboration with Bharati (a big company mainly into the telecom business. It owns Airtel). Retailing is not new to India. But the industry is largely unexplored with most stores still opening up in small cities though their presence can be felt only in big cities. Big Bazaar is already a big name in retail stores. But Wal-Mart was still out of India (it mainly purchases but no retailing) not out of its own will but because of government regulations (a foreign retailer cannot set shop to sell more than one brand). There are other players, like Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries which is in the process of investing in retailing. The Tata Group is already present with its brand Westside.
For many years retailing stores are viewed with suspicion because it is viewed as a sign of western imperialism. The pictures of fat Americans buying goods in droves was typically associated with America's neo-colonialist policies and also, consumerism was (and still is) viewed with suspicion as a sign of wastage and over consumption. Again, when I say this its also true that this kind of economics has brought many goods, viewed as luxury until some years back, into the reach of middle class Indians. From shower gels to plasma television. Had it not been economics of mass consumption its prices could not have dropped as low as for the middle class to buy it. But the mall culture reminds me of the famous Shania Twain song Ka Ching

We live in a greedy little world that teaches every little boy and girl To earn as much as they can possibly then turn around and Spend it foolishly We've created us a credit card mess We spend the money we don't possess Our religion is to go and blow it all So it's shoppin' every Sunday at the mall All we ever want is more A lot more than we had before So take me to the nearest store Chorus: Can you hear it ring It makes you wanna sing It's such a beautiful thing Ka-ching!
Lots of diamond rings The happiness it brings You'll live like a king With lots of money and things When you're broke go and get a loan Take out another mortgage on your home Consolidate so you can afford To go and spend some more when you get bored All we ever want is more A lot more than we had before So take me to the nearest store ...Dig deeper in your pocket Oh, yeah, ha Come on I know you've got it Dig deeper in your wallet Oh All we ever want is more A lot more than we had before So take me to the nearest store Ka-ching!
No matter how many goodies consumerism has brought us I associate it with over consumption and as Shania Twain said with spending that money that we don't possess. It's about… more more more…about greedy…about…insatiability. For example... my mother brought a pair of foot wear from Trade Fair (a huge consumer items show held in New Delhi every year). While flaunting it to me I she was bragging about the fact that she got it for only 50 Rupees. Dad sitting nearby was upset to hear her bragging. After a few seconds I said "Mom that’s not the point...the point is...do you really NEED it?" Dad promptly jumped in enthusiasm and said "EXACTLY! THATS WHAT I'V BEEN TRYING TO TELL HER, THATS IT!". Mum looked at both of us obnoxiously and went off.

My point it’s with many of these "convenience" stores coming up that we have stopped to think about the difference between our needs and wants. Where we are supposed to buy one bottle of coke we are thrust upon with 3 bottles just because they sell the logic (and not the product) that 3 bottles cost lesser when calculating the prices of the bottles individually. Incase of perishable products this logic is even more harmful. Its pure psychological games they are playing. It reminds me of fat greedy wives hehe.
What Mondovino talks about is that stores like these sells everything in bulk, that’s their USP. It’s about mass consumption and not quality. A Bordeaux Wine producer who has been into this business since ages said that Wal-Mart doesn’t want to buy their wine (neither does he wants to sell it through Wal-Mart). The reason he says is.
A) Because Bordeaux wine takes much more time to ferment and the retailer seeing in bulk cannot wait that long for the wine to reach the store’s shelves.
B) It’s hard to make a Wal-Mart customer realize how a Bordeaux wine is better than those quick-to-ferment wines (mostly produced in Napa Valley, California).
C) Wine in French tradition is not only about taste or BRAND he said. It’s about tradition and also (…get this…) the family its associated with. The Anglo-Saxon, culture, he said, is about Brands French is not, it’s about tradition.

