a reply to an innuendo

Sanjay
June 29, 2006
09:10 PM
temporal, I notice you are very selective in which "explanations of reaction" you post. I find your stance to be hateful towards Jews. The bigotry faced by Jews for millenia is resurgent, in manifest in comments like yours. For you, the only good Jew is a dead Jew. This is the reason why you'll quickly rush to explain this kidnapping incident, but you won't even bother to mention why the Israelis engaged in shelling on June 9. You're only interested in explaining the actions of the terrorist provocateurs, in the hopes that they will continue their terrorist provocations. You simply hope to play a game with other peoples' lives.

***

Sanjay # 3:

my first reaction was a chuckle and a thought to ignore your wishful rant....but then you would merrily go on repeating and reinforcing your hallucinations:)

so here is a riposte:

I find your stance to be hateful towards Jews.

hate is a very strong word and am very careful when i use it...and yes, have used it on occasions in the past against imbeciles, inconsiderate windbags, uncouth hot-airs, single dimensional legends-in-their-mind and such folks

but have never used it as a blanket term for people who follow a religion...or for any group of people such as atheists, agnostics, believers, unbelievers...blanket condemnation is not in my nature thanks to my mother

politics, specially as it effects other nations and peoples in the comity of nations is a different thing from above...i tend to loathe the zealots, the born-agains of any stripe, expansionists -- be they in trade or ideology or religion

For you, the only good Jew is a dead Jew.

sadly, this is another innuendo…read above riposte carefully...have nothing against jews, hindus, muslims, sikhs, believers, unbelievers... they are all human being first and as such should be and are treated with respect

yes, i strongly condemn and oppose extremists and those on the (lunatic) fringes...in politics, religion and society...and have even coined a few words...such as neoconzix... the mullahs, the zionists, the far-right in the south, fundamentalists of any stripe ...they should be opposed and exposed by each and every individual with a conscience...

You simply hope to play a game with other peoples' lives.

you may have a short memory:)...so time to reiterate yet again:

am against the loss of a single civilian life be it at the hand of another individual, organization or state

Plagiarism: Are We Ever Original?

Are we ever original? And lest you think it is a defense of Kaaviya of the fifteen minutes fame, no, it is not.

It is getting increasingly difficult to be an original. The weight of history, time, the billions -- both who have lived and who think they are living - have done things, uttered words, written things that makes me believe the scope to be original is getting rarer than the air on top of Everest. Only the hardy or the foolhardy can survive there without oxygen for any period of time.

World Cup of Soccer is the rage these days. Will someone, preferably with good assets streak across? Maybe. But it won't be an original act. Streakers have done it in the past -- Wimbledon, Cricket, Oscars.

Will someone be original and write a bad book that nobody will buy. Nothing original there also. This, too, happens all the time.

There is nothing original left in man-bites-dog news anymore.

Israelis are armed with nuclear arsenal and have latest hi tech military equipment. They kill unarmed Palestinian civilians. The Palestinians armed with stones and knives fight back and when they can get rdx they blow themselves up along with Israeli civilians. It seems to me this has been going on for ever and won't stop any time soon. Yawn. Pardon my skepticism, while I bemoan the loss of civilian lives, this is not newsworthy and certainly not original.

***

In a response to a post of mine here someone posted this comment:

anonymous
June 27, 2006
05:21 PM
Why do you copy otehre (sic) peoles (sic) post.

