Hades on why Indians prefer to ‘make’ their own history:
Nehru was of course human. But India’s first Prime Minister wasn’t human—he wouldn’t be allowed to be anything of that sort, really. The thing is, every nation needs its heroes and villains to exist. It needs a narrative. And so does India. [...]
Pick up a regular [...]
Author Archive for kuffir
A very interesting blog that has a huge collection of old pictures, some of them taking us as far back in time as the 1850s! Definitely worth a visit.
‘They’re human, just like anyone else.’
Published by November 3rd, 2009 in Media, Society and Women. 0 CommentsAditi objects to the media targeting size-zero models:
To me what’s more disturbing than the fact that so many women suffer from eating disorders is that the mainstream media have begun to treat them with scorn. There’s this strange binary created: ‘real’ women vs models.It’s true that models have a particular body type that isn’t quite [...]
An incident makes Ugich Konitari rethink about the meaning of the term ’spirit of Mumbai’ :
Because it was Mumbai’s finest at work. I am tempted to use the word “spirit”, but ever since politicians used it to justify their own non performance, it raises hackles.
Because at the end of the day, no one who went [...]
Harini’s insights on how things work or don’t in the ‘unique eco-system’ of the shooting floor:
Last week we were shooting at Sankraman – in Aarey. The same sankraman that was the home to the bulk of the Balaji soaps that used to be on most channels. If you had gone there a year ago – [...]
Lean and unhealthy
Published by October 25th, 2009 in Bollywood, Business, Cinema, Culture and Women. 0 CommentsRum remembers the days when actors didn’t have to starve to look good on screen and blames Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone for starting an unhealthy trend:
I’m not gonna hate on all naturally skinny gals like Anushka Sharma, or others but its just that Kareena Kapoor is going all out to promote an unreal expectation [...]
Expensive malls, cheap products?
Published by October 23rd, 2009 in Business, Capitalism, Consumer, Economy, Environment and Globalisation. 3 CommentsBhagwad thinks malls are expensive, but very little of the money spent there goes to the employees. And then he says products sold at malls are ‘profitable because we don’t pay the full cost of products from the mine to the dump’. Now, which is true? That the malls are expensive or the products are [...]
Smokescreen translates a poem by Telugu feminist writer Jayaprabha and tries to interpret it:
Human selfishness draws boundaries
Not leaping streams
Not forests or waterfalls
Who can say whence
come the clouds bringing rain here!
[...] Although this isn’t a feminist poem in the strictest sense, I’m drawn to it because of my fascination for people whose imagination blurs boundaries. Like [...]
Kiran has completed her 300th post and ‘must celebrate this milestone the best way’:
Thirtysixandcounting was not the original. The original was thirtysomething on a hosting platform called blogsource. Blogsource, of course, decided to give up its virtual ghost and directed me to something called Live Digital. Where I promptly transferred the entire thirtysomething blog, which [...]
Janabai, poet for all times
Published by October 17th, 2009 in Caste, Language, Literature, Poetry, Prejudice and Women. 2 CommentsJanabai shares dais with her contemporaries Sant Dynaeshwar and Sant Namdev – poet saints of Maharastra. Her 300 odd abhangs have become part of Namdev’s repertoire of devotional songs to Lord Vittal. Here is one where the Lord Vittal works alongside her. These are not household chores as is usually described for a housemaid. This [...]
Scandal in Kodambakkam
Published by October 16th, 2009 in Cinema, Media, Patriarchy, Television and Women. 0 CommentsMaami on the vulnerability of the ‘beautiful women’, moviegoers ‘fantasise on screen as goddesses’:
A cacophony involving a small- time actress, has allegedly accused many senior actresses of Tamil cinema of running brothels has erupted in Chennai. This “confession” was published in the newspaper carrying photographs of the actresses without verifying or seeking their opinion. Afterall actresses are [...]
Justifying reservations
Published by October 15th, 2009 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Human Rights, India, Justice, Politics and Society. 2 CommentsWinnowed argues for caste-based reservations:
In my opinion, purely caste-based reservations do perpetuate caste divisions in the short term. However, they also uplift untouchable and backward castes, to a large extent, though it is at the expense of the upper castes. If (social and economic) upliftment of the lower castes is the sole objective behind reservations, [...]
