Friday, February 25, 2005
Short Sabbatical
It will be a while before I post something again. We are moving to a new apartment and I'm not sure how long it will be before we can get internet. Anyway, it's not like I post regularly even with internet all 24 hours :-) ; but since there is a valid reason this time, I thought I'd mention it. :-) ginsoakedgentleman calls my link : gowriwrites...not so often. Very appropriate ! Thanks for the link shomo & Thanks to everyone else who's blogrolled me ! (I will return the favor soon :-) )While I am in a benevolent mood, thanks to those who haven't, but read my blog nonetheless. Ok, while I'm at it, thanks to everyone who wasn't included in the above categories. It's highly unlikely that they are reading it, however ! Think I am overdoing it...Awright, catch you ASAP !!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
The "number" game
I always felt that in India, the government made rules and policies keeping the interests of the minority communities in mind. Always careful, not to hurt their feelings. In Karnataka too, the larger interest of the Kannadiga populace was often ignored to appease the minorities. Of course, neither of the situations appealed to me, as I belonged to the group that was at the receiving end. I always wondered why the larger group had to make sacrifices to satisfy the smaller ones. Why were the policy makers partial to them? Why was the step-motherly treatment meted out to the majority? As if to placate me, there were always individuals and organizations that would rebel against the injustice done to us, the majority.
I doubt if this attitude of the government was received with the same rage in the wake of the nation’s freedom. And I wonder if the people who raise their voice against similar regulations today, are not justified in doing so.
Let me narrate a story. There was once a mother with her two children. The older one was a healthy, strong boy and the younger one was scrawny and slightly crippled. When they cut the cake, the younger one got a larger piece. When they fought, the mother took the little one’s side. When rules were made, they didn’t apply to him and when he made a mistake he was always excused. The older sibling accepted all this, at first approvingly and later grudgingly, but still, said nothing.
Soon, the boys were older, and the skinny second child grew up to be a strong man, the cripple reduced to a small inconvenience, and started living a normal life like his elder brother. Now there was hardly any difference between the two, but the favors never ceased. He still got the lion’s share and still escaped rules.
Now, is the older brother not justified in being infuriated at this? Is he not right in expecting fair treatment, now that they are equals? What should the mother do? Spoil him further, in order to escape his wrath and let him turn into a monster? Or lay down the rules on him and play fair, now that the two are equally advantaged? The former might give her temporary respite from incurring his wrath, but in the long run will spoil him, leading to the doom of all three. The latter, though will be received with much displeasure at first, will ensure peace in the long run for the threesome.
As a young nation, when the minorities are minorities, in every sense of the word; it is not unreasonable to give them a few benefits. No one will oppose that, and no one did. When their numbers are large enough and they no longer are a meek minority with no voice of their own, should we still make policies that protect their interests at the cost of inconveniencing the majority? Should everyone belonging to the majority faction suffer, just because there are large numbers of their kind? In doing so, are we raising what will grow up to be a troublesome force? Isn’t it high time we stopped the privileges and started treating them as equals and not as the under-privilged?
PS: India and Karnataka are just examples. I quote the situation there because, I have lived there and can comment. The argument, however, applies to most nations and states faced with the issue of a "not so minor" minority. Or so I think.
I doubt if this attitude of the government was received with the same rage in the wake of the nation’s freedom. And I wonder if the people who raise their voice against similar regulations today, are not justified in doing so.
Let me narrate a story. There was once a mother with her two children. The older one was a healthy, strong boy and the younger one was scrawny and slightly crippled. When they cut the cake, the younger one got a larger piece. When they fought, the mother took the little one’s side. When rules were made, they didn’t apply to him and when he made a mistake he was always excused. The older sibling accepted all this, at first approvingly and later grudgingly, but still, said nothing.
Soon, the boys were older, and the skinny second child grew up to be a strong man, the cripple reduced to a small inconvenience, and started living a normal life like his elder brother. Now there was hardly any difference between the two, but the favors never ceased. He still got the lion’s share and still escaped rules.
Now, is the older brother not justified in being infuriated at this? Is he not right in expecting fair treatment, now that they are equals? What should the mother do? Spoil him further, in order to escape his wrath and let him turn into a monster? Or lay down the rules on him and play fair, now that the two are equally advantaged? The former might give her temporary respite from incurring his wrath, but in the long run will spoil him, leading to the doom of all three. The latter, though will be received with much displeasure at first, will ensure peace in the long run for the threesome.