Well that’s funny but true. Ka-Ching

Quote: Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought

(OOPS: While trying to publish this bloggi, I encountered an error, I was afraid it will wipe out all my typing but thankfully it didn't, I suggest fellow blogger either keep saving it or better still copy the text to a Text editor before performing any task so that the content is not erased in an error)

Compulsive Blogger

I admit I'm becoming a compulsive blogger. I dedicate a few minutes to hours creating posts and looking at other blogs. I take pictures keeping in mind the blog entries I can make with them… Things aren’t very interesting at the moment apart from Saket being here for a few days. Herez one of his pictures... Saket works for a prominent newspaper and was here for a training session. The first morning I met him at the station and we went to the FIRC for a hot cuppa coffee. A good conversation on what I'm missing not being in Poona was followed by me and him going to his guest house in ChanakyaPuri, a posh New Delhi locality full of embassies and expats. Saket was given a beautiful room on the bungalow’s roof… with a lovely garden view and some colourful flowers. It cold and he didn’t had ne winter outfits so initially we decided to go to Sarojini Nagar but later we replaced it with a trip to old Delhi for a lunch at Karim’s. A few from roof of bungalow where Saket stayed...



Karim is not a hotel it’s a landmark. Being an average Delhite you might not even know it exists. Especially people from city’s suburb don’t like to visit this part of the town known for its visible Muslim population, crowded roads, stinky corner and well...Jama Masjid... here another picture of me and Saky posing outside the mosque I was denied entry to...saying it was prayer time.

Though time did not permit but we did go to see the Red Fort but were put off by the huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge line. So while Saky stood in the entrance line I stood at the ticket counter. While inside we talked about various things amongst them, the effect of Mugal invasions on 'Hindu' India. Saket said that in many cases when talking of art and architecture, the Mugals were much advanced than the indigenous people, to which my replied was that not only were the forts and palaces the Mugals built were built much later but also that Hindu art was as sophisticated during the Hindu Renaissance (but that was centuries ago). The Hindu renaissance period, by the time the Mugals came had vanished. That was one of the reasons why the Mugals established their superiority.
During its peak the Hindu empire (I know many would argue that there exists nothing like the Hindu empire.) but i refer Hindu empire to the time predominantly of the hay days of the empires (mostly ruled by Hindu rulers), which was the last millennium. The Hindu art flourished, it was an era of inventions, importance was given to education and there was an effort to build an egalitarian society. Women shared an equal status in the society and stress was given on rationality and sharing of knowledge. I have often believed that a civilization (or in these time a nation state) achieves its peak when it strives a perfect balance between spirituality and modernity. I'd like to expand a little more on this point. What I mean by the terms spirituality and modernity here is spirituality which makes us see beyond what is apparent and logical. It’s an inner consciousness by which we can judge our actions not based on logic but based on "rightness" and "wrongness". It’s mutually exclusive to logic. It’s closer to the concept of "Karma". The result of actions but not seen through the prism of logic, but through moral good or bad. Of course, when I say that I agree that it can be relative. Too much dependence on either of them will lead to a down fall. In today’s time I site the west as an apt example, in the past I site the Islamic and Hindu civilizations. The west reached its peak of glory when there was still some spirituality left, with the decline in the reach of spirituality and increased dependency on logic or reason, the civilizations started to loose its touch. I blame this fact in the fact that even today modern science (basically a fallout of advancement in physics in the eighteenth century) hasn't been able to explain everything through logic, though logic is always an ongoing process. Countries on the other hand, like India and China, were once the cradle of civilizations because of the existence of both spiritual and scientific knowledge and not because of cultural superiority, the moment they lost the delicate balance they lost their status. Later, it was the Islamic civilizations and subsequently the western civilizations. The reason for downfall of Indian and Chinese civilizations was the downfall of logic or rationality or scientific reasoning rather than spirituality in their societies; while on the other hand the reason for downfall of western civilization is the downfall of spirituality and dominance of logic (It also draws many of them to the east these days). I explain the phenomenon by drawing the example of Scandinavian societies, all of whom are viewed as "model societies" when viewed from Euro centric standards. Apparently, though these societies are ideal, many of them face serious social problems (suicide, alcoholism, psychological violence, etc. There is no law for the last even in these modal societies. In other words there is no psychological aspect to the prevailing laws. Anything which cannot be explained with logic has no provision for punishment in the eyes of the law. It is for this reason that I don't see these societies as a model for other "less developed" societies.
Pragmatically thinking if I hurt somebody physically on purpose I can be punished by the law but any attempt by me to hurt somebody psychologically will not be seen in the eyes of the law as a crime. In other words there is no way to measure "mental hurt". This is the reason why I do not feel the Eurocentric model to be an ideal way to measure things like prosperity. The model can only measure things that can actually be seen or felt by the five human senses. Anyting beyond the five senses is unknown to modern science but well-known to spirituality. The only way to gauge perceptions is through the five senses, but I view it as an absence of "humaity" in it. I’m a firm believer that there's more to humans, which modern science cannot explain. And this, I believe, is the reason why eastern perspectives MUST be incorporated in international organizations It will not only make them popular with the developing world but also the Developed world. But the sad fact is that many of the people who have the power to change things are so drenched in the philosophy of logic that it’s almost impossible for them to see the world in prospective beyond the western logic for many of the answers. It has been embedded in them so much so that even if they want to they cannot think beyond it, though a part of it is also to be blamed on the "system" we have created based solely on logic. The concept of a Corporation (also a movie) is only a tiny bit of it (of which I shall talk about later).

