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.