My reply to above:

Anonymous:

Why do you copy otehre peoles post.

may i take the liberty of assuming that your post is a broadside at my post #2?

if am wrong please ignore and forgive and i beg your pardon...please do not report this indiscretion to the von siff gestapo

if am not wrong then let me admit that except on those occasions where i coin words...have consistently used words that have been uttered or written by others

for example take this: go drown in a poodle

1: I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it. -- Lord Brabazon (1884 - 1964)

2: Anyone can post messages to the net. Practically everyone does. The resulting cacophony drowns out serious discussion. -- Clifford Stoll, Silicon Snake Oil, 1995

3: If a man is destined to drown, he will drown even in a spoonful of water. -- Yiddish Proverb

4: How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? -- Charles De Gaulle (1890 - 1970), in "Les Mots du General", 1962

5: I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -- Rita Rudner

just between us bro (or is it sis?) can you whisper? if you can please whisper if you think i am plagiarising...i need to know while am still breathing and can take it on the chin...later (as in when i cease inhaling) it might look terrible on my cv

***

I have no heard a pipsqueak from him/her. While I am positive I am not consciously plagiarising anyone I know or do not know, the possibility exists that someone, somewhere has had similar thoughts.

Do we condone this? I suppose we can, as long there is no advance royalty involved. Wait. The fellow who took off with Sakshi Juneja's post did not get paid. There goes the money theory.

Let me advance another the Teflon theory. Don't get caught.

Desicritics Editors' Picks - June 12- June 18

MBA Admission Interviews - A View From The Other Side June 12, 2006 - Nyayapati Gautam writes:

Given the stark contrast in the way the candidates for the E-MBA and the regular MBA programme conducted themselves, I wonder whether we should make work experience mandatory. Else we will keep having fresh graduates, who have no clue about the entire management game, coming in for interviews and floundering their way through the two years of an MBA.

Time Magazine Has Blundered And How! June 13, 2006 - Mayank 'Austen' writes:

Perhaps Mr. Perry did not read the novel. Perhaps his researchers played a bit careless. Perhaps Time magazine fact-checkers had taken a mass leave. Or perhaps Mr. Perry confused Vikram Seth's novel with Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children - the only Booker of the Bookers prize winning novel whose protagonist Saleem (not Salim, please note Mr. Perry) Sinai was indeed born in the city of Bombay. To be more precise: In Dr. Narlikar's Nursing Home at the stroke of midnight on 15th August, 1947.

Writer's Block & The Unconscious June 14, 2006 - Mark Schannon writes:

Again, the solution to this kind of block is individual, but I would suggest that one method is to try to shut your conscious mind off and just start writing. Don't worry about where it's going or what it is. Just write and try to recapture the feeling of reaching into the river and pulling out the words. I must have half a dozen ten to thirty page somethings--they may turn into novels or short stories, or they may just linger on my computer forever.

Writer's block is painful and even frightening, but if you understand what's causing it, you may have a better chance of overcoming it. It isn't mysterious or magical, it's not a sign that you're not a writer, it's not that your rhetoric machine has run out of words. It's simply that you're not letting your unconscious drive the process.

Radhika Needs Your Help June 15, 2006 - Sakshi Juneja writes:

Radhika is a beautiful 5 years old child. It wouldn't be wrong to say that she is a 'miracle' girl who stands apart from most of the children her age. Immensely loved by her mother and grand-father, this innocent child, sadly has no school to go to and no friends to play with.

Her uniqueness is what has left her rejected from experiencing happiness that most kids her age take for granted. Radhika suffers from a rare condition called Polydactyly and because of it she has a total of 32 fingers/toes on her hands/legs instead of 20. Plus underdevelopment of her cleft palate (upper portion inside the mouth), has impaired her speech.

What To Do With Unemployed Jehadi's? June 18, 2006 - Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta writes:

The second option is to treat it as a virus and apply anti-virus medicine on them. It is even more difficult as the international justice system cannot cater for footloose jehadi's (see the ridiculous legal steps that America had to take with the 9/11 lot). Furthermore it is extremely expensive in terms of human intelligence resources, time, dedication and the like. This last option also runs the risk of actually producing more jehadi's than it would stop. Think of the American efforts to go after Zawahri (second in command of Al Qaeda) by bombing a dinner party in Damadola village in the Bajaur Agency region of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. He escaped, but 18 people didn't. So it is highly likely that some others were prompted by this strike to become jehadi's themselves. So if you ask me, I would plump for the first with a judicious beady eye out for opportunities for the second.