Amitava Kumar

I first came to know about Amitava Kumar when I was in third year of my college. The British Council organized a book reading session after the launched of his new book - Bombay London New York. I went to the British council’s reception to inquire about the programme. While I was trying to grab the receptionist's attention, a man with baggy cargos and red t-shirt walked in. The man walked up the reception and asked something to which the receptionist smiled while I stared standing at the other end. While the man was still at the reception, I got the guts to ask the receptionist as to where and when the book reading session will take place. The man smiled at the receptionist and she reciprocated, I could sense something... welll...fishy. At the reading session the same man tuned up to read the prose. During the discussion one of my questions to Amitava Kumar was if he started writing because it came to him as a way to vent his feeling during testing times (apparently, he's from Bihar, the state known for corruption, and started writing during his college days in University of Delhi, a similar fashion in which I was introduced to writing). To answer my question he nodded and went on to explain the reasons in detail. Apparently, Amitava is married to a woman of Pakistani decent amongst threats from both Hindu and Muslim right wings.
After the session I bought a copy of the book from the counter outside the hall and was waiting for Amitava to come out from a room adjacent to the main hall where he was talking a lady. I wanted to get the book signed (no I'm not using the word autographed). The moment I saw him I jumped to him with my copy and this is what he wrote on my copy of Bombay London New York... while he was still at it, I asked "How do you know I'm a writer?"... He gave me a conceit smile, moved the book towards (which I grabbed instantly) and went off....

Here's one of the article I found on his blog which I liked reading....

Mistaa Chappell

A lil' bit about that Chappell controversy. A person who initially started as a quality critical coach of the Indian Cricket Team is now just proving to a "Big mouth Ozzie jerk" for the Indian politicians. He reminds me of those lines from Samuel P. Huntington’s book "The Clash of Civilizations"... "...Australians, in contrast, are the most direct, blunt, outspoken, some would say insensative, people in the English speaking world."
While at it Mr. Chappell (I respect his professionalism) drew himself a bit too far though I'm a firm believer he's NOT wrong. But you see the Ozzies (Cricket team) already got a bad reputation for being "uncivilized" when they pushed around the Indian minister Sharad Pawar after wining the Champion's Trophy. Mr. Chappell is just cementing the stereotypes... as Mahatir Mohommed of Malaysia once said dismissing Australia's entry into ASEAN (quoted from the Clash of Civilizations)... " ...But Australia, being European, cultrually, feels that it has a right to tell others what to do, what not to do, what is right, what is wrong. And then, of course, it is not compatible with the group...It's not the colour of the skin, but the cultural".

People of Interest to me...

