It was the time of freedom, and everything seemed to be at a standstill. We caught what we thought were fishes (but were actually tadpoles) in a nearby pond, played hide and seek, buried our feet in the warm sand from a construction site next door, or searched for small conches and did craftwork. As [...]
Archive for the 'India' Category
‘Despicable Separation’
Published by May 10th, 2008 in Democracy, India, Patriarchy, Religion, Society and Women. 0 CommentsNiven Charvet tells his Indian friends why he prefers China to India:
My belief in humanism, my love of my own language, a certain libertarian cast of mind – none of these could really explain why I am more comfortable in China than in India.
To me India is a land of separation, China a land of [...]
For the ’sms generation’ which feels anything more than four lines is a lecture, Sayesha has what she calls executive summaries of Kabir’s two-liners.
Kaal karey so aaj kar, aaj karey so ab
Pal mein pralaya hoyegi, bahuri karega kab?
Rough translation: Do today what’s due tomorrow. Do now what’s due today. If the moment is lost, when [...]
That’s what Chicu’s new blog promises.
The gold rush on Akshaya Tritiya
Published by May 7th, 2008 in India, Religion and Society. 5 CommentsUntil now, I had no clue as to why we celebrated ‘Akshaya Tritiya’. I still think its a commercial scam to make people buy gold. Here’s what a few bloggers had to say about the festival;
Vijayan Krishan writes;
Akshaya Tritiya, is a very auspicious day. The significance of the day is attributed to the event of [...]
After a 3 month TV drought, I turned it on to see the new Vodafone ad and found it pretty cute. Apparently, even that is not out of controversy. XH writes;
The ad is on air for almost a month now, and now the Animal Welfare Board of India have sent a show cause notice towards [...]
Women’s reservations bill
Published by May 7th, 2008 in Democracy, India, Patriarchy, Policy, Politics and Women. 0 CommentsSome early reactions:
Premasri asks- who represents Indian women?
On average, Indian women work longer hours than men, as their day consists of a more diverse array of tasks relating both to the maintenance of their livelihoods (public sphere) and homes (domestic sphere). In rural India, this could take the form of both working in the fields [...]
Bush, India and global food prices
Published by May 5th, 2008 in Economy, Food, Globalisation, India, Media, Policy and Politics. 1 CommentRay Titus finds nothing wrong with what Bush said:
What the President was an economic fact. There was no ‘blame’, in fact his statement was a compliment to a country that is demanding better products and services for consumption. Judge for yourselves.
Arun checks reactions from across the world, including a news report from Arab News, which [...]
Old Gangajal in a new bottle
Published by May 3rd, 2008 in Art, Books, Culture, Fiction, India and Religion. 0 CommentsNayan has discovered the newer version of the Ramayana, set in 3392 A.D. and has his opinions:
I wonder what Swami Valmiki thought while writing down this legend. I pray to God to give his soul peace, I am quite sure he would have not been happy to see Rama and Dashratha talking in fundax English, [...]
GM mosquitoes and ‘their’ policy making
Published by May 2nd, 2008 in Development, Economy, Environment, Government, Health, India, Policy and Poverty. 0 CommentsPrasanth at ‘The Daily Pheesh’ expresses skepticism (informed) at the eradication of diseases through GM (genetically modified) mosquitoes.
GM mosquitoes may be useful or harmful but one cannot deny that their introduction is nothing but a stopgap response to mistakes that were committed much earlier—failures in planning and managing cities, failures in taking health care to rural areas and [...]
The good folks at myHimachal are making me envious by posting fabulous pictures of Kinnaur.
King Vishy traveled recently to Yelagiri, and has posted a great set of photos!
I really loved the pic of the campfire, though… it is tough capturing the flames in their glory. Go check ‘em out!
Aroha explores Rohru in Himachal Pradesh and calls it the Apple Town-
Biting into a red apple with its juice trickling down our fingers and having a competition of sorts on who could make the loudest crunch, was our introduction to Rohru! This little known place bang in the middle of the largest apple belt in [...]
Vivek calls it a one-time watch, the “ups” include:
Bebo! This movie is Kareena’s answer to Aish of Dhoom 2. She lost pounds and that she makes no bones about while flaunting her figure. Playing a brash don side-kick and sizzlng in a two piece bikini (10 seconds front and back shots), she proves to be [...]
Wandering Souls (a group blog, original post by Anand) post about trekking in Triund and beyond. The sunset pictures are amazing.
Housewives. Sweaty slaves of the kitchen fires! They woke up at unearthly hours, muttered ancient prayers, and produced breakfasts, lunches and dinners in endless succession. They wore faded cotton sarees, their blouses damp with sweat. They chased and scolded and cajoled children. “Home makers” they might be - but when their husbands summoned them by [...]
Munmun muses over some calculation errors (among other things) she made while grading copies-
There I found, I had made innumerable total-ing mistakes! It was so painful to make 1-2 marks changes in copies, registers! Not just coz I had made such mistakes, but also the entire time I was reminded that I am in the [...]
Who cares if its a girl?
Published by April 21st, 2008 in India, Patriarchy, Prejudice, Society, Women and sexuality. 0 CommentsIn a really heartbreaking account, Roop Rai chronicles the unfortunate state at the RSRM hospital at Royapuram, Chennai where two families who have had children born the day before laying claim to male child, while nobody wants the female one.
“We paid them money at every stage. A ward boy took Rs 300 saying it was [...]
I made a vow not to link to Arun and India Travel Blog so soon again. But after looking at his picture Camel People, here I am, linking to his blog once again.
How to Identify a Kullu Shawl?
Published by April 19th, 2008 in Appeal, India and Travel. 0 CommentsDoes it really matter? According to ‘Save the Weaver’ project, it does. Anoop writes at myHimachal-
A litmus test for such tourists is to see the reverse side of the woven garment. If the design appears the same either ways, that’s an indication that the shawl is handcrafted.
Emma visits the Western Ghats and muses-
Pure bliss, I realized at the end of our stay, was in not doing anything, just lazing around with great food and warm company. Ensconced as were in our 4 * 4 cubicles, pecking away at our keyboards day in and day out, grappling over architecture designs, life truly [...]
Sidhu takes a picture of a street corner in Cochin Ooty with cob-corn and goats. I loved it for it seems to be so much typically India.
Barun Roy, in a rather harsh manner vents his acrimony against the treatment of Gorkhas by the West Bengal Government and the nation,
Most of the Gorkha solders recruited into Indian army today come from the hills of Darjeeling, which has a solder in every house. In Darjeeling, it is a matter of pride and honor [...]
Bridging Gaps, Erasing Borders
Published by April 16th, 2008 in Culture, India and South Asia. 1 CommentAnil talks of the recently started India- Bangladesh train service in these words,
“That is my country …. How near is it. Still, I can never reach there.” This was a dialogue in Ritwik Ghatak’s film “Komal Gandhar”, which captured the pain and grief of partition and his dream of reaching there remained just a dream [...]
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