Remembering Mrs Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi On Her 25th Death Anniversary

(Image taken from : http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/world/gallery/2007/may/09/india/DWF15-20825-7040.jpg)

Some years ago when my granny died, an acquaintance of hers came to visit us. She consoled in her own fashion by saying “It is wise to speak only good things about the dead people rather discussing their bad deeds; however there are only good things to be spoken about your granny”. These words of that wise old lady tickled our funny bones even in that hour of grief. In the similar manner I decided to pay tributes to my role model and my favorite leader Mrs. Indira Gandhi on her 25th death anniversary. I do not bother to discuss the controversial aspects of her life as those controversial aspects are of no use to anyone. 

It is natural for the people to analyze Mrs Indira Gandhi with respect to her politics and her administrative style ; however I wish to throw some light on the aspects of Indira as a  daughter, wife, mother and last but not least as a PERSON.  

Indira as a Daughter… 

 

(Image is from: http://www.timescontent.com/tss/photos/preview/12219/Jawaharlal%20Nehru-Kamla%20Nehru-Indira.jpg)

Indira was born on November 17th in the year 1917 to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru. Kamala Nehru was a religious lady and her lifestyle differed from the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Nehru’s family members. This difference in lifestyles of her mother and other family members resulted in loner personality of Indira. However, Indira  was a caring daughter. She used to take good care of her mother who had not so good health. She had a wonderful relationship with her father. Rather we can say Nehru was a great father. He always wanted to transfer his knowledge , his vision to Indira even though he was busy with the Indian Independence movement.  In Indira’s childhood, Nehru used to transfer his knowledge and his ideas to Indira through letters, which he used to write even from the jails.  These letters depict the wonderful relation that Dad and Daughter shared. ( Some of the abstracts of these letters were taken and are given as lessons to school students in these times and this is another issue ).

Indira as a wife…

(Image taken from :  http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/world/gallery/2007/may/09/india/U955687INP-989.jpg)

Indira met  Feroze Gandhi in Europe during the time of illness of her mother Kamala. Indira fell in love with Feroz. It seems she liked Feroze Gandhi’s openness, sense of humor and self-confidence. Feroz who hails from parsi family, was a Journalist and active politcal activist.  Intially , Nehru did not show much interest in this alliance of Indira, he wanted Indira to concentrate on career. However later on his approval Indira’s marriage took place with Feroze Gandhi in March 1942. However , their relation faced some hardtimes after the birth of their sons Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. Indira had to move to Delhi from Allahabad to concentrate on Indian Politics as her dad wished.

(Image taken from : http://desicolours.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/indiramemories04.jpg)

However as the time passed Indira and Feroze reconciled their relationship. They stayed together happily until Feroze Gandhi’s death in the year 1960. 

Indira as a mother…

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Indira was a caring, normal mother like any other normal woman. She never let her political life come in between her and her sons. She used to take a good take in upbringing. She let her sons choose their life partners and she used to spend quality time with family members in spite of her busy schedules.

 (Image taken from : http://desicolours.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/indiramemories20.jpg)

Indira as a Person…

 

(Image taken from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDr1W-obeWsFIeadBLo_yIRS_fIbtDzzwdfgHtXWbFRUHRi_MTPN1ne5OnmYrycikoOgyvmBR7_y2ouo2ylXO-yA9lON6nPPCiyUTa7oByU189GSG0FfvhqK6kBqakh1ux-foYNWymvgq/s400/indira_gandhi.jpg)

It is tough to believe that such a busy body like Mrs.Indira Gandhi had hobbies and she really had time to pursue to those hobbies. Mrs. Gandhi had good interest in music, fine arts and literature. Infact, she used to like Indian handloom sarees a lot and she promoted Indian culture and handlooms a lot.

(Image taken from : http://www.outlookindia.com/images/indira_gandhi_drawing_room_600_20070820.jpg)

Indira Gandhi was a voracious reader right from her childhood. This habit was fostered by her father Nehru. Library at her ancestral home, Anand Bhavan used to have more than sixty thousand books and it was said that Nehru used to add books each time he visited that place.  This habit developed with her age, even in her prime ministerial years she used study a lot and she used to have vast collection of books even at her Safdarjung residence.

Indira’s death…

(Image taken from : http://cms.outlookindia.com/Uploads/outlookindia/2009/200910/20091019/indira_gandhi_death_20091019.jpg)

Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31st , 1984 by her two sikh body gaurds at her official residence at Safdurjung in retaliation to the Operation Bluestar . Indira Gandhi died on the way to AIIMS in the lap of her favorite daughter in law, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.  

This year 2009, marks 25th death anniversary of  the Iron Lady of India “Mrs. Indira Gandhi”.

Regards,

Prasanna Rayaprolu

Bibi Magazine: A South Asian Woman’s Guide to Everything Beautiful and Cultured

By: Uzma Bawany/Executive Director/Thaakat Foundation

A few weekends ago, Thaakat Foundation had the opportunity to be at Bibi Magazine’s Bridal show. I called Bibi’s promo line a few days prior and had the honor of speaking with Ms. Ayesha Hakki. I had read about Bibi in the past and was inspired by the revolution created by a few women and supported by many. It wasn’t however until the end of our conversation that I learned I was speaking with the brains behind it all.