As a young nation, when the minorities are minorities, in every sense of the word; it is not unreasonable to give them a few benefits. No one will oppose that, and no one did. When their numbers are large enough and they no longer are a meek minority with no voice of their own, should we still make policies that protect their interests at the cost of inconveniencing the majority? Should everyone belonging to the majority faction suffer, just because there are large numbers of their kind? In doing so, are we raising what will grow up to be a troublesome force? Isn’t it high time we stopped the privileges and started treating them as equals and not as the under-privilged?
PS: India and Karnataka are just examples. I quote the situation there because, I have lived there and can comment. The argument, however, applies to most nations and states faced with the issue of a "not so minor" minority. Or so I think.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Blast from the past
No, I'm not giving you a link to some golden oldies here. MTV does that I think, or is it Channel V? I cannot remember which one. Anyway, I'll take you back to an "age" when we did not have MTV, Channel V and the like in our drawing rooms. A few people had it and sometimes we stuck a pin in the cable going over our antenna to catch the signal; or better still tied the cable to our antenna, which the cable operator very promptly undid on one of his routine inspections. He never complained, though I'm sure he could easily track the antenna down to the house. Perhaps, he did not want to offend a prospective customer. It seemed to work too; one by one, all of us were hooked.
That was the early '90s and for the first time we saw trailers of movies on TV. We saw film stars being interviewed in their plush homes, showing off their wardrobe and dogs. We saw cricket matches live from Australia at 4.00 in the morning, with no "rukkawat ke liye khed hain" and no Hindi commentary. We were overawed. We actually participated in contests with the hope of winning. We looked forward to Friday nights, for the double Bonanza we got - Close up Antakshari followed by Philips Top Ten ! For the first time, we didn't want to go to Swathi hotel to have North Indian dinner; instead we insisted our parents pack it home for us. That's when it started I think.
No one wanted to play anymore. Before, you could tell if Mahabharath had started on TV, on a Sunday morning by looking at the streets. Now, it was always deserted, with or without Mahabharath; but always with Cable TV. The only time children would come out to play was when there was a power cut in their house or in the cable operator's. After, generators came into vogue, this stopped too.
Atleast, we got our share of skipping, kunte bille, lock-and-key, i-spy and gate-gate. I pity the ones who came after us. They never heard of these games I think. Even now, sometimes on some streets, I see kids playing, but it's almost always cricket. ( With the kind of hype that surrounds the game, that's hardly a surprise ). I wonder what the little girls do. Doesn't anyone play, "Crocodile, crocodile can we cross the golden river" anymore? Doesn't anyone play, "Gate, gate, which gate do you choose" and then form a human chain to move from one gate to another ? Wasn't it this bond that built friendships, that lasted for years? Where is that bonding? Where is that laughter? Where is that camaraderie ? Is it a thing of the past? Buried, never to be unearthed again ?
That was the early '90s and for the first time we saw trailers of movies on TV. We saw film stars being interviewed in their plush homes, showing off their wardrobe and dogs. We saw cricket matches live from Australia at 4.00 in the morning, with no "rukkawat ke liye khed hain" and no Hindi commentary. We were overawed. We actually participated in contests with the hope of winning. We looked forward to Friday nights, for the double Bonanza we got - Close up Antakshari followed by Philips Top Ten ! For the first time, we didn't want to go to Swathi hotel to have North Indian dinner; instead we insisted our parents pack it home for us. That's when it started I think.
No one wanted to play anymore. Before, you could tell if Mahabharath had started on TV, on a Sunday morning by looking at the streets. Now, it was always deserted, with or without Mahabharath; but always with Cable TV. The only time children would come out to play was when there was a power cut in their house or in the cable operator's. After, generators came into vogue, this stopped too.
Atleast, we got our share of skipping, kunte bille, lock-and-key, i-spy and gate-gate. I pity the ones who came after us. They never heard of these games I think. Even now, sometimes on some streets, I see kids playing, but it's almost always cricket. ( With the kind of hype that surrounds the game, that's hardly a surprise ). I wonder what the little girls do. Doesn't anyone play, "Crocodile, crocodile can we cross the golden river" anymore? Doesn't anyone play, "Gate, gate, which gate do you choose" and then form a human chain to move from one gate to another ? Wasn't it this bond that built friendships, that lasted for years? Where is that bonding? Where is that laughter? Where is that camaraderie ? Is it a thing of the past? Buried, never to be unearthed again ?
