My teacher at the CIEFL (now called EFLU) once related this interesting anecdote. He told his daughter, aged 9, a story of a poor family. The poor family did not have a proper shelter (a leaky roof), they had no decent clothes, and they had very little to eat. And so the story went. Later that evening, he was amused to hear this daughter of 9 tell the story of the poor family to her younger sibling (aged 6). “Once upon a time, there was a poor family: they were so poor that they didn’t have a television or a fridge; they didn’t even have good shoes.”
The story illustrates the essence of what we are going to discuss in this blog – how do you define ‘rich’ and ‘poor’. In ‘advanced’ countries, poor people live in stinky tenements. In India, poor people live on pavements and under flyovers. In advanced countries, poor children go to government schools that don’t have decent playgrounds. In India they clean coffee tables and tea cups. Some children die of malnutrition before they even mature into child labor.
The point is that capitalism encourages the disparity between the rich and the poor. It may turn out that the poor people of a later generation may enjoy overseas vacations like the rich do today. But by then, the rich would be traveling to Mars and Venus. The poor may get to live to be 70, but the rich would be young as ever at 100+ The disparity is inherent in a capitalist system.
Mr Narayana Murthy of the Infosys fame talks about making India a better place, making the world a better place. He says he wants to do it by creating jobs with disposable income. The whole problem started with disposable incomes, as Marxists would argue: those who had disposable incomes ‘bought’ the labor of those who were living hand to mouth. In due season, with the additional labor as capital, the early capitalists gained a huge surplus of property. It is pointless to argue with Mr Narayana Murthy and the likes who glibly talk of Weber and Frantz Fanon (Strange that Mr Murthy should be talking about black skin and white masks: he is so unsure of his appeal and it is people like him who try to put on a white mask.) in the same breath (with Mohandas Gandhi uncomfortably sandwiched in the middle – or in the muddle).
Those who talk of the evils of communism wax eloquent on the dangers that are inherent in a totalitarian system; at from being a benevolent dictatorship – it could degenerate into a malevolent dictatorship any time. There are also those who argue that any kind of dictatorship is abhorrent in and by itself – even if it is benevolent. Let us concede that point. But then, compassionate capitalism – a term I heard first in Mr Murthy’s book, is equally a contradiction in terms. The first capitalist, who had disposable income, simply did not share it with his neighbor who was living hand to mouth: he (more likely than she) ‘bought’ the neighbor’s labor with that extra income he saved up (hail the protestant ethic) and built his estate!
Now the real problem with capitalism – as we all now know – is that it has degenerated into crony capitalism. Not that it will, it has, all over the world…
“In its lightest form, crony capitalism consists of collusion among market players. While perhaps lightly competing against each other, they will present a unified front to the government in requesting subsidies or aid (sometimes called a trade association or industry trade group). Newcomers to a market may find it difficult to find loans or acquire shelf space to sell their product; in technological fields, they may be accused of infringing on patents that the established competitors never invoke against each other. Distribution networks will refuse to aid the entrant. That said, there will still be competitors who "crack" the system when the legal barriers are light, especially where the old guard has become inefficient and is failing to meet the needs of the market. Of course, some of these upstarts may then join with the established networks to help deter any other new competitors. Examples of this have been argued to include the keiretsu of post-war Japan, the print media in India, the chaebol of South Korea, and the powerful families who control much of the investment in Latin America.”[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism]
Another example of crony capitalism is the 2G scam in India. So much newsprint has been wasted on this topic already that I see no point in wasting any more here. In India too, an established soft drink – Thumsup – could not find ‘shelf’ space in shops when Coca Cola bought over Parle drink. After trying to kill the brand for more than a decade, Coca Cola had to drop the idea and allow Thumsup space under the Indian sun. But then, India is not an out and out capitalist society, much as Mr Murthy would and his ilk would like to make it.
Thumbs up to mixed economy.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Mossad and RSS; Earworms; “And…” Linguistic Gaps
First let us talk about the alleged connection between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Mossad. Digvijay Singh of the Congress (former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh) said that the RSS colluded with Mossad of Israel in many terror attacks including the one at Macca masjid in Hyderabad, Ajmer dargah, and the Samjhauta express. Digvijay Singh went on to implicate the CIA (of U.S.) for good measure.
I am surprised that the Israel government hasn’t responded strongly to that because Mossad is a government body. Mossad is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security), but its director reports directly to the Prime Minister. As such, if the Mossad is implicated by a responsible person (Diggy is somebody in the Congress party – although I am not sure what exactly his position is) from India, one would expect an official protest from Israel. I haven’t seen any such in the papers: if I missed out something of that sort – I would be glad if you mail me (sankarar@gmail.com).
“And” the loser is…
On television these days, actually for quite some time, we hear ‘and’ a lot. First it was the Mumbai girls who pervade Tollywood (a word I hate), who would punctuate their broken Telugu with ‘and’. They can be excused because they probably don’t know that there exist, at least two words in Telugu for ‘and’: “inka” and “mariyu”.
There are some words for which there are no equivalent Telugu words: maybe scholars would know the Telugu words, but not commoners. Maybe lexicographers can create new words: it is really the job of the Telugu academy and the Official Language Commission to build the Telugu corpus. Be that as it may, words like ‘self-consciousness’, ‘psychotherapy’ and ‘extinction’ can pose difficulties for common speakers of Telugu, so one takes recourse to the use of English words while speaking Telugu.
But professionals – anchors and interviewers on television – have taken a cue from the Bombaybes of Tollywood (a word I hate) and started saying ‘and’ in their Telugu speech.
“And” the loser is – the Telugu language!
Seen in the papers
Two people fell from an MMTS train, and died. Can there be anything more tragic than that? “It’s their own fault,” Milo, the Mayor, Minderbender (Catch 22) would say. I will write about that book another day. It’s a promise.
But the question is not whose fault it is: as Marx said, the important thing is, to change the situation.