We felt it a great honor when Ayesha spoke on the other line saying she always tries to help a good cause and said she would love to donate a booth to us. With my favorite search partner Google by my side, I also came to find that Miss. Ayesha organized a fundraiser this past summer for the refugees of SWAT, Pakistan. I thoroughly enjoy it when I come across an accomplished pioneer who rallies their goodwill alongside their successes. Why do I enjoy it so much?

Simply because it doesn’t happen enough. Thank you, Ayesha!

Ms. Hakki is the Editor and Publisher of Bibi Magazine. Bibi is the premier style and bridal print magazine that reaches out to the likes of South Asian Americana. With fourteen years of experience in both the domestic and international publications arenas she founded her niche in cultured couture and started the organization with herself, Shabana Haq and Zooni.

Since her launch in 2000, the magazine has doubled in circulation and has taken on all kinds of fans-South Asians, fashion mavens, young gals and all those who like glitter and glitz. Ayesha captured the pride and glamour of South Asian fashion and brought it to life for those of us in the Americas who thirst for a taste of the greatness from back home. Bollywood makes it all a faraway dream; Bibi puts opulent fashion and pure culture within reach.

Recently, Bibi launched their own bridal shows to bring vendors to those with inspired ideas. Brides, it’s ok to raise your hand and admit you’re lost in the planning process. With South Asian weddings running a span of several days and a sandwich of traditions and colors that you know you must bring to the stage, it’s not easy. Bibi has another Bridal Show coming to you this Fall of October 25, 2009 in Houston. Take a lookie at www.bibimagazine.com for more info.

Week 11 (Government Hospital)

Week 11 (Government Hospital)

 I couldn’t decide the severity of the injuries of the people laying on the eight gurneys scattered about the reception area of the JIPMER federal government hospital outside Pondicherry. Another 40-60 people (patients, family and friends) waited between the glass entrance doors, the intake clerks occupying the openings in the back left and the hallways at the far back leading off– somewhere. Three women sat together cross legged on the floor. A mother and daughter shared a bag of chips with a man on a gurney who was holding an IV bag in one hand. Waiting people filled most of the rows of airport waiting room looking seating. The bare metal surfaces of the gurneys had the concave appearance of weathered and taughtly stretched leather. I was told that some of the occupants had serious injuries. I couldn’t tell. Most lay motionless—perhaps sleeping. They wore the clothes they arrived with. Everyone was waiting.

The doctor said his father was a mathematics professor at a college in Pondicherry. I asked, “Do you like your father?” He laughed, but kept working, “Who doesn’t like their father?”

The driver woke me at the Institute in Bangalore that morning with a 5:30 call. He was ready to begin the drive to Pondicherry. He was supposed to come at 8:00, but the 350 km drive with a stop at the three hilltop Gingee Fort could take all day, and an early start would be good. I would buy the breakfasts and lunches on the road, and we could be across the subcontinent by dark. I objected to the tourist hotel he picked for breakfast and we drove on to an open-front, dirt-floor “family restaurant”. While we ate chapatti and idyli, passengers from two busses washed their hands at the row of faucets above the metal troths in the back before they filled the stackable plastic chairs lining long tables.

The driver, in his 50s, drove from Pondicherry the day before. This morning, he frequently stopped to ask which of the unmarked roads lead to the national highway back to the East Coast. I tried to show him on the Google maps on my Blackberry or to show him my compass when he turned west or north on the roads that we needed to take east or south. But he preferred to shout up to the open windows of a truck or to a passing helmeted (but unbuckled) motorcycle driver who had his daughter cradled between his arms while his wife in a cream and blue Sawalli sat sidesaddle behind him. An answer would be given and we would separate without the American expected courtesies of gratitude. Twice he missed his turn and drove in reverse back to the turn to correct his navigation error. He would touch his chest when we passed a temple, then momentarily touch his finger tips together in a prayer position and inaudibly, repeating something. He answered his frequently ringing mobile phone– as everyone in India does—and in the U.S. for that matter. We stopped along the road side several times. Once or twice he relieved himself. I don’t know why we stopped the other times.

I am not used to the no-room-for-error driving: the one car length tailgating behind a truck, the center line straddling default driving lane, the sharing of a lanes with another vehicles, or passing in opposite directions so closely that one would be nuts to hang an arm out a window. With right hand steering, my passenger’s seat is the left front seat—the position from which we habitually monitor the road. Fewer than a 100km from Pondicherry, but before the Gingee Fort, a motorcycle approached us as we drove side-by-side with a car we were causally passing. We had been in the oncoming traffic lane for a half minute. When we crossed the one second to impact barrier (Note: vehicles travelling 45+ mph close a gap of 40 yards in a second) and my driver hadn’t reacted, the motorcycle swerved sharply, corrected to upright for an instant; and then, as its rear wheel lost traction in a fishtail skid, dropped to the pavement and dragged a rooster tail of sparks to us.