Amitava Kumar
Edwina Mountbatten

Also, a "cute" video of how Indian IT geeks (apparently) like to party (Caution: contains nudity) hehe...

End of liberal Europe

I wonder if the grab of multiculturalism Europe has been living under since the 60’s is being unmasked today, more and more governments while reiterating they are multi-cultural are banning symbols of religion primarily aimed at suppressing the freedom of other religions viewed as ‘barbarian’ to Europe, Islam being targeted the most. Everybody knows the Christian cross these days is more of a fashion accessory rather than a show of faith in the religion (and at times a way to show rebellion against the state). So the moment the government makes it unlawful, it will also becomes untrendy. There for most it doesn’t matter. I sometimes I wonder if the real face of Europe is being exposed (I’m talking of politics of pseudo-secularism and not the people in general). At a time when the policy of multiculturalism was introduced in Europe in the 60’s I believe it was thrust upon a society which saw it a way to show its liberalism to distant itself from suppressive ideologies of fascism and Nazism. But I always suspected if that came as a reaction to the prevailing situation at that time in Europe or for those it really reflect what European values stand for? My answer is coming in bits and pieces. First France, then Britain and now the Dutch. The multicultural mask seems to be coming off. The directive clearly seems to be directed at discouraging more immigration (also brewing anger by those liberal Muslims who have successfully embarrassed western liberalism after coming to Europe).
During a conversation with a right wing trader from Poona on my way from Delhi to Bombay we started discussing on religion and Indian nationhood. He said “we Indians always have had a very compatible approach to immigrants. Foreigners have invaded us again and again looting out money, strength, resources while raping our daughters and sister… but we have never been aggressive, our approach has always been ‘you-can-come-and-live-in-our-neighborhood-we don’t-have-any-problem-till-the–time- you-don’t-interfere-in-our-affairs’”. His ideology never appealed to me (apparently he justified the Gujarat pogrom), his word did. Indians hardly call themselves multicultural, even the liberal Hindus are not inhibited to voice out their disapproval of their kins marrying Muslims and in proclaiming their differences with them. It a pragmatic approach rather than being pseudo-secular. It always leads to a situation that Europe is facing today. Multi-cultural face on the outside and xenophobic on the inside. It’s a realitya that Europe must come to term with, today or tomorrow, by hook or by crook, the immigrants (Muslims are the ones they are worried about the most) are now an inseparable part of modern day Europe. If they stop working the European industry will come to a standstill. It’s a typical clash of civilization theory coming to reality. You have an option you either deny its existence or accept it’s a reality and make provision that the clash doesn’t go out of hand. As they say its better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not.

A wonderful adver I found on Youtube.com, enjoiiii....

(Hint: Pause at the 11th second)

Fooony pics and Serious links

Some fooony pictures I found on the net...

"Love" (No wonder I think that PDA doesn't really mean love)

And some link on....

Judiasm in Iran

And the Sami people of Scandanavia

Of Hibernations, Orchestras and the ISFs

I’m in a state of denial for a few days. It’s similar to how a polar bear hibernates to his cocoon for a period of days. I rather talk less to people, or don’t talk at all. It’s like a period of self evaluation or introspection. I wake up I eat I work I read and then again go to sleep. The same things, just less of socializing. After a few days I’ll be back to normal but it rather leaves people around me bewildered as to why I’m doing it and its hard to explain. It’s not rude but it’s just that I have nothing to say. It’s nothing just a phase. My only concern is I don’t leave a bad impression on people I care for especially the family.