Friday, February 04, 2005
Then and There
I miss going to Commercial street, at 3.00 in the afternoon, to shop, to avoid the evening rush.
I miss going to the Ganesha temple near my house, when I needed to pass an exam.
I miss going to Soumya’s house, a 5 min walk from my place, whenever I felt like going.
I miss her mom’s kajjaya and khara avlakki - with garlic in it.
I miss calling up Brinda and talking for hours, even though we were always relieving the same moments over and over.
I miss the unexpected guests, dad’s friends, Deepu’s friends, and making coffee for them and hunting for some snacks to accompany the coffee.
I miss Sethu, dropping home almost every evening, and regaling me with stories about cricket matches and trying to get me interested in cricket.
I miss going to Rekha’s house for Sweety’s (her pom) birthday. (She will protest on my calling Sweety a Pom, she insists it’s a different breed, whose name I cannot remember)
I miss advising Varun, my young and enthusiastic upstairs neighbor, on the best books to buy for the next semester.
I miss meeting up with Dipti and catching up on the latest gossip about her classmates and lecturers.
I miss going on a morning walk with Sahana, which was more of a stroll; for we were more interested in talking, than in burning calories.
I miss Soumya’s advice on just about everything under the Sun.
I miss anna’s kobri mithai, made of Kobri (desiccated coconut), instead of kayi (fresh coconut); just because the name said so !!
I miss going all the way to Sheshadripuram, with Deepu to have the best chaat made on a pani puri gaadi.
I miss the alu bonda from “namma bondada angadi”, next to the Friends’ Library.
I miss the people, the streets, the autos, the tastes, the smells and the sights of Bangalore.
I MISS Bangalore !!
Honestly, with all that, I never had the time to jot it down while I was there. You know why I love my life here? That’s why !
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Workout works out !
I just got back from a workout at the gym and I can't tell you just how good I feel. It takes great drive to get up and put on those shoes and tracks and get to the gym; but once you get there it's pure magic ! I must admit that I don't go the gym as often as I should, but when I do, which is, 3 times a week on an average, I feel lighter and better. I MUST go everyday !! If you don't, you must too !!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Of commas and colons
It's February !! So, you cannot wish people a "Happy new year" without getting the stares and the "Pal, it's a month after the 1st of Jan" look. That doesn't stop me from wishing you a "Happy new month" however !
I was reading an excerpt from a book called "Eats, shoots and leaves", a book on punctuation for the sticklers (and the others !!) . For those who know where to place the apostrophes and the dashes, and when to replace the semicolon with the comma, it's an amusing read; and for those don't, it is a revelation.
Sethu rightly pointed out that the titile would take a different meaning if one were to omit the comma. One other interesting peice of information I gathered from the excerpt - The right way to write time, in figures ! ( Wish I could also fit in a "Wright" there ! ) For example, how do you write Seven Thirty in figures? I bet you thought it was 7 : 30. Well, if you did, you are wrong. It's not a colon between the digits; it is a full stop. 7 . 30 it is !! There is also a link to a punctuation test on that page which is rather simple if you paid attention in your English languge class, back in high school.
Here's the link to the page : http://www.eatsshootsandleaves.com/excerpt.html
Before I finish, I have to add a witty verse I picked up at the page:
"A cat has claws at the end of its paws.
A comma's a pause at the end of a clause."
I was reading an excerpt from a book called "Eats, shoots and leaves", a book on punctuation for the sticklers (and the others !!) . For those who know where to place the apostrophes and the dashes, and when to replace the semicolon with the comma, it's an amusing read; and for those don't, it is a revelation.
Sethu rightly pointed out that the titile would take a different meaning if one were to omit the comma. One other interesting peice of information I gathered from the excerpt - The right way to write time, in figures ! ( Wish I could also fit in a "Wright" there ! ) For example, how do you write Seven Thirty in figures? I bet you thought it was 7 : 30. Well, if you did, you are wrong. It's not a colon between the digits; it is a full stop. 7 . 30 it is !! There is also a link to a punctuation test on that page which is rather simple if you paid attention in your English languge class, back in high school.
Here's the link to the page : http://www.eatsshootsandleaves.com/excerpt.html
Before I finish, I have to add a witty verse I picked up at the page:
"A cat has claws at the end of its paws.
A comma's a pause at the end of a clause."
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