Football With The FamilyJune 18, 2006 – Huzaifa writes:

A lot was written during the pre-World Cup buildup on how to handle your wife and/or girlfriend during this month. But I forgot to consider another force of nature that would conspire against me - The Parents. Thanks to the prime time telecast slot, Mom and Dad are forced to watch football with their Son. God forbid, sometimes they even try to take interest in the match.

mid october post mid night walk

it's 3:20 am and i want to go out for a walk
i live in a safe area of town and walking at this
hour is not dangerous, suspicious perhaps if mrs. schmidtt
is up and reports a dark shadow leaving our front door but
i could be discreet and leave through the back door not visible
to the schmidtt's, on the other side kiran had fasted, feasted
and now was fast asleep as yesterday was karva-chauth
hindu men are lucky, even their women have it not so bad
they get to do this only once a year unlike our
thirty fasts each year and sati is not practiced anymore
so i ran a mental list -- i will don a t-shirt and change
into joggers, grab a wind breaker and put on sneakers
reminding myself not to forget the house keys this time
what else would i need? shall i take the lighter? if I do so
then i'll have to take the pouch and the pipe -- ah, the pleasures
of smoking at this undisturbed hour under the clear skies

***

immersed in such peaceful thoughts cheered me up more and i
told myself to take the baseball cap, it could be windy but
first i had to ease my way out of her embrace without
disturbing her -- easier written than done -- oh the travails
buoyed by the idea of polluting the fresh air
i must have made some noises probing my way in the dark
'why are you so restless and talking in sleep,' said the fair one
and as the embrace tightened, 'go to sleep, you've work to do
in the morning' - as all shackled men have learned it is not
advisable to argue with the tigers in their cages
no sir, not at 3.20 a.m. so i said meekly
'go to sleep dear, am just attending a call of nature'
and dreamt of other cherished dreams folded and ensconced

be gentle

daily i face gentle folks with
subterranean rages
stages of perceived hurt
seething and barely controlled
and as i brush and floss
i think of cyber grenades
that might come my way this day

from von-SIF when i will chide
surely as i must and will
'bout being delusional

from a host of friends
the one we attach an 'x'
before their names and IDs
for perceived injustices
hurled their way inadvertently

from earnest supporters
of poly-syllable causes
with which and also with whom
i would not break bread

from drivers claiming
hereditary right of way

but this kindness invoking prayer
is aimed only at a certain mistress
of my heart and body, for this morning
while pursuing bhagwan-knows-only-what
in the t-star while listening to radio
i forgot 'bout the kettle on the stove
and messed up her stove top--yet again
which she will discover upon waking
and'll get to hear 'bout when i return home

will you be gentle dear--once again?

Desicritics Editors' Picks - June 05- June 11

Outsourcing And The Indian Quality Control Chasm - June 05, 2006 - Vikas Chowdhry writes:

The world is catching up real fast on the so called cost benefits of outsourcing and it is turning out that they have been saving money at the cost of quality. I think it is time for many of these off shoring operations to stop believing

The Moral Default: Reservation Debate Fading? - June 06, 2006 Vulturo writes:

If there has to be any effort made towards keeping this country habitable, it is the underlying philosophy of welfare-statism which has to go. It isn't that the government isn't giving up its powers. It has in fact done so, in bits and pieces if you compare today to the socialist era. Dismantling unneeded governmental machinery is the cure. There has always been a solid lack of intention on that front, and progress is bound to be very very slow. There ought to be a method of speedy minimisation of the government. A lean-mean non-interventionist state is the way towards a freer, more progressive society.

Watching "FIllums" in India Vs. the USA - June 06, 2006 kamla bhatt writes:

For $2 dollars (Rs. 90) we can rent the latest and the greatest Indian film and watch it in the privacy of our home. Some of us have established elaborate rituals to watch our favorite desi films. We make pakoras and chai when we watch our favorite film, while others might trek down to the local theatre in San Jose, Milpitas, New York or Chicago and catch the latest desi film in a regular theatre (complete with a bad and stinky loo...why is it we can never have a really nice loo in these theatres?) I have yet to check out I the cinema theatre in Times Square in Manhattan and watch a desi film there. It is in my agenda of things to do.