A plane just passed by my house, its rather unusual coz my house is in the eastern part of the town and the airport’s on the west and no plane usually goes through this part (partially coz if it comes here, it has to pass the central Delhi region which is a no fly zone). It reminds me of my old house… of late night star gazing, a folded bed in the balcony while me and my sister lie down to look up to the stars and spot a plane occasionally. It was wonderful; my house was a typical government house. No fancy floor but a simple cemented one. We lived there for more than 10 years so at times the floor would break. My father or mother would bring in some cement to fill up the gaps or holes. At times I would dig in my finger or feet to make the pit larger, to see what is underneath the grainy orange sand which comes out after the upper layer of cement is gone. I could never reach the iron rods…
While sitting in my chair comfortably I’m thinking of the hundreds who were on the roads a few days back. Shouting slogans they parading dogs which say “I’m Sheila Dikshit” and blocking roads to all major parts of Delhi. A few days back all major roads to my house were blocked too. The next day they brought in enough security forces to make sure none can confront them. I genuinely feel the problem to be created artificially. Most of these are trader or shopkeepers who migrated from neighbouring states (mainly Haryana and Punjab) to Delhi in search of a better life. They settled wherever they could. The government had no plans for their rehabilitation. Therefore most of the places they stay in are unplanned, have narrow roads, the house are small plot with no sunlight and there’s hardly any space to park their vehicles now. When they were build in the late 70’s it was unthinkable for these people to buy a car, they have dozens now. But now in a matter of days they are rendered homeless. Is such loot and plunder justified for a 10 day event? Guess not but the government has its eyes firm not only on the 10 day Commonwealth Games but the success of the games would also mean the opening of gates for a successful bid for future Olympic Games.

Past and future venues of Commonwealth Games
(Copyright - Wikipedia)

Italian Orchestra
The other day I went to a performance by a band playing Italian orchestra. The picture is hazy but the performance was fabulous though I felt a bit out o place. I had work(where I couldn’t have gone in formals) so I arrived in a kurta and jeans while most of the people were in European formals. The venue Purana Quila is a fabulous place and I plan to go see the fort (which I’ve never seen in my 23 years of existence in Delhi) more often now.

Indian Social Forum
I went to the Indian Social Forum on the first day, and I have to say I was greatly disappointed. It was like a ‘mela’ rather than a mature bunch of people trying to bring in a sustainable change (rather than trying to change the whole system by protests and marches). The protesters came in droves loaded vans and trucks often disrupting the traffic behind (something I’m really against). Banners and shouting did the rounds while they reached the entrance of the grounds at the Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium. The ground was all muddy and dust was all over the place. There was a giant stage with colourful background and a band “trying” to sing ….something. Later it was disrupted coz of some defect in the equipment (thank god, so many tribals were saved the torture). I went around to see the stalls (it was typically trade fair type), many were selling or were starting to sell agro products or some just their ideology. While I was taking picture I again came across with a look a like of Sara Pilot ( I had seen her earlier at the entrance), she was tall, very slim but classy as hell. I went to take some pictures and look a at the crowd, most of which were tribals or people brought in from the rural areas unable to understand English or even why they were there. They just sat wherever they could in groups. I was done and decided to leave to come back some other day (it was a 4 day event). Just when I was about to leave a lame female voice came on the microphone and asked for attention, she went on to say this…”The front seats are reserved for V.I.P.s, foreigners and media person’s, all people sitting in the front(most of the tribals and protesters) are requested to move back to the back benches, thank you”. I thought to my self, “wasn’t this forum about promoting equalities?” I never went back….

Bangalooru??? WTF

I woke up in the morning (after a holiday in Patiala and Chandigarh) to learn that the so called Indian nationalists or “the true sons of the soil” have no limits when it comes to stupidity. The name Bangalore has been changed to Bangalooru. I knew that it was in the pipeline but the fact that a state like Karnataka will do it wasn’t a very pleasant thing to hear. Karnataka is more or less the signature state for Indian's technology industry and that it has moved on from the typical “snake charmer” image. It houses India’s Silicon Valley- Bangalore.

