Sunday, January 31, 2010

Woman Speak

‘When fundamentalists run out of arguments, they call you an infidel’

Ayaan Hirsi Ali says "The spread of Islam is the greatest problem in history today. Even if people don't resort to terror and violence, it's a closing of the Muslim mind. A closing of the human mind. Because Islam doesn't allow you to think for yourself. Islam also persuades you to invest in life after death. That's bad for people, even if they don't become violent. It's much better to invest in a theology that helps you to invest in life here on earth."

On women and the Burqa she says: "The veil stands for the idea that a wpman's body is seductive -it arouses the man. And if that happens, the men cannot control their sexuality -so the best way to help men control their sexuality is to cover women. ... I think that the women who now wear and flaunt it will have to ask themselves the following question - is it for me to protect a man from his own sexuality, or should he learn to control his own desires and urges? We've seen in India, in China, the West,men are capable of controlling their urges - and so that makes the burqa redundant."

She says that educated women flaunting the Burqa are actually making political, not religious statements, implying that Sharia law is better than the established law of the country.  Comments anyone?

And who's this person? Born Ayaan Hirsi Magan on 13 November 1969 in Mogadishu, Somalia) this intellectual, feminist activist, writer, and politician is the estranged daughter of the late Somali scholar, politician, and revolutionary opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse. She is a prominent critic of Islam, and her screenplay for Theo Van Gogh's movie Submission led to death threats. Since van Gogh's assassination by a Muslim extremist in 2004, she has lived in seclusion under the protection of Dutch authorities.


When she was eight, her family left Somalia for Saudi Arabia, then Ethiopia, and eventually settled in Kenya. She sought and obtained political asylum in the Netherlands in 1992, under circumstances that later became the center of a political controversy. In 2003 she was elected a member of the House of Representatives (the lower house of the Dutch parliament), representing the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). A political crisis surrounding the potential stripping of her Dutch citizenship led to her resignation from the parliament.
 
In 2005, Time magazine named Ayaan as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She has also received several awards including Norway's Human Rights Service's Bellwether of the Year Award, the Danish Freedom Prize, the Swedish Democracy Prize (awarded in 2005 by the Liberal Party) and the Moral Courage Award for commitment to conflict resolution, ethics, and world citizenship.
 
 In 2006 she published her memoir, which appeared in English translation in 2007 titled Infidel
 
“It is important to off-set Islamic values with Western values. In Islam, men and women are not equal, a woman’s testimony is worth half of a man’s, and homosexuality is not acceptable. Is there a way to have a discussion with Muslim fundamentalists about Islam without offending them? No,” says Ali, who feels that Islam needs to go through the same “enlightenment” process that other religions have gone though.



“When you have a discussion about values with fundamentalists, when they run out of arguments, they start accusing the other of shutting down the conversation. They call you a traitor, an infidel,” says Ali, whose memoir Infidel was published in English in 2007.
 
 
Ayaan was in India for the Jaipur Lit-Fest

Friday, January 29, 2010

Gandhi - finally put to rest?

On the 62nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, some of his cremated remains are to be scattered at sea off South Africa's coast.


Gandhi's grand-daughter, Ela Gandhi, revealed that a family friend had kept the Mahatma's ashes for decades. They were handed over to the family last year. It is difficult to estimate how many people received a portion of Gandhi's ashes after he was cremated in 1948.

After Gandhi was assassinated 62 years ago, his ashes were distributed among family, friends and followers. Ashes are usually dispersed over a body of water shortly after cremation. Most of the Mahatma's ashes  probably have been scattered in a river or at sea shortly afterwards, according to Hindu rites.

These ashes will be scattered at sea exactly 62 years after his death. In 2008, some of Gandhi's ashes, kept for years by an estranged son, were donated to a museum in Mumbai which arranged a ceremony to scatter them in the Arabian sea.

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a right wing fanatic on 30 January 1948.

Gandhi stood for simplicity, frugality, intellectual honesty, and empowering the rural poor.

In an India fast adopting rampant consumerism and ostentation, where the rising middle class is keen to prostrate before the omnipresent dollar, this 'final scattering ofwhatver little is left of Gandhiji is rather poetic.

 From Bihar to Bangalore, and from Kashmir to Kolkatta, Gandhi is just a fading memory. It's a very different world today, youngsters tell me.

Don't you agree?