I can honestly confess that there is no substitute to watching films in India. It is a whole different level of experience and one that I miss sorely when I am in the USA. When I am in India I make it a point to catch a couple of "fillums" in cinema theatres and have some rip-roaring fun.

Satire: Rahul Mahajan Applies for Sainthood - June 07, 2006 Melody writes:

Incidentally Pope, if I haven't made myself clear, I'd like to have my sainthood with immediate effect. After all, I might just pop off on a cocaine overdose like the night before my dad's ashes were going to be dropped into a much televised part of a river.

Sorry, did I say that? I change that to - I'd like to have my sainthood with immediate effect just in case I almost die "due to unknown reasons" that supposed medical professionals are still baffled about.

Sex, Religion And Sensibility - June 07, 2006 Kishore writes:

It's high time that we learnt to sit back and give ourselves some time to understand ourselves and introspect on our beliefs and the perceived taboos. It's time to see what lies beneath the veils that we have been taught to wear right from our childhood. It's time to learn the nature of reality and imbibe tolerance. It's time to think.

Chain Mails and Satya Narayana Vrata - June 09, 2006 Bachodi writes:

If you happen to search the history of Sanskrit literature, there will be no mention about this particular ritual anywhere before 1900. (This part of the information came to me from my Sanskrit teachers). No Vedopanishdpuranaas (Vedas, Upanishads and mythologies) and no literature dating before that have any mention of such a thing. Every thing was created when priests wanted one more way of income. Build a beautiful story, take the IQs of people hostage, and blackmail them quoting the bad consequences, advertise the fortunes. This makes me wonder, how many rituals present now do not have any meaning at all? How many of them are created based on interest of a group of people?

Bharatanatyam Dancers: Nataraja's Children - June 11, 2006 Samanth writes:

He admits, though, that audiences are dwindling; even for his performances, well known as he is, he says he can't pack the halls. At Narendra's show, the auditorium is barely two-thirds full. The performance wends a smooth enough way to its conclusion. The first half, a package titled Shakti, is admirably creative and admirably danced. The second half, even if it isn't marred by glaring missteps, looks exactly like what it is - a hastily tacked-on 60 minutes, completely divergent in tone and appeal from what came before.

To the smattering of audience that drifts backstage to congratulate the dancers, Narendra is his usual genial, slightly shy self. His torso is still slick with sweat, and he hasn't yet changed out of his costume. He will leave the venue only an hour later, after reverting to his producer-director self, supervising packing up, settling dues, making sure the girls have rides home, making sure nothing is left behind in the green rooms. Then he will get on his bike, richer by Rs 1,500, and drive back home. He lives for what he does, though, and he doesn't have to walk 25 kilometers home every day. Perhaps there's something to be said for that.

of pearls and ...

I
smile
--no i won't
smile
--no
achcha

II
(mother)
koochipoochiguddumooddudoodoo
---child smiles
---mother smiles

III
(fast forward)
hi
--hi
(p - a - u - s - e)
i was saying
--i was saying
(simultaneously)
spontaneous smiles erupt

IV
there was an abundance of moonlight blanketing the earth unhampered by
clouds and the weather was snuggle-chilly with a light breeze and no
mechanical sounds invading the senses only natural sounds and
if you strained hard enough there was so much love and peace oozing out of
everywhere it was impossible to evade romance...and euphoric smiles

V
(amidst heated exchanges, in homes on many continents at the same time)
she's a bitch!
--he's a bastard!
no smiles
follow the diatribes

VI
(in another scene reminiscent of above but with changed protagonists)
you're late
--late?
this report was due last friday
--i quit
no, you're fired!
'swine' - both mutter