I was woozy and achy, I had hit my head, probably on the dashboard, but I was OK. I opened the door to see how standing up would feel. There was a crowd 20 meters behind the car surrounding the motorcycle wreckage. I couldn’t figure out how they got there already. My driver was there too. I don’t know how he got there either. I stood up in the 100 degree heat, held the car to steady myself, and waited for my head to feel a bit more normal before finding out what happened or seeking shade.

We had been in the right side passing lane. I don’t know how the car came to rest sideways in the dirt across two lanes to the left side. My hand came back bloody from holding my forehead. The men around me urged me to sit back down. The patterns of blood on my pants and shirt looked like the splattering of thrown cups of coffee. But I was OK.

A bystander drove me a few kilometers on the back of his motorcycle to a rural government medical center. He wore a white shirt, and I didn’t want to hold on to him while I was still dripping. A young woman medical officer ran the center. She served several such centers, but they only did first aid and emergency work. Luckily that was what I needed. She and the staff gently and thoroughly cleaned and bandaged my head. “It is deep”, she said. I would need stitches within four hours.

 The driver came by to check on me. A new car was coming. He would come back in 15 minutes, and we would go to a hospital in Pondicherry. I asked them to call Professor Indumathi who was awaiting my arrival. An hour passed. The medical center staff brought shared their lunches with me. My head continued to bleed through the bandages (as head wounds do) making the injuries look more severe than they felt.

A thin women in her late 80s woman put her hands together and moved her head side to side as she stood looking at me and speaking in Tamil. As the doctor dabbed the blood flowing towards my eye, she quietly and matter-of-factly interpreted, “the woman is worried for you”. The older woman took my hand in hers and held it. It was comforting, but I was receiving more attention than I deserved. I took a good hit, but I would be fine in a few days.

Another hour passed. The doctor’s father walked me to the police station a half kilometer away. My driver was now wearing a bandage on his lip. No one remembered an injury. He was engaged in an animated discussion. No one asked me what happened, and Indumathi told me later that there would be no investigation. In India a four wheeler crashing with a two wheeler is at fault: no law suit, no investigation, and no lengthy delay. But she said, “Both will end up paying.”

The new car and driver had arrived, but we waited for someone from the company to come. I walked around the crashed car for the first time. It was totaled. My side, the front left was the crash area. The fender was folded down to the wheel, the axel broken, and the hood was crumpled to the windshield. The windshield shattered in a concentric circle pattern as if a cinderblock had dropped on the glass—only the impact was outward from the inside the car. If I had gloves, I could have grabbed the upper-left corner where the windshield had separated from the car body, and pulled the shattered glass free of the car frame as if I were ripping insect screening from a window frame.

It was well more than four hours when the intake person—who turned out to be a doctor—asked rhetorically, “Who doesn’t like his father?” The good news he said is that “The wound is very deep and still bleeding: so we are still in time”. Very few people here have health insurance. The government hospitals are free and their quality has a good reputation, but they are far overcrowded. They have decent equipment; but doctors’ salaries, half that of the private hospitals. There are stories of patients and families living on the streets in front of government hospitals waiting to be seen while private hospital workers induce them to come to the private ones. The stories continue to tell of patients who accept the offers only to have botched treatments. A young surgery resident I met at the guest house told me that at his hospital they start the day deciding which incoming patients get beds and which lie on the floor.

 I am fine. In fact, I realized some benefits from the crash. I get to buy new sunglasses. People who invited me are trying to make it up to me (although they have no responsibility what so ever for the crash), and then there is this other incident. Half way into the drive to the Government hospital, the replacement driver stopped at a market with a few tables to get some water. I stayed outside since my shirt and pants were stained with dried blood. I sat on the ground with my back against a wall; took off the ball cap I wore to hide the bandages; emptied my pockets into the cap; closed my eyes, and tilted my head back to face the comforting warmth of the 95 degree heat from the sun. I was startled awake by a passing shadow, I put my hand up to block the sun and squinted to see a silhouetted women drop a coin in my ball cap. “Oh lady, Thanks”, I laughed, “I’m fine. We just stopped for water. We had a car accident, and I’m on my way to the hospital in Pondicherry to check things out. I’m an American.” She stopped for a moment, walked back and dropped another coin in the hat. She turned to her husband and in a British accent told him, “Poor thing. He tried to say something in English, but his accent is so bad; I could only make out something about money to the hospital, and then he mistook for an American. That part was embarrassing.” I looked in the hat for a moment: then looked up and said, “Hey lady, what the fuck is this? This is only five rupees. I almost lost my eye here. What am I supposed to do with five rupees?”