[Top picture of Ela Gandhi courtesy BBC, the restaurant at the bottom selling 'Mahatma Gandhi' Ji's Tandoori Chicken' is in Paris. ]

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Obama, The State of the Union, and Bihar


Let me put this in context. I listened to President Obama's speech over the BBC in Bihar, India - where two politicians, not known for either their honesty or integrity have held the state to ransom with a 'bandh' - a shut-down to 'protest' rising prices - thereby creating a loss in income and productivity for one of the poorest provinces in India. 'When, oh when,' I thought, 'would the people in regional India get to hear a politician deal with real issues like this man?"




One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse and a government deeply in debt. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. So we acted immediately and aggressively. And one year later, the worst of the storm has passed.
President Barack Obama stood before Uncle Sam today to deliver the first State of the Union address of his presidency.


He set the stage for his message, reminding Congress that for more than 200 years, presidents have delivered the State of the Union in the midst of vastly differing circumstances. He said he was aware that the American people were struggling.

"These struggles are the reason I ran for president," Obama said. Obama said he was optimistic about the American spirit. "I've never been more hopeful about our nation's future than I am tonight," Obama said.

Obama said no one liked the recent spree of bailouts for banks nationwide, but that they were a "necessary evil."

Defending his actions in the previous year, Obama said he had lowered taxes for several different constituencies.

Obama defended his administration's stance on the economic recovery. He said jobs would be the top priority in 2010 and later addressed the need to create new jobs in new markets.

He proposed $30 billion be given to small banks, to help small businesses gain credit. "I will not accept second place for the United States of America," Obama said
.

You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China's not waiting to revamp its economy; Germany's not waiting; India's not waiting. These nations aren't standing still. These nations aren't playing for second place. They're putting more emphasis on math and science. They're rebuilding their infrastructure. They are making serious investments in clean energy because they want those jobs.



Well I do not accept second place for the United States of America. As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it's time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth.

On to the heavily debated issue of healthcare reform. The president urged Congress not to shy away, and said he was willing to hear alternative solutions - so long as they met certain criteria.

He said he planned to bring 44 nations to the Capitol to discuss nuclear containment with the goal of controlling all nuclear materials in a timespan of four years.As to his policy of containment and the security of these weapons, Obama likened his stance to the ideals of former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

The president solidified his commitment to winning the war in Afghanistan, while promising to bring American forces home from Iraq by August.

We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy efficient, which supports clean energy jobs. And to encourage these and other businesses to stay within our borders, it's time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the United States of America.


Finally, a bit that describes politics in India as well:

But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is election day. We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent -- a belief that if you lose, I win. Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can.
 

Ah, but the good citizens of the USA, and Obama don't know just how shortsighted and stupid our own 'goonda -chhap' netas are, and it's so sad that the good citizens of India haven't got up and thrown these people out with the trash... so more shutowns, lockouts, bandhs... jai Hind! 
Report on the Bihar Bandh -just click here!

iPod to iPad - it's a fight!

Finally, Apple has laid to rest fevered speculation by unveiling its long-awaited tablet PC,  called the iPad.




Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive unveiled the touchscreen device at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco introducing it as a "third category" between smartphones and laptops. It looks like a large iPhone, can be used to watch films, store photos and browse the web.
Mr Jobs says the device lets people "hold the whole web in your hands". "What this device does is extraordinary. It is the best browsing experience you have ever had," he claims. The iPad also has iTunes software built in, allowing users to purchase songs and movies straight to the device.

in the meanwhile,

There'a a battle on as Apple takes on Nokia.
On 15 January, Apple filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) asking it to block Nokia imports to the US.
This is the latest move in a chess game of legal proceedings that started in October when Finnish firm Nokia sued Apple, claiming that Apple's iPhone infringed ten of its patents.
Apple countered by filing its own lawsuit against Nokia, saying the phone maker had copied certain aspects of the iPhone and infringed thirteen  of its patents.
In late December, Nokia filed a further claim with the ITC, alleging Apple infringed seven of its patents in "virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers".

Apple is also being sued by camera maker Kodak over technology used in the iPhone.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Broadening Horizons

It is heartening to see minority groups in India using the worldwide Web to make their presence felt.
One such recent entry is Gaylaxy
This is the first queer e-magazine from Eastern India.