I’m not against it coz its not trendy to flash Indian names but for a simple reason that it doesn’t serve any purpose than political implications only for the politicians. Bangalore today is the best case of political apathy towards development and depleting infrastructure. A day of rain and the roads are chocked. The CM must have a better agenda on this mind than changing the name of the city to the more Kanada sounding Bangalooru? How will it make a difference to the roads, water and electricity situation in the city? Will it solve the problem of increased traffic jam during the peak hours in the city? Will it attract more people to invest in infrastructure in the city? Will it generate employment? The answer to the best of my knowledge is NO.
There have been instances in the past of similar fashion…Bombay being changed to Marathi sounding Mumbai, Calcutta being changed to Bengali sounding Kotkatta and Madras being changed to Tamil sounding Chennai. But one has to ask, what changes did that make on the ground? Bombay has gone bad to worst. Calcutta is in news not because if development but the investment atmosphere. So what does one achieve by it?
To me its nothing but aging of a repressed child who has grown up only in numbers and not from the mind. A sign of showing rebellion against colonial repression and fooling the public into thinking that “we have achieved it on our own”. The fact of the matter is that Bangalore just like Calcutta(coz of the elite English speaking Bengali intellectuals) and Madras(the first state to officially turn down Nehru’s programme to implement Hindi as a national language) has earned their reputation from the very symbol they are pretending to oppose today- ENGLISH. Bangalore will be a ghost city without the number of back office industry it houses. It thrives on the very core business its opposing (all done in English). The people who actually do it see these things as a way to divert public attention from the real issues of corruption (the CM’s son was recently caught fighting with a cinema hall’s staff). I just wish my city never gets this bug no matter how many so called “sons of the soil” make an attempt.

You know you are a Delhiite when...

You know you're a Delhiite when...

1. You don't want to admit that you were actually born in Meerut.
2. Only Black Label or Jack Daniel will do at your teenage son's B'day.
3. You don't dare serve anything other than Blue Label at your own do.
4. Your secretary has a better mobile than your counterpart in Chennai.
5. You try botox because there's a trail sale on at the local Kaya clinic.
6. You order Diet Coke with butter chicken for a "light" lunch.
7. Your monthly liquor bill exceeds your declared income.
8. You've visited Sakura twice and now you're an expert on Japanese food.
9. You gush about Masala Art but your heart lies with Moti Mahal.
10. You ask the fruit seller down the road to get you only organic fruits.
11. You go to Bangkok for an office offsite and organise a Sardar DJ.
12. You don't know whether your office will be open or sealed tomorrow.
13. Your party list has a politician, bureaucrat or DCP, in that order.
14. You have a sarson da saag lunch party catered by Maurya to declare winter.
15. You jump up to dance whenever your disc plays Punjabi songs.
16. You can boast of atleast two relatives or contacts in every major ministry.
17. An astrologer, numerologist and tarot card reader are on your speed dail.
18. You prefer to massage chocolate all over your body rather than eat it.
19. You think VFM is the name of the nwest mall in town.
20. Your black Toyota Camry has bullet proof windows.
21. You drive to the neighbourhood park for your morning walk.
22. You're at a fab party and all the good looking young men around you are gay(??? Hell nooooo)

(From India Today magazine, originally published in the Oct 9 2006 issue)

Unsual for this part of the year

They say the temperature today is 17 deg celcius, 5 deg lower than the normal. It's rather unsual for the air to be this chilly at this time of the year. While driving today I could feel the "Delhi ki Sardi" effect. It was "Cold". And its unlike Poona's cold where its cold but not cold as in winters, especially not at all like Delhi's winters. I miss it but for some reason I'm not sad to be back in Delhi. I see a future, I see myself growing here in all aspects as I deem a person should. I don't feel to have lost anything in transition.
Two occassions bumper to bumper rather leaves you with a tired feeling, but... I'm not tired. It was sister's B'day and after a long time we had a get together. Had friends and relatives over with some chilled Dew and amazing Daal Makhni. I can't even tell how many people were congratulating my cousin Rupa on that amazing Daal she made. Not to mention the Dahi Wadas. But the best part were the chinese "magic" candles, me and Aunt accidentally bought, that refuse to doze off after repeated attempts to extinguish them.

It's office time tomorrow and also the french classes (of which I'v already missed a lot). I'll be working on the pages tomorrow as it's in the final stages of desiging. I'm glad I'm getting to learn both reporting and page designing (which wouldn't have been the case had I hadworked in a large setting).

