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Showing posts from February, 2009

Ramblings

Alone, I stand Looking ahead, and back Trails travelled and unknown. Behind are the woods - wistful, grateful, sorrowful can't just leave them behind, can I? And yet, the sky ahead is turquoise. A blissful wind slaps my cheeks, the sun burns me a rich brown. It stings... and feels alive. What is it at the horizon? A gathering storm, I must say, as I get drawn towards its. Crazy? Ah... yes. Passion is crazy. Being alive is being crazy. Being happy is being crazy. I laugh, and move ahead as the tear drops behind...

More About Idea of India

A glance by chance at the list of articles by Shashi Tharoor led me to this article, also incidentally named - 'The Idea of India'. While I put my thoughts about the same subject in the earlier blog entry in an elementary way, here's an intellectual giant elaborating the same in a much more engaging and pursuasive write-up. Enjoy!

What's The Issue?

Just read an engaging column by MJ Akbar - 'All religions are not the same, but fundamentalists are' . He is right on three accounts: Fundamentalists are totally out of sync with popular culture. They are holding on to their own outdated notions - that are incorrect in the first place - and enforcing them on others with impunity. All religions are not the same, but fundamentalists are. Akbar Ji says that they all share an aversion for modernity and a hatred of gender equality. I totally agree. He says, "India is one nation among many that emerged from the ruins of the British empire claiming the mantle of modernity. This is not because Indians are superior to their neighbours, but because the idea of India is better." "The Idea of India" - This is one of the most powerful phrases I've ever come across. The idea of India is so gigantic, vast, expansive, all-endearing... that there is no space for 'one' right way of doing things. India is a

Monkey Trouble

Monkeying can be both good and bad. In fact, it can be pretty bad, as is obvious from my previous post about the Goons in Saffron . Watching the news made my bile rise, and I tried to divert my thoughts to monkeying of a different kind. Mistake me not dear reader, I am just referring to the fantastical acrobatics of our Darwinian ancestors, the real and honourable monkey. Honest to word, I felt much better and would now like to relate to you the same. The apartment where I live is next to the sprawling campus of the Central Silk Board. Apart from the hundreds of worker, the campus is also home to a group of monkeys who take refuge in its greenery in a city that is today defined by its traffic snarls and concrete jungle. Last year, in July, the monkeys made a surprise visit to our apartment , and had ravaged my potted plants kept out in the balcony. Understandably, I was shocked and appalled to see the destruction, and in the following months took great paints to nurse my plan