Another item that caught my eye was about a youth who got drunk with some friends, and went to see another friend and got drunk some more and finally ended up at another friend’s place and got drunk more and more. He died in drunken stupor: may his soul rest in peace.
A photograph published in the papers captures the telecom revolution that is hyped up so much these days. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and telecom minister Kapil Sibal are seen talking to each other – over cell phones.
That reminds me of an old joke: someone is talking very loudly on the phone. The guy in the next room sends his secretary to find out why this guy is yelling. The secretary goes back and reports that the guy is talking to London (from let us say, New York). The boss says: “Tell him to use the telephone”.
Cell phones have changed the very nature of communication: for the better? Or for the worse? is debatable.
Needs, comforts, and luxuries
One kilo onions, one liter petrol, and one bottle of beer – all cost Rs 65/- How’s that for irony! Of course one kilo onions would last (per person) for one month; a liter of petrol would last a day; and a bottle of beer would last until the next visit to the loo.
Have you heard of earworms?
Earworms is a new word in the dictionary – it means a song or tune that keeps ringing in your ears for days on end. The one buzzing in my head right now is:
Chiluka kshemama – Kuluka kushalama
This is one of those untranslatable lines; contact your nearest Telugu speaker for a liberal interpretation.
I am surprised that the Israel government hasn’t responded strongly to that because Mossad is a government body. Mossad is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security), but its director reports directly to the Prime Minister. As such, if the Mossad is implicated by a responsible person (Diggy is somebody in the Congress party – although I am not sure what exactly his position is) from India, one would expect an official protest from Israel. I haven’t seen any such in the papers: if I missed out something of that sort – I would be glad if you mail me (sankarar@gmail.com).
“And” the loser is…
On television these days, actually for quite some time, we hear ‘and’ a lot. First it was the Mumbai girls who pervade Tollywood (a word I hate), who would punctuate their broken Telugu with ‘and’. They can be excused because they probably don’t know that there exist, at least two words in Telugu for ‘and’: “inka” and “mariyu”.
There are some words for which there are no equivalent Telugu words: maybe scholars would know the Telugu words, but not commoners. Maybe lexicographers can create new words: it is really the job of the Telugu academy and the Official Language Commission to build the Telugu corpus. Be that as it may, words like ‘self-consciousness’, ‘psychotherapy’ and ‘extinction’ can pose difficulties for common speakers of Telugu, so one takes recourse to the use of English words while speaking Telugu.
But professionals – anchors and interviewers on television – have taken a cue from the Bombaybes of Tollywood (a word I hate) and started saying ‘and’ in their Telugu speech.
“And” the loser is – the Telugu language!
Seen in the papers
Two people fell from an MMTS train, and died. Can there be anything more tragic than that? “It’s their own fault,” Milo, the Mayor, Minderbender (Catch 22) would say. I will write about that book another day. It’s a promise.
But the question is not whose fault it is: as Marx said, the important thing is, to change the situation.
Another item that caught my eye was about a youth who got drunk with some friends, and went to see another friend and got drunk some more and finally ended up at another friend’s place and got drunk more and more. He died in drunken stupor: may his soul rest in peace.
A photograph published in the papers captures the telecom revolution that is hyped up so much these days. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and telecom minister Kapil Sibal are seen talking to each other – over cell phones.
That reminds me of an old joke: someone is talking very loudly on the phone. The guy in the next room sends his secretary to find out why this guy is yelling. The secretary goes back and reports that the guy is talking to London (from let us say, New York). The boss says: “Tell him to use the telephone”.
Cell phones have changed the very nature of communication: for the better? Or for the worse? is debatable.
Needs, comforts, and luxuries
One kilo onions, one liter petrol, and one bottle of beer – all cost Rs 65/- How’s that for irony! Of course one kilo onions would last (per person) for one month; a liter of petrol would last a day; and a bottle of beer would last until the next visit to the loo.
Have you heard of earworms?
Earworms is a new word in the dictionary – it means a song or tune that keeps ringing in your ears for days on end. The one buzzing in my head right now is:
Chiluka kshemama – Kuluka kushalama
This is one of those untranslatable lines; contact your nearest Telugu speaker for a liberal interpretation.
Sex And The City; Long Live APCO…
I was in Helsinki, Finland for almost a year; I was introduced to a cocktail called ‘villevalatone’, which I was told was the local name for the cocktail called Cosmopolitan – popularized by the teleseries Sex and the City. It is a good-looking drink and it tasted good too. But I go for the ‘kick’ I get out of my drinks, not so much for the taste and flavor.
I was reminded of villevalatone on seeing a series of exposes of sex rackets in the city. From call girls who charge from 5k to 15k down to those available for less than a thousand bucks. I think the government should issue licenses to sex workers and collect tax, if they feel like it – and let commercial sex thrive, in the city and the country. Other countries where sex is legalized are doing fine – for example Singapore and the Netherlands. I see no reason for the government to clamp down on so-called sex rackets. Illegal sex is the creation of the government and its dilapidated laws: it is time to change them.
Once commercial sex is legalized, there will be no more illegal sex.
Long ago, when I was editing management reports at Tata Consultancy Services in Delhi (Gurgaon, to be exact), I was looking at a report prepared for the ministry of textiles; the main (and only) message of that report was that handlooms have a unique advantage over machine made fabrics: there are only a hundred samples of a particular design and fabric. The report exhorted the government to seize the opportunity and promote the uniqueness, rather than set the handloom trade in competition with machine-made fabrics.
When I told the guy who prepared the report that there is a lot of repetition of this message in the report, that he was overdoing it, he laughed and said: “I am glad you said this. There is no overdoing. This is the only message I want to send across to the powers that be in the ministry. Thank you.
Recently, Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) went to an APCO showroom and purchased clothes from there. He is a frugal man. He sure must have liked the price tags at APCO. Let me digress.