The section on NGOs is a bit out-dated and not very accurate. Both the Bihar addresses do not exist. AASRA Charitable Trust wound up its MSM related HIV awareness programme in 2005 and moved out of the premises, so the 'Gay and bisexual' support programme as mentioned is not in existence.
However, it's a very well designed publication.
Here's the link, if you're interested in checking it out.
Click on the word below:

GAYLAXY

Monday, January 25, 2010

Republic @ 60



H'm, all hail to the Indian Republic at 60 - the Ship of State is still creaking along, it may have sprung a few leaks, has been tossed about by some half-a dozen storms of varying intensity, but we're still afloat, and that's something, I suppose.

The Founding Fathers [weren't there any founding Mothers?]  .. anyway, the Founding Fathers, [mostly Oxbridge types] who cobbled our rather Utopian Constitution together, making it the bulkiest in the world, were rather optimistic individuals who looked at reality through rose tinted British-made glasses!

Equality before the law and the In-laws indeed! Need I say more?


What does 26 January mean to you?



For the Aussies, It's the day to reflect on what they have achieved and what they can be proud of.


Australia Day is a day driven by communities, and the hundreds of celebrations held in each town, suburb or city are the foundation of its ongoing success. And Australia Day is big. Over 780 local community celebrations take place on 26 January right across the nation.

The National Australia Day Council  says that about 27 per cent of Australians attend an organised, community event on Australia Day, while a further 26 per cent get together with family and friends with the explicit intention of celebrating Australia Day.

The events and programmes that local government and community organisations coordinate for Australia Day generate immense community spirit. They are for everyone - family, fun and free.They are authentic and genuine, celebrating enduring Australian values.

The tradition of noticing 26 January began early in the nineteenth century with Sydney almanacs referring to First Landing Day or Foundation Day. That was the day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove.

Yet the tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. In 1994 all the states began to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday.

The evolution of Australia Day has included a number of nationally significant events, including the strong emergence of the Indigenous rights movement on the sesquicentenary of 1938, and the huge bicentenary celebrations of 1988.



Who knows, sometime in the future, Oz will be celebrating the first Republic Day on the 26th of January!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Teaching and Technology

On Saturday, I was invited to Litera Valley School in Patna, for a demonstration of what's known as the 'Smart Class'. The school has installed the largest number of active 'smart boards' in the Eastern region, we learnt.

A 'Smart board is a specially enabled interactive teaching tool that is part white-board, and part projection system, with a variety of interactive content for all subjects and learning levels.

Classrooms will not be boring, at least in Litera Valley School.

Smartclass is available for teachers and students over the web, and can also be installed on the school’s local server for faster and more reliable access to the content.
It's nice to see that upcoming schools are serious about changingthe quality and nature of pedagogy. Let's hope that in time, more schools will encourage teachers to replace chalk-talk  with actual teaching!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

End-o-Sulfan?

Endosulfan: never heard of it? But it could land up inside you,and then what? BTW, India produces the most, and it's banned in over 60 countries!




2008: After almost 10 years of environmental damage and a large number of deaths among cotton growing communities, the infamous insecticide endosulfan is finally on its way out from West Africa. On 16th February, 2008, the government of Benin, one of the 3 largest cotton producers in the region, announced that the chemical would be banned after the existing stocks are used up.

This decision was the result of a recommendation from the region's pest management experts who  finally recognised the unacceptable hazards of endosulfan, and paves the way to a probable phase out in most West African cotton producing countries - Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast are committed to phasing the insecticide out by the end of the 2008/9 growing season


In 2007, the USA: The EPA's own studies concluded that even with the best available technology, people applying endosulfan are exposed to unacceptable risks. "It is time for the EPA to take the health of communities seriously and get this dangerous chemical out of the US agriculture", said campaign's coordinator Medha Chandra from PAN North America. The result, was that in 2007, the manufacturer, Bayer, withdrew it from the US market, but continued to sell it abroad.

Incredible India:
Such a move is unlikely to happen in India, a country where cotton farmers continue to use highly hazardous pesticides with completely inadequate protective equipment.

But the real reason is India's powerful Pesticide lobby.

Imagine, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, in response to a global campaign against Endosulfan, says it will not be banned in India.Kerala banned endosulfan in 2001, after pictures of physically and mentally handicapped children schocked the world - in Kasargod, endosulfan was sprayed on cashew crops.

Iy's banned in more than 60 countries, but India is the world's largest producer of endosulfan. It is used widely in cotton fields.
 