VII
wisdom, abandoned yet again between pearls and swine, wonders about
its relevance and utility, then dons a jacket and leaves to play
bridge with rhetoric, ignoring the rush hour jams in the clouds

of ins and outs

in life
in likes, dislikes
third eye is kept
on the ins and outs

(and now we have
in, out and on
wonder if it's alright to use
an e-icon, or let the gentle
reader sense one?)

the gods gifted us sight
and our mothers insight

pity those whirling
in ignorance
and denial
doomed till time dies
unlike those robed
ones of konya

One More Journalist Bites The Dust

On December 05, 2005 Hidayatullah Khan a journalist working for Daily Ausaf and European Press Photo Agency (EPA) was kidnapped in Mir Ali, North Waziristan Agency.

In a news reported by the Daily News Mike Spangler the US Consul in Peshawar denied any knowledge of Khan's whereabouts as late as May 10, 2006.

(But to put this in perspective it is not only God who works in mysterious ways. The US administration also works mysteriously.)

His purported crime was reporting that Abu Hamza Rabia, an alleged al Qaeda operative of Egyptian/Syrian origins, had been likely killed by a US missile and not in a bomb making accident as reported by the Government of Pakistan (GoP) on December 01, 2005. He had photographed shrapnel from a Hellfire missile allegedly fired by a US drone.

Since December Reporters Sans Frontiers, Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalist, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and other human rights organizations have been raising concerns over his whereabouts. GoP denied any knowledge. His relatives think he was being held by US Forces.

Yesterday his body was found three miles outside of Mir Ali. He was handcuffed and was shot once in the back of the head.

This report has been compiled from various sources

***

This kidnapping and murder raises several issues.

Sovereignty. Who exactly exercises sovereignty in the tribal belt - Pakistan or the U.S?

This is not the first occasion when GoP has been made to hold the bag. From bases, air corridor, troops and personnel movement, the GoP has relented time and again. It has also looked the other way when 'alien' forces have conducted clandestine operations in the tribal belt.

The other issue related with this is that of Law and Order. Whose writ holds in that region? If after 59 years the writ of Islamabad is not imposed on this territory than it speaks volumes. Impotence? Collusion?

Human Rights This kidnapping and murder is in violation of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Bill of Rights .

We live in a dichotomous world where vested interests collude with governments to create phobias against targeted individuals and organizations and diverting the same attention away from the various states' and governments' actions.

For my money, equal scrutiny should apply for both. Loss of a human life is loss of life. More so when that human being is a civilian. The dichotomy I referred to becomes so obvious. We exercise two set of rules. One for us, a different one for others.

Individuals, organizations, states and governments indulging in this gross travesty should be held accountable to a uniform system of judgement and punishment.

The murderer/s of Hidayaullah Khan should face justice and retribution, not of the divine kind.

the toast is in the toaster

I
inside, it was dark
the clouds bore moist affection
sighs thundered
in the ultra sound range
and rayless lightening
struck intermittently

the lovers slept entwined
and dreamt of each other

in the morning she eased
out of his embrace
laid the breakfast on the table
and returned to the warm embrace
whispering 'the toast is in the toaster'

II
'the toast is in the toaster'
she whispered snuggling closer
he opened his eyes and
as cognition filtered in
he smiled, thankful to be alive

in the shower he hummed
the toast is in the toaster
the heart is in the chest
the ink is in the pen
the rider on the horse
stars in the sky
driver in the car
children on the bus
politician on the hustle
tea in the kettle

and as he drove
marveled at the banality
of familiar objects
people and places
that evokes certitude
and smiles

Powergen Quits India: Apple Abandons Plans

UK Energy giant Powergen announced today it is closing its Call Centre in India. They had begun using Indian Call Centres about five years ago. Powergen is part of E.ON - the world's largest investor-owned electricity and gas company.

The 'financial benefits' the move brought have been overshadowed by the "risk or expense of customer satisfaction."