The Dalits of Europe
Published by October 15th, 2009 in Activism, Dalit, Human Rights, Prejudice, Racism and World. 0 CommentsJai Bhim Network is a group that is working among the Romas (derogatorily referred as Gypsies) in Hungary. In their effort of creating linkages with the Dalit movement of India and draw inspiration the network has been in constant interaction with many of the young Dalit activists in India. The network is also instrumental in [...]
Memsaab lists her ‘favorite 60’s ‘Western’ songs’:
Lately I’ve had my iPod repeating a playlist that I put together of songs from 1960s films that are just bubbling over with western charm: guitars, trumpets, double basses, and the odd ukelele or two are used in what still remain quintessentially Hindi film songs. These are songs that [...]
Remembering K.Balagopal
Published by October 14th, 2009 in Activism, Adivasi, Capitalism, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Feminism, Human Rights, Justice, Politics and Poverty. 4 CommentsA site dedicated to the memory of human rights activist Balagopal who passed away recently.
Anand Teltumbde recalls his association with his ‘dearest friend and comrade’:
I knew Balagopal since 1980s and admired him for his sharp intellect and deep commitment to human rights. Not many in the movement knew that he was a brilliant mathematician and [...]
Be the change. CSM is not sure Gandhi said it, but the line, as he points out, is becoming quite popular thanks to Barack Obama:
obama massively popularised “be the change”.
the quotations page says that gandhi said – “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
there are many websites with BTC fundas.
1. [...]
Shilpa Jamkhandikar remembers disinterest among voters on another election day: what does Mumbai vote for?
Barely six months after the city saw its most audacious terrorist attack, Mumbaikars seemed to have forgotten it all, with hardly 41 per cent of the city’s electorate bothering to cast their vote.
Those that did come out to vote said security [...]
‘Quality’ and Inclusion
Published by October 12th, 2009 in Adivasi, Caste, Dalit, Education, Politics, Prejudice and Theory. 0 CommentsRama ponders on ‘Quality’ and its western / imperial / colonial, or Brahminical / Manuvadi biases. Very interesting post.
The sociologist, Andre Beteille, delivered a lecture in Calcutta in March which I attended.
He touched upon academic quality versus inclusion (e.g. through reservation or affirmative action), and said quality need not be compromised. At the end of [...]
Sandhya Krishnan talks about it, after having ‘written enough cover letters and resumes to reach the moon’:
Phase 3: ‘Everything happens for the best’
By now, it has been 3-4 months since your last working day. You have slowly begun to accept the fact that the job market really IS bad. You have also attended some job [...]
R.I.P. Dr.Balagopal
Published by October 10th, 2009 in Adivasi, Capitalism, Caste, Dalit, Democracy, Development, Government, Human Rights, India, Justice, Policy, Politics, Poverty and Violence. 0 CommentsAditya pays tributes:
A relentless crusader for human rights for three decades now, Andhra Pradesh HC lawyer Balagopal has fought cases from extra-judicial killings of political dissenters to atrocities against Dalits and women. And he has often suffered personal attacks for his efforts, by the police and others shamed by his exposes. But he has never [...]
Justice for Dalits looks at caste bias in the judiciary:
Nowadays too much people claim their right in India.Without ever recognizing that this country never was theirs.
How can Dalits ask their right if India is the sole property of upper castes.How did they believe that the apex court, though legally it was out of their juridiction, [...]
Nino’s Mum wants Obama to give the Nobel back.
But I felt no pride or tears of joy today when I read that Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. There was shock, disbelief and anger. Shock at how much this puts into perspective the fact that what he signifies to me and the world [...]
India and HDI ranking
Published by October 8th, 2009 in Democracy, Development, Economy, Education, Health, Human Rights and India. 4 CommentsLekhni is ‘rapidly coming to the conclusion that 15 minutes of fame’ is all the UNDP’s Human Development Index list deserves:
But the last part is the best – the report says they take an average of life expectancy and literacy and GDP, and compute the average HDI for that country.
This means that if you have, [...]
Gopal grimaced. As if. In the fifty odd years that the basti had been built, asbestos, tin, plastic, cardboard, sometimes a few bricks, it had been pulled down at least fifty odd times. In all that time, only one old woman, Yellamma had been given a home by her employer. Her story was told and [...]
Call for Entries
Published by July 21st, 2009 in Announcement, Books, Fiction, Literature and Poetry. 0 CommentsEntries are invited from young poets in India writing in English for the inaugural
Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize.
The Prize was instituted by the Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust to recognize excellence in poetry written in English and is being administered jointly by the Department of English, University of Hyderabad. The prize consisting of a cash award of [...]
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