Endosulfan, says the lobby, is less toxic for bees, and therefore 'protects the flora and fauna of India'. Comments, anyone?

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

One Year of O-Ba-Ma

A crucial Democrat seat in Massachusets, [one that the democrats had for over five decades] went to the Republicans - and people are saying that it means Obama is finished. What's your take?

Neutral:
As Tommy Douglas used to say, the mice have to vote for a black cat or a white cat but in the end they're both cats and they will do what cats will do to the mice. Neither Republicans nor Democrats deserve to win, but Americans don't know this and because of their media they probably never will.



Against:
Obama is like Blaire and Cameron, a pretty boy politician; they talk nice words but do nothing. Its a fact that your leader needs to be old and wise, the young ones just don’t have the knowledge to run a country.  If Obama does half the damage Blaire did then the USA is in deep trouble.

For:
President Obama is a trustworthy president, he is not responsible for the credit crash, the unemployment rate or for winning a Noble peace prize. Find some true facts to sensationalize your front page news. Why can't we have a hero in the world without the press hysteria twisting facts to bring him crashing down.... check out your own house rules. Whatever happened to honor and respect?

Neutral:
After Obama's dismal first year in office, where he has nothing to show for it other that rhetoric and promises, people are frustrated.



Bush was a horrible president. Obama is not delivering either. He is weak, inexperienced and chose some of the same advisors Bush had, that were asleep at the wheel when the economic meltdown occurred in 2008 and with the war effort.


He has lost touch with the people that voted for him and they sent him a clear message, the only way they can.


Frank Say:
I remember clearing my entire timetable last year, so I could enjoy the live coverage of the installation of Uncle Sam's first Black President. It was a euphoric, one full of hope, and it was evident that not only the American people, but the whole world, was pinning their hopes on Obama to heal Planet Earth.
12 months later, there seems to be a sense of disillusionment among Americans. They want the man to turn the recession around, to get the troops back from Iraq and Afghanistan, to shut down the G-Bay prison all in one year... these Americans are like little chldren expecting the moon and the stars along with their hamburgers and fries.
Obama has to swim against the current in proudly capitalist America, and boy, he'd better be strong, because if he gives up mid-stream, he'll be swept away and drowned.
But, I think we people in India understand that the Taj Mahal wasn't built in a day. We've heard the way our politicians sing out promises, and then promptly suffer from amnesia the moment they gain the gaddi. At least Obama is trying.

Let's wish the man luck for the tough days ahead.

BQFF -It's about right


Wanted! Queer themed films for the Bangalore Queer Film Fest!Please spread the word to any film-makers/ studios that  you know.Contact 08041231340 / 08041231345 for submission details

The next important thing is the Second Bangalore Queer Film Festival.
Date: Fri Apr 10 - Sat Apr 11
Time: 9:00 AM - 10:30 PM

The first BQFF

The first edition of the Bangalore Queer Film Festival was held in Bangalore on 10 and 11 April, 2009. The event had a tightly packed schedule.More than 20 feature, short and documentary films were exhibited alongside panel discussions on being out at the workplace and short performance pieces using drama, dance, Sufi music and poetry.

Bangalore has hosted film festivals on themes related to lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender (LGBT or Queer) communities since 2003.Although they were small events, since their transformation into The Bangalore Queer Film Festival (BQFF) in April 2009, held at the Alliance Francaise, the festivals made Bangalore a destination for international Queer films.

The festival brings a wide spectrum of queer international films together at one venue including award winning
movies such as Wong Karwai's Happy Together, Gus Van Sant's 'Mala Noche', critically acclaimed documentaries like ' Dangerous Living' and 'It's still elementary and also brings focus to Indian queer experiences through the works of Indians such as Sonali Gulati, Sachin Kundalkarand Priya Sen. The festival takes on cinema beyond the 'token portrayals for comedic effect' or as objects of curiosity . It explores multiple dimensions of queer experience through domestic and international queer documentaries, movies and short films.

[The still is from the film 'Gulabi Aina' produced by Solaris Pictures, arguably India's first 'Queer' movie, it has been shown on screens abroad, but is not released in India]
Organisers

BQFF 2010 is organised by Good As You (GAY), SWABHAVA Trust and We're Here and Queer (WHAQ!). GAY (www.goodasyou.in) is a support group (est.1994) for LGBT people in Bangalore and is one of the oldest supportgroups in India. SWABHAVA Trust (est. 1999) is a non-profit,non-governmental organisation working with LGBT issues, including providing access to support services in Bangalore. Both GAY and Swabhava have co-hosted previous queer film festivals in Bangalore.