In a press release they said:

* All calls to Powergen will be answered by an adviser in the UK
* The withdrawal from India is part of Powergen’s drive towards market leading customer service
* These moves build on huge improvements to customer service that have already led to a 75% reduction in complaints to energywatch since July 20051
* These changes will contribute to the creation of almost 1,000 new UK jobs throughout 2006

They will be hiring further 980 'advisers' in UK by the end of 2006 to handle the calls. They have been shifting the call handling since last July and have noticed a 'significant' reduction in customer complaints.

These advisers will be based in their existing call centres in Bedford, Bolton, Leicester, Nottingham and Rayleigh (Essex).

About 450 of the new jobs will be a direct consequence of the pull back from India.

In a related development Apple CEO Steven Jobs who had just some months ago announced a technical and customer-service support centre in India that would eventually employ 3000 workers, announced the shelving of those plans. He let go of about 30 newly employees.

According to Mckinsey Global Institute, India is home to the world's largest and fastest growing outsourcing sector that generates over $17 billion in revenues, employing nearly 700,000 people.

These pull backs and impending downsizing in India are either relatively minor strategic business decisions or they could be omens for the future. Too early to make an educated guess.

(compiled from various sources)

first love - pehli muhabbat

the first eye contact, that feeling
from the pits to every pore
hypersensitive walk on air
bright smile on every face
no hurdle insurmountable
(yeah that am-god feeling*)


pehli mohabbat ki kya baat hay
pehli mohabbat ki kya shaan hay

then the volcanoes erupt
and earth splits open
waves of water and lava
submerges hope, sinks dreams
of all morrows dreamt

and a few moments later
that effervescent smile
that to-die-for-smile
flashes and all the gloom
whirls and withers away

the sun is shining
the sun is smiling
____________for she is smiling

pehli mohabbat ki kya baat hay
pehli mohabbat ki kya shaan hay

for my son-mar 16, 2003

your heart, my murmur

a few words
from within

your heart
my murmur

add a tremor
and a quiver

two smiles
a soft sigh

and a poem
comes to light

Desicritics Editors' Picks - May 29- June 04

I have picked out some articles to highlight the past week. Nothing unusual in that. But what is unusual is that some of the writers have more than one entries. And two of them merited a third honorable mention.

If you are a contributor and do not find yourself here, please do not be unduly bothered. This list is arbitrary and subjective. Each contributing writer to Desicritics is a special writer. And do not pay heed to rumors that praising certain poems by a small time poet would get you here.

Any past writer who has been highlighted here can recommend one of their choice to me or one of the other editors to be included in the next selection.

Your suggestions are welcome too, specially for book/movie/music reviews. Here are this week's selections:

Raw Materials by Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa May 29, 2006 - kamla bhatt writes:

A few months ago I met with Vijay and Rudresh in New York where we spoke about their upcoming album, what it was like growing up in the USA, and how they decided to make music their professional career. Both, Vijay and Rudresh had no role models when they made their choice to become musicians. Vijay in fact finished his PhD and then switched to become a jazz musician. Rudresh went to a music school and got his undergraduate and graduate degree in music.

The Struggle with Web 2.0: You Are Not Alone... May 31, 2006 - kamla bhatt writes:

Getting back to the struggle with these Web 2.0 applications here is what I have discovered in private conversations with fellow bloggers. They too go through similar experiences, but nobody talks about it. It is as though we have to suffer in silence and endure this whole Web 2.0 revolution that is unfolding. Creators of these wonderful tools and applications appear to forget that not everybody is a software engineer or a geek, and users do need a clear set of instructions. Many times the UI (User Interface) is so poorly designed that it makes it difficult to navigate. And, it seems like nobody is talking about it. Surely this whole thing is meant to be used by regular folks like us, users like us? If we don't let these folks know, who will? How will they know there is a bug here, and that this UI is not intuitive?

And an honourable mention for this one also The Rahul Mahajan Case and Indian TV


...But Who are the OBCs? May 29, 2006 - madhukar writes:

It is surprising - or perhaps not so, given the "uneducated literacy" in the country - that a large number of people on either side of the reservation debate have little idea about the definition of OBCs.
This results in, e.g., a false debate on whether the reservations should be based on "economic criteria" or "caste".