The Chiran Palace park, now called KBR park, was once free for all. Some ten years ago, they started charging 5 or 10 rupees from people who wanted to walk in the park. ANR, being the frugal person that he is, stopped going there, according to his cousin – the late Akkineni Vekataratnam – because of the entrance fee. He (ANR) told the folks around him that he would rather walk four rounds around his house for his morning walk, than pay Rs 10/- as entrance fee at KBR park.
We need more folks like ANR around us, who know the value of money.
Government support for handloom workers
A month ago, the AP state government declared that they will give the contract for supplying school uniforms for Gurukul (residential) students across the states. Some big garment manufacturers tried to hijack the deal: now, it appears, APCO will handle only half the business. That is sad. The government should rethink and give the entire project to APCO: but, who is listening? The multinational sons of bachelors are grabbing everything they can – will they let the handloom industry alone? I doubt it.
Dara Singh of the Steins affair
The Supreme Court condemned Dara Singh for the murder of Graham Steins and his family in Odisha in 1999. The court, in its wisdom, refused to sentence him to death. Well, the highest court in the country knows what it is doing: I am glad that at least after 11 years, some kind of justice is meted out…
Soap advertisements, old and new
I cannot write on this topic without mentioning names; I need clearance from my editor. But suffice it to say that an ITC soap has a cool ad, which shows the difference between old and new films; old and new ads. Oh hell, I am talking about the Vivel ad. It is well made.
Bottomline beat – Agar Tum Mil Jao…
Agar tum mil jao, zamana chod denge hum
[If I get you, I will give up the world...]
I was reminded of villevalatone on seeing a series of exposes of sex rackets in the city. From call girls who charge from 5k to 15k down to those available for less than a thousand bucks. I think the government should issue licenses to sex workers and collect tax, if they feel like it – and let commercial sex thrive, in the city and the country. Other countries where sex is legalized are doing fine – for example Singapore and the Netherlands. I see no reason for the government to clamp down on so-called sex rackets. Illegal sex is the creation of the government and its dilapidated laws: it is time to change them.
Once commercial sex is legalized, there will be no more illegal sex.
Long ago, when I was editing management reports at Tata Consultancy Services in Delhi (Gurgaon, to be exact), I was looking at a report prepared for the ministry of textiles; the main (and only) message of that report was that handlooms have a unique advantage over machine made fabrics: there are only a hundred samples of a particular design and fabric. The report exhorted the government to seize the opportunity and promote the uniqueness, rather than set the handloom trade in competition with machine-made fabrics.
When I told the guy who prepared the report that there is a lot of repetition of this message in the report, that he was overdoing it, he laughed and said: “I am glad you said this. There is no overdoing. This is the only message I want to send across to the powers that be in the ministry. Thank you.
Recently, Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) went to an APCO showroom and purchased clothes from there. He is a frugal man. He sure must have liked the price tags at APCO. Let me digress.
The Chiran Palace park, now called KBR park, was once free for all. Some ten years ago, they started charging 5 or 10 rupees from people who wanted to walk in the park. ANR, being the frugal person that he is, stopped going there, according to his cousin – the late Akkineni Vekataratnam – because of the entrance fee. He (ANR) told the folks around him that he would rather walk four rounds around his house for his morning walk, than pay Rs 10/- as entrance fee at KBR park.
We need more folks like ANR around us, who know the value of money.
Government support for handloom workers
A month ago, the AP state government declared that they will give the contract for supplying school uniforms for Gurukul (residential) students across the states. Some big garment manufacturers tried to hijack the deal: now, it appears, APCO will handle only half the business. That is sad. The government should rethink and give the entire project to APCO: but, who is listening? The multinational sons of bachelors are grabbing everything they can – will they let the handloom industry alone? I doubt it.
Dara Singh of the Steins affair
The Supreme Court condemned Dara Singh for the murder of Graham Steins and his family in Odisha in 1999. The court, in its wisdom, refused to sentence him to death. Well, the highest court in the country knows what it is doing: I am glad that at least after 11 years, some kind of justice is meted out…
Soap advertisements, old and new
I cannot write on this topic without mentioning names; I need clearance from my editor. But suffice it to say that an ITC soap has a cool ad, which shows the difference between old and new films; old and new ads. Oh hell, I am talking about the Vivel ad. It is well made.
Bottomline beat – Agar Tum Mil Jao…
Agar tum mil jao, zamana chod denge hum
[If I get you, I will give up the world...]
Thursday, January 20, 2011
You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me… Cher
I have been out of town for a week. There was no news of the Telengana agitation, particularly in Osmania University. That is understandable, because I was in Vijayawada – the hotbed of Samaikyandhra politics. The papers there don’t care about what is happening on the T-front. Well then, when I came back, late last night – I checked out the papers. There was a small 5 inch column in the main paper (on page 5) and a slightly bigger item in the city supplement (on page 13).
It appears that the O.U. students want the examinations to be postponed.
Testing times…
The Vice Chancellor of O.U. and other officials met with the students and ‘counseled’ them to appear for the exams but the students are adamant. They said they won’t sit for the exams until the T-issue is settled. Mr K Chandra Sekhara Rao, on his part, earlier said that the Jharkhand movement went on for 19 years – hinting that people should be prepared for a long battle. By then, whether or not Telangana is formed, most of the students will be ineligible, because of age, for government jobs!
It is up to the students now to decide whether they want to go on with the agitation or take care of their studies and careers. At the time of writing, I don’t know whether the exams went on or nor; I don’t care.
Counseling is the key…
One hears a lot about counseling these days; the Chief Minister wants counseling centers for farmers who want to commit suicide. That’s a laugh. In the magazines, there are ‘advice’ columns by doctors and sexologists: at the end of the piece of advice – they all say: “Consult a marriage counselor near you.” Heck, why then is there a column in the first place?
You haven’t seen the last of me…
Pop star Cher (I don’t know her full – real – name), at 64, released an album which hit the top of pop charts. It is aptly titled: “You haven’t seen the last of me.” That’s the spirit! Life doesn’t end at 60. Well done Cher.