Diwali went off well though I didn't had the energy nor the enthu to burst any crackers at all (I'm sure somebody's already doing my part). My bed in full of gifts we recieved for Diwali, from the family size Kurkure pack to the dinner set, Diwali (atleast once a year) makes us feel and we have so many acquaintances (even though many are temporary).

Many don't even know the significance of Diwali for Sikhs. Its not only the day to commemorate the lying of the foundation stone of Golden Temple Gurudwara but is also celebrated to celebrate the release of the Sixth Guru of the Sikhs Guru Hargobind Singh. On this day (according to the Hindu or Nanakshahi Calander I guess) the Guru was released from the clutches of Mughals Emperor Jehangir. Therefore, a traditional Diwali day for Sikhs consists of going to the Gurudwara (usually in the evening, putting some candle at the Gurudwara and to put the remaining ones at your home) distributing sweets and gifts to the neighbour followed by crackers (or in my case some music and sleep, which im also going to do right now). Off goes my arse to bed.

Delhi Ki Sardi

It's here. No I don't have dengue ( i can hardly spell it even though it's all around in Delhi). It's the winter. Today while travelling back from the ridge to chankyapuri I could feel it and I also missed my gray jacket (Oh! it protected me and turban from Poona rains). So its here but only the windcheater can do for the moment, a thick jacket is not required.
Delhi's winters are no ordinary winters. I have heard even people from colder countires whining about (I hope Anne never reads this) how Delhi's winter "gets inside their skin like needles." The steets especially in the suburbs are deserted by 8 and there is less traffic on the roads. But it makes for a perfect drive in the night. In summers its still lively and people on roads even at 1 in the night, not so in winters.

I didn't even switch on the fan today when i came back home and the floor also seems cooler without the slippers. So I guess from now on its the winter knocking. I love traveling through the ridge though in winters it will be deserted. Its diwali time tomorrow and I need to distribute gifts before going to the office (yes im working half day tomorrow). So its bye bye time guys.

Feminism Machismo and the Victim Culture

See this picture, not that one didn't know it but to appear on the cover page of Time of India is phenomenal. It a sign of inequalities not only economical but others too. But aren't we all fighting in this modern world to eliminate or atleast decrease inequalities? At times looking from a psychological prospective I feel we are not only creating a bigger wedge between the have and the have not we are also dividing those sitting on the fence.

More and more are we building a world where one has to be opinionated and if someone is not, he is dumb or is out of an intellectual conversation. The media encourages us to "Be someone". Being "normal", "ordinary" or "common" is not cool neither in fashion. So then what kind of egalitarian world are we talking about when everybody is encouraged to be "different" and a just-a-face-in-the-crowd personality is not attractive anymore? I call it the death of the ordinary.

Some Screen Shots from Everybody's Fool by Evanescence...

The video harps on the same issue- a world where everybody has to be somebody. So noone should be ordinary. Infact one of the scenes also depicts the "use" of women for glamorous purposes, how they are used as showthings in the name of fashion.