Everything is recovering quickly and as predicted. Moreover, I have had a tour of the medical system. I have been to five medical facilities (both private and government), and have been seen by nine doctors including a neurologist, eye specialist, and plastic surgeon. I have had a CT scan; nine stitches in the shape of three widely spaced fork prongs (from the center of my eyebrow around the eye socket to below my eye level), and I have had special eye exams. My doctors have been attentive, easy to engage, concerned and confidence invoking. So far the bills, including medicines, are less than a few hundred dollars. Like the American medical delivery system, this one is far from perfect, but it has strengths. I am particularly grateful to Professor Indumathi who arranged the appointments, schedules, and transportation. Who checked on doctors, and hospitals and purchased medicines and who stayed with me to be a second listener to doctor’s instructions. I had no stress from logistics. I do not underestimate the recuperative and emotional value of that benefit.

Other than that, the drive from Bangalore to Tamil Nadu was beautiful and uneventful.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce spends $700k on Africa visit-Australia.

WellThough highly oblectionable and reprehensible, for us in India,this is fleabite. We have politicians who openly swallow millions of public money.We with draw cases against a man who funneled crores into past Prime Minister’s account(Bofors); we have Chief Ministers who openly amass wealth, demanding 10-25% on every government contract;we have a Chief Minister who keeps on building statues for her through the state ,despite Supreme Court’s ruling; and the beauty is we keep electing them again and again.
Probably the price we have to pay for Democracy!People talk of ending caste system and class system.What about Political class?
Mute spectators like us are left holding the tab.
Story:
TAXPAYERS have been left with a $700,000 bill from Governor-General Quentin Bryce’s controversial 18-day trek to 10 African countries earlier this year.

Ms Bryce visited the countries in March and April as part of a campaign to win Australia a seat on the UN Security Council.

Heavily criticised for lobbying on behalf of the Rudd Government, she faces fresh attacks over the extraordinary cost.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26270139-952,00.html?referrer=email&source=CM_email_nl

Inclusive Planning on World Habitat Day

I was asked to speak at a World Habitat Day event here in Chennai on October 5th on the issue of socially inclusive planning.

I decided to use the opportunity to critique the central government’s largest effort at promoting “inclusive growth” in cities – the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which makes Rs. 50,000 crores of central government money available for partial funding for infrastructure projects to incentivize cities to fund and prioritize more infrastructure creation. The JNNURM has a component specifically directed towards urban poverty, the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP), for which some Rs. 16,000 crores has already been allocated.

I made three very basic points about the BSUP. Firstly, I argued that the program does not have clear objectives. Although the policy talks about urban poverty, the suggested projects are all targeted at slums. But not all the urban poor live in slums, and slums do not contain only poor people.

Secondly, I pointed out that participatory planning, which the JNNURM emphasizes, is very difficult to implement effectively, and most of the people charged with running and administrating the JNNURM do not have the capacity to do it well. In this situation, I questioned whether using participation to prioritize project selection in cities, without including elected officials, was legitimate.

The third point was that planning should not happen in a vacuum – that programs to improve slum conditions and the lives of slum dwellers have been carried out for years, and we need to look to the past and learn from this history. I expanded this last point in an editorial in the New Indian Express, available here.

The talk went well, although someone in the audience told me that they should name a hurricane after me (“First Nina, then Katrina, and now Nithya!”). I’m not sure whether to be flattered or not.

Community Health Workers Save Lives by Sharing Basic Information

“A quarter of all child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa  — which equals more than one million a year — take place during the first 28 days of life, according to the NGO Save the Children.” – “West Africa: The Hour Window to Find the Breast” by IRIN
I am passionate about the benefits of breastfeeding. When my newborn daughter had trouble nursing, I scoured every resource for answers, tried every position short of hanging upside-down, and sought advice from multiple doctors and lactation consultants. For months, nursing meant an arduous routine of long feedings, pumping to keep up my milk supply and supplementing so my daughter had enough to eat.  As soon as one cycle was finished, it was time to start all over, and so I literally fed my daughter all day long. As it turned out, my daughter was tongue-tied, and when she was four months old, we traveled to New York to see a pediatric surgeon (that’s another story). With a simple snip, my daughter’s tongue was loosened, and she immediately began to feed more efficiently. I was able to quit pumping and supplementing, and nursed her until she was one.  Knowing how good that breast milk was for my daughter, though we had to fight to continue, giving up wasn’t an option for me.
According to a recent article published by Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), many mothers in parts of Africa are unknowingly cheating their children out of the life-giving benefits of breast milk out of ignorance. While we in the western world have access to basic nutritional information through doctors we regularly visit, these women often don’t. They wrongly believe the first milk their bodies produce after delivering a baby, the nutrient-rich colostrum, is dirty. As a result of this belief, rooted in superstition and tradition, the mothers refuse to feed it to their newborns, and instead, they throw it out,resulting in malnourished, immuno-compromised children.

Contrary to their ideas, colostrum is possibly the most nutritional breast milk a mother can feed her baby. It is highly-nutritive and passes important antibodies from the mother to the child, boosting baby’s immune system. What mother doesn’t want the best for her child if it is within her power to give it? But she cannot give what she does not know to give. A 2007 medical study shows that breastfeeding within the first hour of life can reduce infant deaths by 20%. Considering the statistics on infant deaths in certain African countries, it is imperative to teach these mothers how important it is to begin breastfeeding their babies as soon after delivery as possible.