Is there Merit in Reservations? May 30, 2006 - madhukar writes:

Is there a merit in reservation? As many comments on the previous posts allege, the benefits of reservation are supposed to have been cornered by the "creamy layer" or by those who don't actually fit into the criteria of being "backward".

On the other hand, a nation cannot develop on a sustainable basis, unless certain radical reforms are implemented to tackle the issues of social disparity and unequal opportunities. The arguments on both sides (pro- and anti-reservation), however, are largely based on ideological or anecdotal evidence.

Fiction: Narendra Modi's Little Saffron Book May 29, 2006 - Mayank 'Austen' writes:

Interview with the Saamna Newspaper (September 29, 2004).
"Without preparedness, a communal riot is not a real pogrom and there can be no final solution either. Having grasped this point, it is good to remember that while making a list of Mians and their Begums in their across-the-'border' Pakistani mohallas, care must be taken to accomplish the task without attracting much notice. The dogs must not be warned of their terrible ends."

And Now Mr. Narendra Modi In His Own Words May 30, 2006 - Mayank 'Austen' writes:

"What should we do? Run relief camps for them? Do we want to open baby-producing centers? Hum paanch, humaare pachhees. [We five, our 25]"
This remark was made by Mr. Modi in a speech during his very well received Gujarat Gaurav Yatra in 2002. He was referring to Muslims. According to Mr. Modi, riot-scarred people of the minority community, surviving in refugee camps, were busy having sex. Paanch, pachhees is Mr. Modi's pun on his version of an ideal Muslim family - one man with his 4 fertile wives.

Reading Shakespeare In Urdu also merits an honourable mention.


Sameer Patange: Master of Body Art May 30, 2006 - Sakshi Juneja writes:

How important is the hygiene aspect before and after getting a tattoo?
Hygiene is absolutely important before getting a tattoo, while getting a tattoo and after getting a tattoo. All the three aspects are very crucial. You have to see that it is done in a clean manner, it is kept clean after it's done and it's looked after as well. Things like cleaning it well after 3 hours of getting it done, keeping it away from water and dirt as much as possible, and using proper and good anti-septic ointment - all these factors play an important role in the end result of a tattoo.
So one really needs to take good care of it by following simple basic hygiene steps.

Badminton - A Dying Sport in India June 01, 2006 - Sakshi Juneja writes:

Some facts about Badminton worth knowing:
* Badminton is the fastest racket sport in the world.
* The game also dates back to ancient Greece and China as well, and was called battledore and shuttlecock.
*Badminton was originally played as a cooperative sport, where the goal was mainly to keep a rally going as long as possible.
*The shuttle-cock can travel off the racket at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.
*Men's and women's singles, doubles, and mixed doubles have been Olympic sports since 1992.
*More than 140 countries are now affiliated with the International Badminton Association.
*The use of goose feathers in shuttlecocks has been stopped by the Indian government and they have been replaced with light-weight plastic shuttles. Though in top-level matches, the originals are used.
*The game rules have changed this year - from a 15 point game, it's now a 21 point game. Points can be scored irrespective of who is serving.

The Iraq War: The Haditha Massacre June 01, 2006 - Q Bit writes:

It appears that the President has expressed his genuine concern. But given the record of his administration, in particular the reluctance to function within the laws and constitutional premises, and living in a heap of lies which grows every day, I am skeptic.
Here's hoping President Bush will walk his talk this time, because it's never too late to do the right thing.