My nephews, one working in Bangalore and another in Brisbane (AU) ask my sister (aged only 53) to quit her job and live with one or other of them. They say: “We are making enough money; why should you work now?” My sister refuses to yield. She says she has reached a certain position in her job (from a teacher to Head Mistress of a school) and she wants to continue working until retirement. It is actually the culmination of 30 years of dedicated work, and she would like to enjoy the fruits of it.
One of my uncles works three days a week – after retirement. His family (wife and daughter) resent it: they tell him to relax. He cannot sit at home idle the whole week. Another uncle who retired a few months ago wants to have a go at another job in Hyderabad, if something comes his way.
Life doesn’t end at 58. Or 64…
Ab Mera Number Hain
Starting today, all of India is going to enjoy mobile number portability. You are no longer bound to the idiotic mobile network that sends you unwanted and unwarranted messages by the dozen. You hope it is from the guy who owes you money; or from the HR person of the company where you interviewed for a job. And you are told to dial this or that number to download hello tunes.
The technophoebe that I am, I haven’t figured out the difference between hello tunes and caller tunes. If you could, wish you the best.
Retakes of old films
This topic requires a full length blog but let me introduce the basic idea I have. It is all nostalgia. Anything you have seen ten years ago looks great in retrospect. Even if you were in prison back then, the life there seems so wonderful, the people so friendly.
That is the key to the success (or at least the many attempts) of many retakes of old films. More about it another day…
It appears that the O.U. students want the examinations to be postponed.
Testing times…
The Vice Chancellor of O.U. and other officials met with the students and ‘counseled’ them to appear for the exams but the students are adamant. They said they won’t sit for the exams until the T-issue is settled. Mr K Chandra Sekhara Rao, on his part, earlier said that the Jharkhand movement went on for 19 years – hinting that people should be prepared for a long battle. By then, whether or not Telangana is formed, most of the students will be ineligible, because of age, for government jobs!
It is up to the students now to decide whether they want to go on with the agitation or take care of their studies and careers. At the time of writing, I don’t know whether the exams went on or nor; I don’t care.
Counseling is the key…
One hears a lot about counseling these days; the Chief Minister wants counseling centers for farmers who want to commit suicide. That’s a laugh. In the magazines, there are ‘advice’ columns by doctors and sexologists: at the end of the piece of advice – they all say: “Consult a marriage counselor near you.” Heck, why then is there a column in the first place?
You haven’t seen the last of me…
Pop star Cher (I don’t know her full – real – name), at 64, released an album which hit the top of pop charts. It is aptly titled: “You haven’t seen the last of me.” That’s the spirit! Life doesn’t end at 60. Well done Cher.
My nephews, one working in Bangalore and another in Brisbane (AU) ask my sister (aged only 53) to quit her job and live with one or other of them. They say: “We are making enough money; why should you work now?” My sister refuses to yield. She says she has reached a certain position in her job (from a teacher to Head Mistress of a school) and she wants to continue working until retirement. It is actually the culmination of 30 years of dedicated work, and she would like to enjoy the fruits of it.
One of my uncles works three days a week – after retirement. His family (wife and daughter) resent it: they tell him to relax. He cannot sit at home idle the whole week. Another uncle who retired a few months ago wants to have a go at another job in Hyderabad, if something comes his way.
Life doesn’t end at 58. Or 64…
Ab Mera Number Hain
Starting today, all of India is going to enjoy mobile number portability. You are no longer bound to the idiotic mobile network that sends you unwanted and unwarranted messages by the dozen. You hope it is from the guy who owes you money; or from the HR person of the company where you interviewed for a job. And you are told to dial this or that number to download hello tunes.
The technophoebe that I am, I haven’t figured out the difference between hello tunes and caller tunes. If you could, wish you the best.
Retakes of old films
This topic requires a full length blog but let me introduce the basic idea I have. It is all nostalgia. Anything you have seen ten years ago looks great in retrospect. Even if you were in prison back then, the life there seems so wonderful, the people so friendly.
That is the key to the success (or at least the many attempts) of many retakes of old films. More about it another day…
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Happily Unmarried Ever After…
I was in love with a girl way back in 1985. Well, in 1987 really. It was not love at first sight: it took me a long time to take a liking for her. Indeed, the first time I saw her was in a restaurant, with another guy from our class – and the impression I had was that she was a woman of loose morals. It was because of the generation gap that exists between small towns and metro cities: I came to Hyderabad from a small town, and she was a Hyderabadi; the guy with her was from Chennai (then called Madras). Let us call him Bob, who may reappear in this very personal blog of mine. But I digress…
How can I be so sure that I was in love with her? I will tell you…
A year after she left for the Benighted States, also known as United States of A., I was in a class, and was looking through the window; a woman of small frame, in a saree, in a distance was walking on the road beside the window. I thought, for a moment, that it was Mona. That is not her real name – but that is all I am going to reveal about my personal life. That moment, a year after I was in love with her, I knew for sure that I was in love with her. Then what happened?
I tried my best to go to the USA myself. I thought I could ‘get’ her if I was there: it did not work out. My VISA application was rejected although I had a tuition waiver and all that. In a while, she got married to an American, and not soon after – she gave birth to a bouncy baby girl. She called her, let us say, Zubaidah. It is the name of a woman I knew in Singapore, but not Mona’s (not her real name either) daughter. Another real girl called Mona came into my life later and she told me to try. I did not know what – but I tried. To be good, to be sportive, to run, to do things I was not used to. Sorry I digress again.
I waited for 7 or 8 long years for Mona, my darling’s, marriage to break up, so that I could propose. Oh well, let us go into flash back – in all this time, I never proposed to her, because I thought I was unworthy of her. So then, when she gave birth to Zubaidah, I lost hope. And then I decided not to get married to anyone other than Mona, who stands alone. If God made another one like her, and she chanced to come into my life, I am still willing to walk the seven steps with her – if she finds me worthy of her. I think I will be, because Mona made me a man, the man that I am now.