This year,another group called We're Here and Queer (WHAQ!), a queer women's support group (estd. 2009) is also a co-organiser. GAY and WHAQ!regularly organise film screenings at their weekly meetings. All the groups are non-funded and operate entirely on donations.

Patna Festival

Though Patna in Bihar hasn't hosted a Queer Film Festival, it is important to note that, since the year 2002, the issues around alternative sexuality have regularly featured in the All Bihar Low Cost Film Festival, held every two years at Ravi Bharati, Patna. The event is held every two years.

In 2006, Asish Sawhney's "Happy Hookers" was premeired. In 2008, "Our family", a documentary on transgendered communities in Tamil  nadu, made by Anjali Monteiro and  jayashankar was featured as well as several other indian made low cost documentaries and student films on the subject.

This year, the 'Abhivyakti'  festival is scheduled for the last week of April, and as is the tradition, will feature inclusive documentaries and short films on a wide range of issues.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Wine 'n' Candy



Red Red Wine
You may have listened to the U2 version, but let me remind you that the first time I heard this song was way back in the late seventies, on a Neil Diamond vinyl album: Hot August Night - and there's aabsolutely no cover version of this song that's as good as the original.

Well, laddies, ladies, and li'l lapdogs, everyone's going on and on about vino, and how really 'hot' it is on the page3 scene, whatever that may mean.

One of the great hazards is buying good wine in India is that except for the port peddlers in Goa, not many vendors know much about the stuff.

It's a fact that fairly recently a whole shipment of rare wine was lying at the Madras docks, for heaven's sake. In a crate! In the heat! While the importers were haggling with the customs officials over red tape.

I pity the poor saps in India who finally bought that wine, at premium prices over 2,000 rupees a bottle. For all you know, they must've uncorked the stuff, to sniff at and savour  vinegar.
If you think that this post is just a case of sour grapes, it very well may be!

Eye Candy
What exactly is eye candy? I sent the query out over cyberspace.
Eye candy is someone that's very pleasing to the eye, someone wrote.


Eye candy is a young guy who's super-delicious, and just looking at him makes you drool, said another.

Eye candy is a mint with a hole, wrote a third.

Eye candy is a dandy that you'd want to come in handy, messaged a fourth.

Eye candy is a chocolate boy who'll probably give you ocular diabetes if you ogle at him too much wrote a fifth.

Oh, well, I'm still finishing off the mountain of 'til kut' from makar sankranti day.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Photograph


It's rather a chill day, and so this photograph sent to me by a photographer friend seemed like the sort of thing to warm my blog up with.

A good photograph is possible when the guy with the camera has an eye for detail, a sense of composition, and a good grasp of the lighting technique. Add to this a patient and personable subject.

Jyoti Basu 1914 - 2010


Jyoti Basu  was the prima donna of Indian communism, a product of aristocracy who embraced Marx in London and became the longest serving chief minister in the country. Born the son of a doctor on  July 8, 1914, in Calcutta,  Basu was schooled in Loreto and St. Xavier's. He graduated from Calcutta's famous Presidency College with an honours in English in 1935.


He then studied law in London, where he was associated with the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), the alma mater of many an Indian Communist.  Basu's early associates included the veteran British Communists Harry Pollitt, Rajani Palme Dutt and Ben Bradley. In London, he joined the India League and the Federation of Indian Students in Great Britain. On returning to India, Basu joined the then undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) and in 1944, three years before the British Raj ended, started working among railway workers.

He got into electoral politics in 1946, getting elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly.

He was a thorough gentleman, and had a long innings in West bengal politics: he was the longest serving Chief Minister.

The rest, as we say, is history.

Stirred and Shaken

Watched 3 Idiots for the second time.


It deserves a second look. By all means, it's a fairly well-made film, a middle-of-the-road entertainer, and the presence of actor Bomman Irani made it seem vaguely familiar. After all, it was a bit like Rajkumar Hirani's other 'meaningful, feel-good' offerings.