However, “It is not enough to simply tell women why early breastfeeding is so important…[said WHO researcher, Carmen Casanovas]. If you just tell a mother she needs to breastfeed immediately after birth, she will not necessarily do it. Someone trusted needs to talk to her and work with her beliefs.” The article goes on to cite that a 2008 report showed that while these mothers weren’t buying the truth about breastfeeding from official sources, they were influenced by their peers and by community mother support groups.

I fought hard to continue nursing because I knew the statistics. For many mothers throughout the world, breastfeeding is a simple and easy way to boost their babies’ health, but they won’t do it if they don’t understand its importance.  The knowledge is so simple, it doesn’t have to come from a doctor. SIS, who works in countries in Africa, such as Senegal, Mali and Sudan, where infant mortality is high, knows something about educating women about health and nutrition through their peers and through support groups. Through the transformation groups we help form and sustain in India, illiterate women from slums are being trained as community health workers. This benefits the community and the women themselves. As the women are trained, they are given new purpose and identity, and they quickly become respected “blessers” in their communities as the information they share saves lives.

Burning out.

I recently reached a point in my travels where it became clear I couldn’t sustain what I was doing anymore.
A myriad of smaller reasons had manifested itself into a week of really not enjoying anything at all. The food, the places, the people, the freedom, it all sucked.

the shitty streets of Pahar Ganj, Delhi.

Historically, my 6th – 8th weeks away have always been hardest, a general homesickness kicks in and it would be ‘nice just to go home for the weekend’, but this was beyond that. Beyond the general homesickness, beyond missing Espresso on Chapel St, beyond surfing balmy summer afternoons, beyond missing BBQ’s with friends on the Yarra
This was total bitter-jadedness to where I am and what I am doing.

I’m the first to acknowledge traveling isn’t always ‘a great time’, life goes on, and you have good days and bad days just the same as at home.
This is something that first time travelers really have to understand, I’ve met so many people over the years, who come away thinking that its 24/7 ‘the best time of their life’ then get depressed when its not. Of course its not, who could actually sustain full time happiness, and omit the rest of their feelings?

But when the bad days start to heavily outweigh the good days, somethings up, and you really have to work out whats going on.

Hypothetically, this is the trip I have always been waiting for, the trip where I had nothing at home to rush back to, a healthy bank account, and the possibility to go anywhere I wanted.

But I’ve been caught up in doing what I think I SHOULD do, and what I thought would make me happy, instead of doing what I COULD do and knowing what actually makes me happy.

Its hard because its all so mental. Physically Im already here, already in the depths of hair raising bus rides and $4 hotel rooms. But now that I am here, I realize that’s not what I want right now, its what I thought I wanted, not what I know I wanted.

In a nutshell, a few of the reasons that were completely eating away at me; that I was carrying too much luggage (the worst side effect of a multi-climate trip), my destinations are too hot/dusty/chaotic/noisy, I’m over being hassled every time I step onto the street, and more than anything I’m really just underwhelmed by what I am experiencing.

7 years of on and off extended travel, 50 something countries, and 3 passports really takes you some places. The problem is, after a while, each new place starts to become very similar to somewhere or something you’ve already experienced, and its hard to keep stimulated and excited when there’s more that you don’t like about a place than you do.
For sure, the company your in makes a HUUGE difference, but its not always there, which means if your on your own, the environment your in IS your company, and if you hate it, well then everyones having a shit time.

So what to do?

“Why would you wasted your time doing anything that doesn’t make you happy?”, I’ve always said as much, but right now I truly believe it.

Ive ditched 4kgs/volume of my luggage (with more to go), and I’m bailing on my plans to overland through Central Asia. Instead hightailing it straight to the Middle East, thus fast tracking my end goal to start my Dive Masters training in Egypt, what I wanted all along.

Just like in Paulo Coelho’s ‘the Alchemist’, where the Crystal shop owner is too scared to ever actually achieve his dream of visiting the Pyramids, because if he does he will have nothing left to look forward to, I think sometimes we sabotage ourselves from achieving what we really want.

Central Asia will always be there, and I’ll make it when the time is right. But for now I’m flexible and happy I’m not wasting any more time.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrapes

going to listen to punk in my mind

i will tap my hands on my legs

walking alone, with no i pod

there will be fake punk playing in my mind

from my fake band called  ‘ the hungry publicist hot dogs ‘

what is better ‘red heads’ or ‘azns’

i like buying books and never reading them cover to cover

middle america is a shithole

let, me film your band

am i a retard

babies should smoke  menthol camels

blonde girls from ‘ the valley’

are ‘ poor people’ human

not really sure

old people who jog seem really funny and stupid

bffs for life

nature is stupid

malls are ‘boring’ and depressing’

girls in sun dresses and leather jackets are ’sweet’ looking

my hand is seperate from the ‘ universe’

i am not part of the ‘ universe’

andy is a girl’s name

andy is a girl

girls are girls

are you a girl

are you human

i might be human

Flights to India get spiced up

People planning holidays in India can get a taste for authentic cuisine from the country during their journey, if they fly with Lufthansa.