I am an old sentimental fool, please ignore me if this very personal blog is boring.
I have other reasons to be unhappy, but marriage – or not being married – is not one of them. Ever since I gave up hopes of gaining Mona’s hand, I have been happily unmarried, taking care of my mother. If ever, like I said, I find another one like Her, well I am for her; it is a different story whether she finds me to be the one for Her.
I told Mona in so many words that there is no one like her – so far. What she did, she changed her phone number and cut me off.
I had a dream recently: I call and her husband picks up the phone. He is very polite. As always, in realtime, he says, if I wish to talk to Mona. I said, No, I called to say I will never call or talk to her again and bother her. I know she feels sorry for me; for me to get married to a ‘good’ girl of my choice. But then, I am left with no choice.
Mona, U know what I mean; I am outta your life. I am happy not being married than get into something out of social pressure. And I know I will only make someone else’s life miserable if I do get into something.
God, Father in Heaven, give me the strength to deal with these worldly-wise people who said that I need someone to take care of me in my old age. I am already old; I don’t want to be a burden on someone else. If I am badly off, so then, God (I hope, Sire) will take care of me. If not, I don’t mind dying of hunger and thirst by the roadside….
Thanks for being with me thus far: I feel much better bleeding my heart out like this at this late hour.
My old mother is restless because I haven’t had dinner. I am not really drunk tonight but yes, I feel like sharing my innermost feelings with all who care to listen. Is that drunkenness?
Today is Swami Vivekananda’s birthday: this is one birthday I remembered in long time. Vive Kananda! as the newspapers of the day in the U.S. said…
How can I be so sure that I was in love with her? I will tell you…
A year after she left for the Benighted States, also known as United States of A., I was in a class, and was looking through the window; a woman of small frame, in a saree, in a distance was walking on the road beside the window. I thought, for a moment, that it was Mona. That is not her real name – but that is all I am going to reveal about my personal life. That moment, a year after I was in love with her, I knew for sure that I was in love with her. Then what happened?
I tried my best to go to the USA myself. I thought I could ‘get’ her if I was there: it did not work out. My VISA application was rejected although I had a tuition waiver and all that. In a while, she got married to an American, and not soon after – she gave birth to a bouncy baby girl. She called her, let us say, Zubaidah. It is the name of a woman I knew in Singapore, but not Mona’s (not her real name either) daughter. Another real girl called Mona came into my life later and she told me to try. I did not know what – but I tried. To be good, to be sportive, to run, to do things I was not used to. Sorry I digress again.
I waited for 7 or 8 long years for Mona, my darling’s, marriage to break up, so that I could propose. Oh well, let us go into flash back – in all this time, I never proposed to her, because I thought I was unworthy of her. So then, when she gave birth to Zubaidah, I lost hope. And then I decided not to get married to anyone other than Mona, who stands alone. If God made another one like her, and she chanced to come into my life, I am still willing to walk the seven steps with her – if she finds me worthy of her. I think I will be, because Mona made me a man, the man that I am now.
I am an old sentimental fool, please ignore me if this very personal blog is boring.
I have other reasons to be unhappy, but marriage – or not being married – is not one of them. Ever since I gave up hopes of gaining Mona’s hand, I have been happily unmarried, taking care of my mother. If ever, like I said, I find another one like Her, well I am for her; it is a different story whether she finds me to be the one for Her.
I told Mona in so many words that there is no one like her – so far. What she did, she changed her phone number and cut me off.
I had a dream recently: I call and her husband picks up the phone. He is very polite. As always, in realtime, he says, if I wish to talk to Mona. I said, No, I called to say I will never call or talk to her again and bother her. I know she feels sorry for me; for me to get married to a ‘good’ girl of my choice. But then, I am left with no choice.
Mona, U know what I mean; I am outta your life. I am happy not being married than get into something out of social pressure. And I know I will only make someone else’s life miserable if I do get into something.
God, Father in Heaven, give me the strength to deal with these worldly-wise people who said that I need someone to take care of me in my old age. I am already old; I don’t want to be a burden on someone else. If I am badly off, so then, God (I hope, Sire) will take care of me. If not, I don’t mind dying of hunger and thirst by the roadside….
Thanks for being with me thus far: I feel much better bleeding my heart out like this at this late hour.
My old mother is restless because I haven’t had dinner. I am not really drunk tonight but yes, I feel like sharing my innermost feelings with all who care to listen. Is that drunkenness?
Today is Swami Vivekananda’s birthday: this is one birthday I remembered in long time. Vive Kananda! as the newspapers of the day in the U.S. said…
Monday, January 10, 2011
Comrade Varavara Rao and Our Lord
A month ago, around December 6th, in the year of Our Lord 2010 (notice the capitals), Comrade Varavara Rao wrote a poem – about our lord Rama (notice the lower case o-l): the highlight of the poem was that he said there is nothing creative about what all Rama did other than producing twins. I am glad that the good Comrade did not accuse Rama of denying his role in the ‘production’ of the kids Kush and Luv.
Indeed, our lord Rama sent his consort Sita to the forests on grounds of infidelity: really, on his suspicions. Muppaval Ranganayakamma, feminist and Marxist at large, accused Rama of being anti-women, because he suspected Sita. Oh well, whether or not Rama is anti-women or not, Comrade Varavara Rao, mercifully, did not make such allegations. However, he concluded that the only ‘creative’ thing Rama did was to produce twins. The Comrade never had the vital organs (round in shape and two in number) to say something about Our Lord, after whose year of birth the entire world calibrates the calendars – that he did not even produce a single kid (forget about twins).
One could go a step forward and say that Our Lord had an affair with a woman of (according to the mores of the day) ‘loose morals’. I don’t want to raise any hackles; I am very sorry if any ‘religious sentiments’ are hurt: I am only targeting Comrade Varavara Rao and his cohorts. Come on guys, be bold to make things about other religions too: why is Hinduism such an easy target?