For some, the film appears to be 'loaded with messages, meaning, and what not.
It's a message to middle class parents, says one.
It's a message to students to follow their dreams, says another.
It's a message to schools not to put pressure on students, says a third.
It's a message to youngsters to be as disruptive they can get, says a fourth.
It makes fun of the 'good students', says a fifth.
It's all about pissing, farting, and drinking alcohol, wails a sixth.
Three guys on a scooter without a helmet! screams a seventh.



And what about all those homoerotic scenes, gasps a member of the religious right.


I suppose you can take whatver message you want from the film, and if you're offended by guys pulling down their trousers and shaking their underwear in your face... well,... what can I say.
The film is successful because it has the right mix of satire, in-your-face attitude, and it pulls at the subconscious of our straight-jacketed and [may I dare to say] sexually-repressed Indian middle class?
 3 idiots isn't Oscar material, but it does leave a lot of people Stirred and shaken... right?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Reptiles dropping from trees

I've been enchanted by the song 'It's raining Men', but according to reports its raining Iguanas in Florida, USA.

Iguanas in Florida are dropping from trees after becoming comatose due to the state's cold spell.

Temperatures have plummeted to around 0 degrees Celsius in the 'sunshine state', far below normal levels.

Cold-blooded iguanas like temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius, so in a climate of around 5 degrees C, they go into a deep sleep and become immobile.

As their bodies shut off, they lose their grip on the tree branches and fall to the ground.

Local wildlife expert Mark "Wildman" Burrow told the BBC's World Today programme what was behind the phenomenon: They are going into a tetonic freezing state, frozen but not dead - a sort of 'cold coma'

Notices are now being put out warning people to leave the animals where they find them or to call their local animal service instead.

In India, you will notice snakes, tortoises and other such animals having the same symptoms during cold spells... they are more vulnerable to extinction because of illiterate and superstitious villagers! I've seen several toads being dug upout of their winter sleep by stupid village louts in Gaya, who don't have an idea how useful toads are for the environment!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Dark Friday


The longest eclipse of the millennium.
The Solar Eclipse of 15 January 2010 was visible as a partial eclipse in some countries. The Maldives was the best spot for viewing the solar eclipse from land. The eclipse was seen for 10.4 minutes in India.
Hundreds of young Indians in the IT capital Bangalore defied superstition and treated themselves to a sumptuous lunch during the millennium’s longest annular eclipse today.

In Bihar, superstition held sway. A seventeen year old Brahmin boy in jeans and sporting the latest hairstyle, hurries home asnd refuses to eat anything from eleven in the morning till three in the afternoon because he has to obey his parents. Another young man was treated to a long lecture about what would bring bad luck during the eclipse, and he was warned that any 'anti-social behaviour' like snacking during the inauspicious time would bring bad luck to his family!

I'm glad my friend Sarikah in Gangtok posted a photograph she took at 2 pm on Facebook, which I have snitched to add colour to this post.

The good news in Patna was that the sun actually came out of hiding and it was a fairly bright day, slightly warmer than yesterday.

My question : How long will blind superstition continue to eclipse Reason and Common Sense in India?

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The fourteenth day

Looking Back 2000-2009







The Fourteenth Day of the year is unique in a way, because that's when the Maghe Mela starts in Sikkim, it's the kite flying festival in North India, and it's time to eat curd and new flattened rice for Bihar and the adjoining provinces.
InMaharashtra, it's a sweet prepared of jaggery and sesame seeds that marks the day, and in the holy cities of the Hindus, there's the matter of a holy dip in the river, even though it may be freezing to the bone.
Happy Kite-flying to one and all this year.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

To bee or not to bee

It's a chilling January night and there's a cold drizzle outside that's not making it any warmer.

My thoughts turn to all the living things out there in this cold wave, and for some reason I'm suddenly thinking of bees.



Yes, bees. the kind that buzz and build hives and gather honey from flowers. I have in my hand a bottle of 'bee honey' - an excellent traditional remedy for a sore throat: honey and brandy; honey, lemon and brandy, honey and ginger - three effective ways of soothing a throat on a wintry night. And then there's my favourite snack: braised pork in honey sauce.

But honey.. 'pure bee honey' is getting more expensive by the minute. The reason is perhaps because in spite of 'bee farms', the bee population is facing a population crisis. The bee population is actually decreasing.


If 2010 continues to see entire colonies of honey bees wiped out by the indiscriminate spraying of pesticides, freak climate change, sudden, unseasonal freezing temperatures, the it's going to be a very hungry future in store for the world.