The German carrier has teamed up with the Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts group to offer its passengers royal Indian cuisine on any of the airline’s frequent flights to the country.

In-flight food has been prepared by two award-winning chefs from The Leela Group.

News Source for Flights to India get spiced up

From Outlook India Via A & L Daily: An Interview With Amartya Sen

Full interview here.

“I am a friend of the Left and my politics has been on the Left, but sometimes it’s difficult to recognise what is Left, what is Right. I am in favour of fighting today’s battles rather than yesterday’s battles. I think this gut anti-Americanism—don’t make it the headline (laughs)—is a problem. It is a minor problem, but one of the reasons why the Left cannot liberate itself from the Cold War. It made sense at some stage to oppose America for various reasons. But I think gut anti-Americanism is certainly pulling the Left back now.”

Of course, that’s the Indian left.  It seems that if you think deeply enough, you think through a lot of party ideas.  Yet, those ideas run deep in your own mind and childhood, and maybe you never stop really stop wrestling with them.

If you’re more familiar with Sen’s work, feel free to comment.

Also On This Site: Certainly the work he and Martha Nussbaum did is to better the quality of life in India, and create more economic opportunity there, but is there also global left-leaning international platform being built too…are these the best ideas to understand the range of American political and philosophical traditions?:  Amartya Sen In The New York Review Of Books: Capitalism Beyond The Crisis

Can you maintain the virtues of religion without the church…?:  From The City Journal: Roger Scruton On “Forgiveness And Irony”…Are we going soft and “European”… do we need to protect our religious idealism enshrined in the Constitution….with the social sciences?…Charles Murray Lecture At AEI: The Happiness Of People

Commonwealth Games 2010 becoming a war more than a sport

Suresh Kalmadi, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Games in Delhi next year, had earlier asked for Mike Hooper, the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation to be sent back to UK.

In the mean time, the Union Sports Minister, M. S. Gill said on Sunday, “All I know is the Prime Minister has given clear directions that every individual who is involved in the organizational task of the Games is only subordinate to the interests of India and the Games. I am confident we will deliver successful Games.”

The Sports Minister emphasized that the Union Government’s only concern was the successful conduct of the Games and towards achieving that task the Prime Minister had given clear mandates to him and the Group of Ministers, headed by the Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy.

“It’s the understatement of the year that the games are behind schedule and that we have concerns regarding the preparations,” scathing criticism from Mike Hooper.

Suresh Kalmadi, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Games in Delhi next year, had earlier asked for Mike Hooper, the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation to be sent back to UK.

In the mean time, the Union Sports Minister, M. S. Gill said on Sunday, “All I know is the Prime Minister has given clear directions that every individual who is involved in the organizational task of the Games is only subordinate to the interests of India and the Games. I am confident we will deliver successful Games.”

The Sports Minister emphasized that the Union Government’s only concern was the successful conduct of the Games and towards achieving that task the Prime Minister had given clear mandates to him and the Group of Ministers, headed by the Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy.

“It’s the understatement of the year that the games are behind schedule and that we have concerns regarding the preparations,” scathing criticism from Mike Hooper.

The White Tiger

book by Aravind Adiga

Annotation by Talya Jankovits

This novel, set in India, is told in the voice of a narrator who immediately comes alive as soon as page one. A murderer, a coward, an ignorant and morally challenged man from a poor and downtrodden village, Balram takes the reader on a voyage not just through India’s booming industrial cities and highly abused suburbs, but through his twisted logic and climb up the social latter. Above the suspense, the rich culture and devastating class system, the narration is what makes this novel so captivating.

Balram is candid through out, his voice honest and disturbing. At times you laugh with him and at other times cringe. It’s a look into the life of a murderer in a most unexpected way, an exposure to psychological rationalization of the lowest kind, not only of Balram but other characters as well. There is an immediate attachment to this narrator, a hate love relationship if you will. This torn reaction to the narrator is I think what makes this first person narration so successful.

I am always looking for a complexity of reactions to a character. I never want to be totally infatuated or completely revolted. I crave dimensional characters and Balram is just that. Adiga morphed together both the hero and villain into one multi-layered narrator. By allowing the reader access to Balram’s thinking process, the reader sees his insecurities, the abuses he withstands and how he mentally complies with them and we also see his moral demise. The way his hate builds and his rational for his murderous action begins to develop. I really appreciated this. The opportunity to empathize with a murderer and have moments where I enjoy his company, and try, even for a moment, to see his side of the argument. This is something I can learn from, how to make a villain human, how to appeal to emotion in a way that makes a person think seriously about the plight of a murderer. This mastering of character is most important when in the case like Balram, the character is also the narrator.

In addition to the story line and the excellent use of first person narration, the novel also relates many social issues. A brutal class system and a corrupted government, you see through the eyes of a low class driver all that is wrong with a system that perpetuates greed, bribery and capitalism. This novel can serve both as a critique as well as an entertaining glimpse into the mind and actions of a murderer who decides if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. But Adiga never makes you feel like he has a hidden agenda, his dealings with India’s corruption in the governmental and industrial infrastructure is always handled with the grace of storytelling, never once sounding preachy or socially driven.