The Comrade is not known to have made such bold remarks about other prophets who married more than once and ‘moralized’ (a word I use to mean in the lines of ‘legalized’) the marriage of a man to four women (at one time). Comrade Varavara Rao and other revolutionary poets find Hindu gods and goddesses easy targets: nobody is complaining. The Hindus in general don’t care if some virasam or sarasam poet caricatures their gods and goddesses.
Indeed, a good many god-loving Hindu cartoonists sketch cartoons on Ganesh-ji during the Ganesh Chaturdhi season; special comic issues of magazines are published with a plethora of cartoons on Ganesh-ji. That is the level of Hindu tolerance. But once in a while, there is an M F Hussain who gets unofficially ‘exiled’, but that is small consolation.
All religions are irrational
Belief itself is beyond reason: this is what philosophers of the west and east said for eons. Then what is particularly irrational about Hindus and their beliefs that Our Comrades (notice the capitals) attack them? The Comrades who don’t have two vital organs (round in shape and two in number) to say a word about the two minority religions and their beliefs, go all out to fork the majority religion with their wrinkly vital organ (one in number, boneless).
I dare Comrade Varavara Rao and sundry communists and Maoists to speak about Spanish inquisitions; about the Indian Christian Burial Grounds in Bangalore (now called Benguluru). I want them to pass cavalier remarks about the promiscuity of the prophets of other religions as easily as they lampoon Hindu gods (notice the lower case ‘g’) and Hindu beliefs.
Swami Asimanand
One thing is clear from this entire episode: the Hindu community is not going to sit idle, spreading its legs wide. Sorry to be crude, but that is how it is. This is Hindutva modi-fied, whether you like it or not. Long live Vibrant Gujarat.
Telavarademo swami…
As I write this, I am watching a show on television highlighting K J Yesudas and his super hit songs; one of them, here:
"Cheluvamuneelaga, chengata levani
Kalataku nelavai nilachina nelataku
Kalala alajadiki niddara karavai
Alasina deveri, alamelu manga ku –"
The nature of poetry , according to Edgar Allen Poe, is that it is untranslatable; I am not going to try – in this instance.
Indeed, our lord Rama sent his consort Sita to the forests on grounds of infidelity: really, on his suspicions. Muppaval Ranganayakamma, feminist and Marxist at large, accused Rama of being anti-women, because he suspected Sita. Oh well, whether or not Rama is anti-women or not, Comrade Varavara Rao, mercifully, did not make such allegations. However, he concluded that the only ‘creative’ thing Rama did was to produce twins. The Comrade never had the vital organs (round in shape and two in number) to say something about Our Lord, after whose year of birth the entire world calibrates the calendars – that he did not even produce a single kid (forget about twins).
One could go a step forward and say that Our Lord had an affair with a woman of (according to the mores of the day) ‘loose morals’. I don’t want to raise any hackles; I am very sorry if any ‘religious sentiments’ are hurt: I am only targeting Comrade Varavara Rao and his cohorts. Come on guys, be bold to make things about other religions too: why is Hinduism such an easy target?
The Comrade is not known to have made such bold remarks about other prophets who married more than once and ‘moralized’ (a word I use to mean in the lines of ‘legalized’) the marriage of a man to four women (at one time). Comrade Varavara Rao and other revolutionary poets find Hindu gods and goddesses easy targets: nobody is complaining. The Hindus in general don’t care if some virasam or sarasam poet caricatures their gods and goddesses.
Indeed, a good many god-loving Hindu cartoonists sketch cartoons on Ganesh-ji during the Ganesh Chaturdhi season; special comic issues of magazines are published with a plethora of cartoons on Ganesh-ji. That is the level of Hindu tolerance. But once in a while, there is an M F Hussain who gets unofficially ‘exiled’, but that is small consolation.
All religions are irrational
Belief itself is beyond reason: this is what philosophers of the west and east said for eons. Then what is particularly irrational about Hindus and their beliefs that Our Comrades (notice the capitals) attack them? The Comrades who don’t have two vital organs (round in shape and two in number) to say a word about the two minority religions and their beliefs, go all out to fork the majority religion with their wrinkly vital organ (one in number, boneless).
I dare Comrade Varavara Rao and sundry communists and Maoists to speak about Spanish inquisitions; about the Indian Christian Burial Grounds in Bangalore (now called Benguluru). I want them to pass cavalier remarks about the promiscuity of the prophets of other religions as easily as they lampoon Hindu gods (notice the lower case ‘g’) and Hindu beliefs.
Swami Asimanand
One thing is clear from this entire episode: the Hindu community is not going to sit idle, spreading its legs wide. Sorry to be crude, but that is how it is. This is Hindutva modi-fied, whether you like it or not. Long live Vibrant Gujarat.
Telavarademo swami…
As I write this, I am watching a show on television highlighting K J Yesudas and his super hit songs; one of them, here:
"Cheluvamuneelaga, chengata levani
Kalataku nelavai nilachina nelataku
Kalala alajadiki niddara karavai
Alasina deveri, alamelu manga ku –"
The nature of poetry , according to Edgar Allen Poe, is that it is untranslatable; I am not going to try – in this instance.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Mahatma Gandhi and Maddelachervu Suri
Mahatma Gandhi and Gangula Suri Died of Natural Causes
When we look at it closely, both Mahatma Gandhi and Maddelachervu Suri died of natural causes: Gandhi died of hatred, which is a natural, human, emotion; and Suri died of violence, which is natural behavior of humans in a natural state. We say that those who live by the sword die by the sword, but that does not explain Gandhiji’s assassination; he was a victim of non-violence. It was a war between violence and non-violence. It was an intolerant youth who did not like the whole business of non-violence and tolerance, who ended the life of a great soul. If Godse told Gandhiji to give up his life, the great man would have willingly took poison and died, a la Socrates; that is speculation: let us not indulge in that.
In some versions of social contract theory, there are no rights in the state of nature, only freedoms, and it is the contract that creates rights and obligations. In other versions the opposite occurs: the contract imposes restrictions upon individuals that curtail their natural rights.