The orange crops in California, the litchies in Muzaffarpur, the Mango flowers and Jamun blossoms, all need honeybees to perform the pollination ritual to turn flower into fruit. Honey is just the by-product.


Now, if we don't do something about saving the bees, we're going to do more than ponder the question


Humankind : to bee or not to be?



Monday, January 11, 2010

Media bashing?

The Indian media is crying itself hoarse over the Indian-bashing incidents in Australia.
I put the question to a few Indian immigrants [now Australian citizens] and I got a very different story altogether.
First of all, they pointed out that there was nothing 'racist' about Aussie society.
Second, they said that there were gangs of anti-social and rowdy thugs in some of the cities who have begun targeting easy prey, and these are often immigrants - Chinese, Taiwanese, Paki, Indian. they pointed out that they had lived in Oz for the better part of four decades, and they received no such threats.
Third, they said that the incidents were unfortunate, but Indians do have a high degree of 'sentimentality' that often clouds their objective vision.
Yes, crimes occur evrywhere, like the way Australian Graham Staines and his two small boys were immolated by a fanatical, uncouth Indian thug in the name of preserving 'religion'. One doesn't recall a frenzied media in Australia, but one does recall strident and shrill voices condoning this grisly crime being broacast over the Indian media!
Comments anyone, to these comments by Indian born Aussies?

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Angels

The representation of the angel in Biblical mythological art

is male. The archangel Lucifer was so beautiful that he grew proud and led a rebellion against his creator. He was then exiled to hell.
I came across a genre of internet art [or perhaps the technical term would be digital art] called poseur art, and was amazed at the number of winged angels I discovered. This angel, in black leather is supposed to represent Lucifer.
Now I haven't found out why, but men in wings and leather are supposed to represent some sort of queer subculture. Is the artist saying that Lucifer was gay?
Whatever!

The autorickshaw

The ubiquitous auto-rickshaw is the most used for of transport in most towns and cities in India. In Patna, the auto-rickshaws are 'shared cabs' that operate on a point-to-point basis.
Yesterday, as I got out on the street in the morning, I sensed a stillness, a quietitude in the cold winter air. There was a bracing quality to the morning. I realised that this feeling was not entirely due to the fcat that I was in a good mood. And then it dawned on me, there wasn't an auto-rickshaw to be seen on the road anywhere.
No noise, no honking, and far less congestion.
Good?
Well, consider this. The buses in Patna are too ramshackle and overcrowded. Cycle-Rickshwas are slow and hike up their rates to Rs 20 a kilometre. And if you've got to travel about seven to ten kilometres... and you have no car... you're stuck! Patna does not have a taxi service.
So, until there's a better public transport system put in place, one hopes the autos get back on the roads soon. UGh!!!

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Night Prayer


Too tired tonight


I lay my body down to sleep

And pray to God my soul to keep

And if I die before I wake

I pray to God my soul to take.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Reflections


Atisa Dipankara, the great Buddhist monk gave us a sutra that is so simple, and yet so profound. Compare it with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth or with those of any of the great sages, and you will find a resonance ...

The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

Worldspace Saga

Somebody said, 'let's fight to save Worldspace radio'
As that legendary rock group Queen sang 'Radi-ohh, someone still loves yee-ou!'

Worldspace India's 300 or so staff members have signed a petition to India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The letter states that Reliance’s ‘Big TV’ and Tata Sky’s DTH operations were both involved in discussions to acquire Worldspace India.

The letter argues that Worldspace’s incoming buyer, Liberty Media, has decided to close its Indian pay-radio operation in order “to wipe off the current liabilities with subsidiary, subscribers, employees, vendors and business associates.” The staffers say that the whole process is being played out in a hush-hush manner to try and leep Indian investors off the deal.

“Despite India being a primary market, the sale of the asset is being concluded without publicising the same in India and ruling out any possibility of a domestic investor in India participating in the sale,” states the letter to the Prime Minister.
The letter to the Prime Minister continues: “In summary, Liberty Media and Mr Robert Schmitz, the current chief restructuring officer of Worldspace Inc, want to escape from liabilities in India while retaining the assets for encashing the India business opportunity in India at a later date."
Rapid TV News reports that the initial feedback from the ministries involved suggests that the government will in all probability give a timeline within which this has to be solved or else risk facing a ban.