It is always enjoyable to be entertained but it takes reading to another level when a writer presents you with a subtle underlay of social awareness. This novel takes you through a long weaving of events where Adiga takes horrifying social injustices and uses them in such a way where it elevates his plot and enriches his characters as well as teaches the reader. This was another aspect of his novel where I paid close attention, wanting a historical fiction piece I am working on to accomplish some of what he has done – a gentle but constant coverage of what it is like to be dehumanized by a brutal, governing system.

Adiga’s novel was really an enjoyable read –very deserving of its Man Booker Prize and functioned for me on many levels of writerly enrichment. From the captivating voice of Balram to the development and triumph of a murderer down to the social injustices, it was truly a valuable reading experience.

Writing for kids in India

It seems like this week can’t get any better. After all the great happenings so far, we also received a huge donation from Brief op Bestelling, a company that supports people in writing letters. We asked Brief op Bestelling’s Janna all about what they did to fundraise and how they did it.

What a great job you guys did! Congratulations on this great result.
Yes, the fundraising campaign has been great so far. We didn’t expect to raise so much money, but it really turned out to be a success.

You chose the Centre of Knowledge project in India. Why?
This project immediately caught our sight the moment we browsed the Pifworld globe. We truly believe schooling is the best way to help a country grow out of poverty. And since writing and reading is our core business, fundraising for this project felt like an true match.

So what exactly did you do?
We decided to put our hands together for the Centre of Knowledge project. A project that enables children to go to school. 86 of our copy writers decided to donate the revenue of writing one letter to this great cause. Meaning that in total we raised more than 3,500 euros! We are happy to be able to bring this project one step closer to realisation.

A job well done, guys!

To bring the project two or three steps closer to realisation you only have to play it forward. That way you can help these kids in India to learn how to read and write.

Annelies
The Pifworld team

Inadequate bosses ‘turn into bullies’

Bosses who feel inadequate are more likely to bully subordinates, says a new study

Inadequate bosses ‘turn into bullies’

Published in the journal Psychological Science , the study says it is so because feelings of inadequacy trigger them to lash out at those around them.

In the study, researchers at University of California, Berkeley and University of Southern California found a direct link among supervisors and upper management between self-perceived incompetence and aggression.

The findings are published in the November issue of the journal Psychological Science .

The new study challenges previous assumptions that abusive bosses are solely driven by ambition and the need to hold onto their power.

“By showing when and why power leads to aggression, these findings are highly relevant as abusive supervision is such a pervasive problem in society,” said Nathanael Fast, assistant professor of management and organization at USC and lead author of the study.

During role-playing sessions, study participants who felt their egos were under threat would go so far as to needlessly sabotage an underling’s chances of winning money. In another test, participants who felt inadequate would request that a subordinate who gave a wrong answer to a test be notified by a loud obnoxious horn, even though they had the option of choosing silence or a quiet sound.

Researchers did not rate participants by an objective measure of competency, but by their self-reported level of competency. This allowed them to investigate how feelings of self-worth are tied to workplace behavior.

“Incompetence alone doesn’t lead to aggression,” said Serena Chen, associate professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and co-author of the study.

“It’s the combination of having a high-power role and fearing that one is not up to the task that causes power holders to lash out. And our data suggest it’s ultimately about self-worth,” the expert added.

Alternately, Chen said, participants who got ego boosts by scoring high in a leadership aptitude test or who recalled an incident or principle that made them feel good about themselves did not react with aggression.

In India, New Seat of Power for Women - the success of the "No Toilet, No Bride" program g

Prospective Brides Demand Sought-After Commodity: A Toilet. But by linking toilets to courtship, the “No Toilet, No Bride” program in Haryana has been the most successful sanitation promotion effort so far.

NILOKHERI, India — An ideal groom in this dusty farming village is a vegetarian, does not drink, has good prospects for a stable job and promises his bride-to-be an amenity in high demand: a toilet.

In rural India, many young women are refusing to marry unless the suitor furnishes their future home with a bathroom, freeing them from the inconvenience and embarrassment of using community toilets or squatting in fields.

About 665 million people in India — about half the population — lack access to latrines. But since a “No Toilet, No Bride” campaign started about two years ago, 1.4 million toilets have been built here in the northern state of Haryana, some with government funds, according to the state’s health department.

Women’s rights activists call the program a revolution as it spreads across India’s vast and largely impoverished rural areas.

“I won’t let my daughter near a boy who doesn’t have a latrine,” said Usha Pagdi, who made sure that daughter Vimlas Sasva, 18, finished high school and took courses in electronics at a technical school. “No loo? No ‘I do,’ ” Vimlas said, laughing as she repeated a radio jingle.

“My father never even allowed me an education,” Pagdi said, stroking her daughter’s hair in their half-built shelter near a lagoon strewn with trash. “Every time I washed the floors, I thought about how I knew nothing. Now, young women have power. The men can’t refuse us.”