Mahatma Gandhi died of bullets from a commoner who turned violent after the partition carnage; Gandhiji paid the price for not wearing a bullet-proof vest and going into public with an open heart. (Rajiv Gandhi did wear a bullet-proof vest but yet died, at a later point in history; but that is another story.) Gandhiji died of natural causes: he was an advocate of non-violence in the midst of a violently divided country: violence was the order of the day. Godse was just an accident; Gandhiji could have died of a road accident, caused by a speeding car, when he was crossing the road slowly.
The Hobbesian Man
Charles Hobbes wrote, three centuries ago that “any person has a natural right to the liberty to do anything he wills to preserve his own life, and life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". He also posited that "during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man". Man, in a state of nature is – greedy, selfish, and horny, says the American philosopher and cartoonist Scott Adams.
State of nature is a term in political philosophy used in social contract theories to describe the hypothetical condition of humanity before the state's foundation. In a broader sense, the state of nature is the condition before the rule of positive law comes into being, thus being a synonym of anarchy. The idea of the state of nature was a part of a classical republicanism theory as a hypothetical reason of entering a state of society by establishing a government.
In this state of affairs, it is Gandhi against Godse; it is Suri against Bhanu: it is one man against the other. Road rage and greed are still the order of the day…
Speed and Greed…
Maddelachervu Suri died of greed: he wanted everything. He wanted millions, and fast; speed and greed killed him: because his followers, too wanted fast bucks, and ‘naturally’ differences cropped up in the process of their ‘settlements’. This led to the brutal, close-range shooting of Suri and his untimely death. There are several ‘angles’ to this news item: the followers of the late Paritala Ravindra are supposedly involved in this brutal murder. But the angle no one has looked at is that of human greed: Suri is greedy; his followers are greedy; his opponents are greedy; all of us are greedy.
Suri's last rites will be performed Wednesday, his family said.
Bottomline Error
In the previous feature on Aliens and their space stations, it was incorrectly printed that these ‘stations’ will be bombed; read it as “may be bombed.”
When we look at it closely, both Mahatma Gandhi and Maddelachervu Suri died of natural causes: Gandhi died of hatred, which is a natural, human, emotion; and Suri died of violence, which is natural behavior of humans in a natural state. We say that those who live by the sword die by the sword, but that does not explain Gandhiji’s assassination; he was a victim of non-violence. It was a war between violence and non-violence. It was an intolerant youth who did not like the whole business of non-violence and tolerance, who ended the life of a great soul. If Godse told Gandhiji to give up his life, the great man would have willingly took poison and died, a la Socrates; that is speculation: let us not indulge in that.
In some versions of social contract theory, there are no rights in the state of nature, only freedoms, and it is the contract that creates rights and obligations. In other versions the opposite occurs: the contract imposes restrictions upon individuals that curtail their natural rights.
Mahatma Gandhi died of bullets from a commoner who turned violent after the partition carnage; Gandhiji paid the price for not wearing a bullet-proof vest and going into public with an open heart. (Rajiv Gandhi did wear a bullet-proof vest but yet died, at a later point in history; but that is another story.) Gandhiji died of natural causes: he was an advocate of non-violence in the midst of a violently divided country: violence was the order of the day. Godse was just an accident; Gandhiji could have died of a road accident, caused by a speeding car, when he was crossing the road slowly.
The Hobbesian Man
Charles Hobbes wrote, three centuries ago that “any person has a natural right to the liberty to do anything he wills to preserve his own life, and life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". He also posited that "during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man". Man, in a state of nature is – greedy, selfish, and horny, says the American philosopher and cartoonist Scott Adams.
State of nature is a term in political philosophy used in social contract theories to describe the hypothetical condition of humanity before the state's foundation. In a broader sense, the state of nature is the condition before the rule of positive law comes into being, thus being a synonym of anarchy. The idea of the state of nature was a part of a classical republicanism theory as a hypothetical reason of entering a state of society by establishing a government.
In this state of affairs, it is Gandhi against Godse; it is Suri against Bhanu: it is one man against the other. Road rage and greed are still the order of the day…
Speed and Greed…
Maddelachervu Suri died of greed: he wanted everything. He wanted millions, and fast; speed and greed killed him: because his followers, too wanted fast bucks, and ‘naturally’ differences cropped up in the process of their ‘settlements’. This led to the brutal, close-range shooting of Suri and his untimely death. There are several ‘angles’ to this news item: the followers of the late Paritala Ravindra are supposedly involved in this brutal murder. But the angle no one has looked at is that of human greed: Suri is greedy; his followers are greedy; his opponents are greedy; all of us are greedy.
Suri's last rites will be performed Wednesday, his family said.
Bottomline Error
In the previous feature on Aliens and their space stations, it was incorrectly printed that these ‘stations’ will be bombed; read it as “may be bombed.”
Monday, January 3, 2011
The wretched of the earth...
The Aliens Are Here…
Fifteen years ago, I went to Qutb Institutional Area in Delhi to ask for a job with Down To Earth, a publication of the Center for Science and Environment. They asked me how much I was earning: when I mentioned my paltry salary with Tata Consultancy Services as a technical writer, they said – Look, we can’t afford you; get lost. Oh well, that was a sad thing, because even for a low salary, I would have loved to work for a ‘serious’ organization like CSE, than be a hack in the software industry. That is what I have been for nearly 14 years, before I got into teaching. About all that, another day…
Up above the world
First we had gated ‘colonies’ in cities like Delhi. We also had ‘enclaves’ – the meaning of an enclave is: “an area controlled by a foreign power within a sovereign state”. A nice example of an enclave is diplomatic enclaves – like Chanakyapuri in Delhi – where Indian law does not apply. If they commit crimes, you need to get permission from foreign powers to prosecute them; or you can at best repatriate them. ‘Enclaves’ other than diplomatic were very popular in the later half of the 20th centurty.