The other day I went to vasant vihar to see a bunch of people from a group called Black Noise (the name gives me bouts of depression), the group claims to confront eve-teasing with some out of the box ideas(one of which is this ), its a letter they hand over to many of the people using the South Extn. subway in Delhi. Umm good idea I'd say. If I look at this act from a very conservative prospective I'd rather end up ask the girls the same questions as many fathers or brother would -Why did you had to go to such a crowded place at first place? But hey I'll refrain, thinking that I'll be called a chauvinist pig. Ideally if I talk to my parents that im being mistreated at a place they'll advise me not to go there. It's a very typical Indian approach, "don't like it? Lump it". But this generation is not as passive as my parents I guess. I heard Suketu Mehta (yeah the Gujju dork who wrote Maximum City) say this as a reply to Naomi Wolf's lecture on feminism at the India Today Conclave and I reproduce parts from his speech "We can't look to our fathers for guides to how we interact with women today. We're not sole providers anymore; it's equally likely that a woman will put food on the table, and expect her man to chop and cook it. We're expected to have an equal share in parenting, but the courts are stacked against men in most custody disputes". And I cannot agree more, this generation is not brought up with the same values as was my mother's generation, this generation has picked up lessons as much from the "K" soaps (they really don't have any lessons to begin with apart from some frustrated soccor moms indulging in cheap tricks for cheap thrills) as from Sex and the City. He goes on to say "What's happening in India today is not the same thing as what happened in America in the '60's and '70s. Indian men and women don't have to follow the American example. We don't have to be that polarized; we don't have to be power feminists or machistas. We have our own understanding of each other, which is complex and subtle, and time-tested." Again, I cannot stop nodding. The relationship Indian men share with Indian men is not the same as western men share with western women. Therefore forcing western feminism (there is even difference between forms of feminism in America) cannot only be judged as a foolish acts by some frustrated Indian women who are virtually talking male bashing and not feminism per say. By propagating women as "different" from men (and therefore needs to maintain a different path) what are we doing? Are we creating equality or are we just wedging them further? Same goes with the OBCs and Muslims ( I know I shouldn't mix them). So by recognizing that OBCs are (or were) suppressed and underprivileged and therefore needs different treatment in the hands of law aren't we isolating them from the "others". It also creates a feeling of frustration amongs those who are not given the same treatment just coz they don't fall into that catagory by virtue of their birth. In all the three cases Feminism, OBCs and Muslims we see that whoever falls in this category is isolated by the others, so though they get the velvet treatment in many places but they are ghettoized in the main stream (Muslims and OBCs being great examples) as the others see them gaining advantage not on the basis of individual merit but on the basis of collective demerit (religious minority in case of Muslims, people of backward class in case of OBCs). So is this not also part of the Victim Culture? One of the best answer to this question of mine also come from the same speech Suketu Mehta delivered.

Here's a beautiful paragraph he read on why many Indian marriages work inspite of being judged "unequal" by many western minds and I'd like to reproduce it...

"There's a radical difference, of course, between urban Indian women and women in the villages, who are in much more solidly defined sex roles. But we can't just look at the Indian village as a province of superstition, discrimination, and illiteracy. This is the culture that has sustained the world's oldest continuing civilization; there must be something of real value, to both women and men, for it to have lasted so long. I am thinking now of the marriage of my grandparents and parents, both 'arranged' marriages. They are among the happiest marriages I have ever seen, although not quite 'equal' in the western sense. My grandfather ran his jewelry business on the first floor of an old Calcutta building, and my grandmother stayed home on the third floor and cooked and raised six children. As was the custom, not once, in their lifetime, did they say out loud each others' names, but they had no problems talking to each other; shouting, whispering, cajoling, threatening, pleading, singing. They never needed to step out of their roles; they never felt any need to stop becoming man and woman. My grandmother loved my grandfather not in spite, but *because* he was a man, and she liked taking care of him. She knew what he wanted to eat before he even realized he was hungry for it. And my grandfather always loved the pretty girl in my grandmother, the girl he got betrothed to when she was thirteen. Her beauty was no myth for him; he was exalted by it every day. When my grandmother passed away, in her eighties, my grandfather had no more wish to remain on earth. "Your Ba is waiting for me," he kept saying, and followed her in under a year of her passing."

I love him saying this not coz I'm Indian and therefore resolute in liking it but coz it some how spills the beans of any firm relationship, that the best of relationships are perhaps not equal, the master need to have a slave, a husband needs to have a wife (no I'm not comparing a wife to a slave).

Today was a torturous Thursday and I feel I'm almost suffering from TB. The cough has not gone for almost a month (did I tell you I drink a lot of chilled water? hehe). The mag is also in its final stages so this time I might get to do some desktop publishing job as well which is good. I become the jack of all the trades. I still need to conduct atleast one interview for principal speak and a feature on Austraaalian Education ( the lady at IDP never returns the call). Its almost 2 (yeah am doode) and me must get me arse to bed.