The note says Liberty Media and Worldspace have cleared their liabilities in all other countries of operation. “Certain loopholes in our system are being misused to escape from responsibilities of orderly closure of the business.”

The employees have requested the government intervene in the matter to ensure that the radio service provider exits only after following the due process applicable to any other media or telecom services in India. They have also asked for sale of satellite assets to be publicised and restriction of re-entry of Worldspace/Liberty in India in a new guise until all issues relating to its liabilities and protection of stakeholders are resolved.

Based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Worldspace is the world's only global media and entertainment company positioned to offer a satellite radio experience to consumers in more than 130 countries with five billion people, driving 300 million cars. Worldspace award-winning programming provides subscribers with a combination of news, sports, music, talk and entertainment, as well as brand-name content and educational programming. Leading brands from around the globe found on Worldspace include the BBC, Virgin Radio UK, and RFI.

Worldspace satellites cover two-thirds of the earth and enable the Company to offer a wide range of innovative services for enterprises and governments globally, including distance learning, alert delivery, data delivery, and disaster readiness and response systems. Worldspace is a pioneer of satellite-based digital radio services and was instrumental in the early development of the technology infrastructure used today by XM Satellite Radio.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Lyric for 2010

The news on the seventh day of the year reminds me of this Bob Dylan classic:

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

The Seventh Day

Year Twenty ten.
Day Seven.

It's cold. I'm not merely referring to the cold wave conditions in the northrn hemisphere.
It's a cold year indeed.

Thousands of Worldspace subscribers and staff left out in the cold. And that's not the one tune I'm playing on my harp.

Notre Dame Communication Centre, the pioneering television production training centre in Bihar, started in 1977, is winding up its programme and will finally fade to black on March 31, 2010.

Unable to keep up with the changing times, and the superfast technology turnover, the NDCC will be taking a bow. Training for video production will stop, but the communication ministry will continue.

The first seven days of January have been bitter-sweet. It's difficult to have to say goodbye to a way of life all of a sudden. One starts getting sentimental, and of course, suddenly realises that things taken for granted assume so much more significance when they suddenly start to fade away.

There is of course, the fact that each year bring with it many opportunities and new beginnings. And I am sure the days ahead will bring a fair amount of sunshine as well.

But right now.....

It's cold.
It's raining in my heart.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Looking Back 2000-2009

Worldspace and I

Today, with sadness, I climbed to the roof and removed my worldspace antenna from where it has braved sun and storm, scurrying squirrels and inquisitive crows. Below, in my bedroom, the little silver BPL box receiver no longer displays thepresent radio stations on its display panel: Spin, BBC, Up Country, The Hop, Riff, Orbit Rock.








Radio, as I had got used to knowing it, silently slipped out of my life on December 31, 2009, along with the Old Year and Auld Lang Syne.

I am not alone in mourning the disappearance of Worldspace, in Bodh Gaya, I know of at least one other person, who must be staring in disbelief at his now silent satellite radio receiver. He's the social worker from England to whom I introduced Worldspace Radio. He told me it was a lifesaver, because he could now get music and news straight from 'Ome!
What did Worldspace radio mean to me? Living in a the state of Bihar, here I am, a person whose native tongue is English, one who has grown up on Cliff Richard and Elvis, achieved adolescence with Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, The Queen, danced to Abba, Boney M, and Travolta, was at first revolted and then enchanted by MJ, once again left out in the cold. Worldspace brought to me, a member of a microscopic linguistic and subcultural minority, affirmation by means of music, radio programming and news. It brought me choices for entertainment and music that were not available on government and private airwaves, that are dedicated to mainstream Hindi music and the dominant culture.

During the darkest hours of Bihar, Worldsace radio in my bedroom brought in the sunshine through the various programmes I tuned in to. From Bangalore there were Hari, Ravi Kanolkar, Dhillon. There was Spin, my favourite channel that played my requests, included me in the phone in programmes, and even sent my 'cool stuff' and a Spin T-shirt. there was the BBC coming in loud and clear, and I could listen to the excellent radio plays and news commentaries while tucked up in bed.


Truly my 'worldspace interlude' from 2005 to 2009 was the happiest time of my life.


The closure of Worldspace India has resulted in a 'culture cut' in my life. I'm an optimist, I still cling to the hope that perhaps, maybe, the space shuttle is gonna return to earth someday.