The Slick Emotional Porn Genre Of Story Telling - Example - Raincoat June 04, 2006 - bevivek

Imagine the audience delight if in Raincoat, instead of giving the expected ill affordable gift, the girl decides the best gift is to put the man out of his misery, shoves the body in one of the wardrobes littering her house and thoughtfully uses the money in the man's raincoat to pay overdue rent and buy much needed provisions. Why, RG might start a new cinematic genre (well, at least in Tollywood).

cobwebbed cognizance

memories trickle
to emerge from
gray graves of
cobwebbed cognizance

dribbling
anamnesis*
in smiles and
kinesics**

in the heat of the june noon
driving on a lonely patch of road
fata morgana*** an accomplice
i think of pink floyd's wall
and wordsworth's daffodils
as memories sidle
from catacombs

________________________________________________________________

* an.am.ne.sis
n. pl. an.am.ne.ses (-sz)
1. Psychology. A recalling to memory; recollection.
Medicine. The complete history recalled and recounted by a patient.

** ki.ne.sics(k-nsks, -zks, k-)
n. (used with a sing. verb)
The study of nonlinguistic bodily movements, such as gestures and facial expressions, as a systematic mode of communication

*** [Italian, mirage, Morgan le Fay (from the belief that the mirage was caused by her witchcraft) : fata, fairy (from Vulgar Latin f ta, goddess of fate. See fairy) + Morgana, Morgan (probably from Old Irish Morrigain).

VI Mahajirzadeh:Inventions

I Mahajirzadeh: Mushtaque Ahmed Yusufi - An Introduction
II Mahajirzadeh:Manjhli and BaRi
IIIMahajirzadeh:Choti and the Siami Begum
IV Mahajirzadeh:The Great Hand Car Wash
V Mahajirzadeh:Laws of Ventilation and Other Quotes

Mahajirzadeh operated on his own version of s--t--r--e--t--c--h t i m e. He never owned a wrist watch. It appeared as if he was allergic to time. Missed weddings, funerals, and meetings because of his unique concept of time. He used to shrug off saying, "It is my time." More than anyone we have known, he has evaded giving in to Mother Time. And when he did, as he must have, he gave the impression he was doing her a favour. But Mother Time being what she is extracts her dues inevitably.

We will credit Mahajirzadeh with OilFree Pakoras. Mix the ingredients for the pakoras the way you like. Instead of dropping them in the pan of boiling oil, he would spread them out on his waffle iron. In a few minutes you will enjoy pakoras, albeit shaped like waffle! In this age of calorie counting, this is akin to having your cake and eating it too.

He also invented KhatnaMachine. Made of surgical steel, it was the marriage of toe-nail scissors with the nail cutter. Dipped in anti-septic it would do the job in a flourish! Sadly, it did not take off, because of a slight oversight. 'Shurafaa', he told us wistfully, 'do not like to take things in their hands.'

He flew a lot. He invented the SpillFreeLota. Two plastic bags filled with water, saddling over the user's shoulder, with a long tube attached to the bottom of the bag. When properly unfurled and unblocked, the water will flow unabashedly to cleanse the user. He told us it was inspired by a visit to the intensive care ward, where he saw someone drip fed. (For the reader who cannot grasp the intricacy of this invention please ask a first generation desi to decipher it for you. Or check the toilets of PIA or Air India half an hour into the flight.)

His other great 'invention' was PantWarKameez. On an earlier visit to Karachi, as we were departing he presented us a package with a twinkle in his eyes. When we opened the package later we found a locally stitched suit of shalwar kameez. Further examination revealed Mahajirzadeh's unique touch. The shalwar was a pant at the top, complete with a zip and the bottom was a traditional baggy shalwar. PantWarKameez was also coined by him. We immediately put him on the same pedestal as the late Maharajah of Jodhpur. We had visions of patenting his invention. But the nation was preoccupied elsewhere.

In our last brief visit home, we specially sought him out. He showed interest in migrating to our barafzaar---land of ice---but he was reluctant to be separated from the Ponti. We told him to bring along the Ponti. Perhaps on its count he maybe permitted to retire in Canada. 'But how can I abandon these occupied graves,' he wondered. I reminded him of his relative youth and, and hinted that he could with some luck, fill some more graves over there. Mahajirzadeh sighed and for the first time that we could recall quoted a couplet:

ghazal oos nay chehri mujhay saaz daina
zara umr-e-raftaa kou awaaz daina

concluded