Then came ‘gated communities’ within cities across the country; they only allow the ‘istriwallah’ into their ‘communities’, because people are too lazy to do their laundry or too busy money-laundering! And now, the aliens are here. They are down to earth from ‘up above the world’.
The Aliens group took two full pages in the Times of India. It is up above the world. Oh, I must digress here…
Way back in 1999 – 2001 when I was in Singapore, I was living in a flat on the 18th floor of a 25-story apartment block. One of the lifts was under repair. One of my flat-mates had his parents over once; they came for a vacation. One morning they went out and in the evening when they came back, the other lift broke down. One old grandmother, one fat mother, and a fairly healthy father, luckily, had to walk up the steps – 18 stories! Gott in Himmel, how they suffered that day….
And now people are building 35-story buildings in Hyderabad. The following problems may crop up:
- power systems, even if they are under the control of the developers – can break down
- non-cooperation from domestic maids can occur
- people can throw stones at these glass facades
- there may be bomb-attacks from desperados (pro-T or Anti-T; pro-this or Anti-that
- resentment from other ‘communities’ around them can lead to social boycott
- water supply may be stopped by any municipal clerk who resents the invasion of the aliens into Hyderabad.
- the lifts can be jammed mechanically and you can get trapped, without oxygen, for several hours
Tasmat jagrata…
The extra terrestrials better go back to where they came from. Like ET, phone, home – they should call their ‘base stations’ and leave the space stations.
Their celebrations will be marred by protests; their daily lives will be made miserable; the roads leading to their ‘space stations’ could be dug up. Their cars may be attacked. The entire space station may be bombed. This is India, anything can happen.
Aliens, indeed! We don’t want you among us…
Christ said: Blessed are the meek – for they shall inherit the earth. I added: when the mighty migrate to Mars. Now the aliens are coming here to colonize the earth. People shall repel them. They will beat them back to where they came from – America, Australia, Bermuda, Britain, or Canada.
Get lost, aliens! We don’t want you here. One day, these aliens will be bombed. You will live in constant fear or stay away from these wonderful ‘schemes’. You can’t get down to earth and stay as aliens here: choose one way or the other.
Gachchibowli and Tellapur are not for you. Go to Mars or at least moon. There is no space on earth (definitely not in India) for Alien Space Stations. Stay clear of this project, is what Bottomline advises to prospective ‘dream-flat owners’ of the Alien Space Station.
If something untoward happens, you cannot say that you haven’t been warned…
I personally declare a war of words against these aliens and their space stations.
Fifteen years ago, I went to Qutb Institutional Area in Delhi to ask for a job with Down To Earth, a publication of the Center for Science and Environment. They asked me how much I was earning: when I mentioned my paltry salary with Tata Consultancy Services as a technical writer, they said – Look, we can’t afford you; get lost. Oh well, that was a sad thing, because even for a low salary, I would have loved to work for a ‘serious’ organization like CSE, than be a hack in the software industry. That is what I have been for nearly 14 years, before I got into teaching. About all that, another day…
Up above the world
First we had gated ‘colonies’ in cities like Delhi. We also had ‘enclaves’ – the meaning of an enclave is: “an area controlled by a foreign power within a sovereign state”. A nice example of an enclave is diplomatic enclaves – like Chanakyapuri in Delhi – where Indian law does not apply. If they commit crimes, you need to get permission from foreign powers to prosecute them; or you can at best repatriate them. ‘Enclaves’ other than diplomatic were very popular in the later half of the 20th centurty.
Then came ‘gated communities’ within cities across the country; they only allow the ‘istriwallah’ into their ‘communities’, because people are too lazy to do their laundry or too busy money-laundering! And now, the aliens are here. They are down to earth from ‘up above the world’.
The Aliens group took two full pages in the Times of India. It is up above the world. Oh, I must digress here…
Way back in 1999 – 2001 when I was in Singapore, I was living in a flat on the 18th floor of a 25-story apartment block. One of the lifts was under repair. One of my flat-mates had his parents over once; they came for a vacation. One morning they went out and in the evening when they came back, the other lift broke down. One old grandmother, one fat mother, and a fairly healthy father, luckily, had to walk up the steps – 18 stories! Gott in Himmel, how they suffered that day….
And now people are building 35-story buildings in Hyderabad. The following problems may crop up:
- power systems, even if they are under the control of the developers – can break down
- non-cooperation from domestic maids can occur
- people can throw stones at these glass facades
- there may be bomb-attacks from desperados (pro-T or Anti-T; pro-this or Anti-that
- resentment from other ‘communities’ around them can lead to social boycott
- water supply may be stopped by any municipal clerk who resents the invasion of the aliens into Hyderabad.
- the lifts can be jammed mechanically and you can get trapped, without oxygen, for several hours
Tasmat jagrata…
The extra terrestrials better go back to where they came from. Like ET, phone, home – they should call their ‘base stations’ and leave the space stations.
Their celebrations will be marred by protests; their daily lives will be made miserable; the roads leading to their ‘space stations’ could be dug up. Their cars may be attacked. The entire space station may be bombed. This is India, anything can happen.
Aliens, indeed! We don’t want you among us…
Christ said: Blessed are the meek – for they shall inherit the earth. I added: when the mighty migrate to Mars. Now the aliens are coming here to colonize the earth. People shall repel them. They will beat them back to where they came from – America, Australia, Bermuda, Britain, or Canada.
Get lost, aliens! We don’t want you here. One day, these aliens will be bombed. You will live in constant fear or stay away from these wonderful ‘schemes’. You can’t get down to earth and stay as aliens here: choose one way or the other.
Gachchibowli and Tellapur are not for you. Go to Mars or at least moon. There is no space on earth (definitely not in India) for Alien Space Stations. Stay clear of this project, is what Bottomline advises to prospective ‘dream-flat owners’ of the Alien Space Station.
If something untoward happens, you cannot say that you haven’t been warned…
I personally declare a war of words against these aliens and their space stations.
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