Indian girls are traditionally seen as a financial liability because of the wedding dowries [...] but that is slowly changing as women marry later and grow more financially self-reliant. More rural girls are enrolled in school than ever before.

A societal preference for boys here has become an unlikely source of power for Indian women. The [illegeal but widespread] abortion of female fetuses in favor of sons means there are more eligible bachelors than potential brides, allowing women and their parents to be more selective when arranging a match.

“I will have to work hard to afford a toilet. We won’t get any bride if we don’t have one now,” said Harpal Sirshwa, 22, who is hoping to marry soon. [...] “I won’t be offended when the woman I like asks for a toilet.”
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Satellite television and the Internet are spreading images of rising prosperity and urban middle-class accouterments to rural areas, such as spacious apartments — with bathrooms.

[...] With economic freedom, women are increasingly expecting more, and toilets are at the top of their list, they say.

[...] “Women suffer the most since there are prying eyes everywhere,” said Ashok Gera, a doctor who works in a one-room clinic here. “It’s humiliating, harrowing and extremely unhealthy. I see so many young women who have prolonged urinary tract infections and kidney and liver problems because they don’t have a safe place to go.”

Previous attempts to bring toilets to poor Indian villages have mostly failed. A 2001 project sponsored by the World Bank never took off because many people used the latrines as storage facilities or took them apart to build lean-tos, said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Center for Social Research in New Delhi, who worked on the program.

But by linking toilets to courtship, “No Toilet, No Bride” has been the most successful effort so far. Walls in many villages are painted with slogans in Hindi, such as “I won’t get my daughter married into a household which does not have a toilet.” Even popular soap operas have featured dramatic plots involving the campaign.

“The ‘No Toilet, No Bride’ program is a bloodless coup,” said Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International, a social organization, and winner of this year’s Stockholm Water Prize for developing inexpensive, eco-friendly toilets. “When I started, it was a cultural taboo to even talk about toilets. Now it’s changing. My mother used to wake up at 4 a.m. to find someplace to go quietly. My wife wakes up at 7 a.m., and can go safely in her home.”

Pathak runs a school and job-training center for women who once cleaned up human waste by hand. They are known as untouchables, the lowest caste in India’s social order. As more toilets come to India, the women are less likely to have to do such jobs, Pathak said.

“I want so much for them to have skills and dignity,” Pathak said. “I tell the government all the time: If India wants to be a superpower, first we need toilets. Maybe it will be our women who finally change that.”

[This article has attracted 128 reader comments so far, unfortunately many are off-topic rants about religion, abortion etc and toilet jokes]

Source: By Emily Wax, Washington Post, 12 Oct 2009

Kashmir's main glacier Kolahoi melting at alarming speed

Indian Kashmir’s biggest glacier, which feeds the region’s main river, is melting faster than other Himalayas glaciers, threatening the water supply of tens of thousands of people.Rising temperatures are rapidly shrinking Himalayan glaciers, underscoring the effects of climate change that has caused temperatures in the mountainous region to rise by about 1.1 degrees Celsius in the past 100 years.

The biggest glacier in Indian Kashmir, the Kolahoi glacier spread over just a little above 11 sq km (4.25 sq mile), has shrunk 2.63 sq km in the past three decades, a new study said.

“Kolahoi glacier is shrinking 0.08 square kilometers a year, which is an alarming speed,” said the study, presented at a workshop on “Climate Change, Glacial Retreat and Livelihoods,” in Srinagar,  Kashmir’s summer capital.

The three year-long study was led by glaciologist Shakil Ramsoo, of the department of geology at the University of Kashmir.

The Kolahoi glacier is the main source of water for Kashmir’s biggest river, the Jhelum, and its many streams and lakes.

According to a United Nations Environment Programme and World Glacier Monitoring Service study, the average melting rate of mountain glaciers has doubled since the turn of the millennium, with record losses seen in 2006 at several sites.

the melting of Kashmir glaciers could have serious fallout as most Kashmiris rely on glaciers for water.

LINKS:

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Erste Beschreibung

Eigentlich wollte ich dies schon vor Tagen per Email schicken, doch dabei zeigten sich unerwartete technische Probleme.

Durch die globalen Wetterveränderungen ist die Regenzeit hier noch nicht völlig vorbei. Es gab ein paar regnerische Tage, während denen ich auch direkt krank war, ich war eine Woche ziemlich unfähig. Seit gestern geht es wieder besser.
Ansonsten ist es in Mumbai, recht warm und feucht.
Gewöhnungsbedürftig ist auch das Stadtbild, Gebäude sehen von aussen alle heruntergekommen aus – von innen zum Teil ebenfalls, die Wohnungen die ich bis jetzt sah sind jedoch sehr gut und wohnlich eingerichtet.
Beim Laufen durch die Strassen sind alle 5 Meter andere Gerüche anzutreffen, vom Blütenduft des Blumenmarkts, über Obst und Gemüse, Restaurants, und anderen mit unter weniger angenehme.
Die der Belag der Strassen und Bürgersteige ist ebenfalls wechselnd.
Wobei auf vielen Strassen sich fast alle Verkehrsteilnehmer auf der Fahrbahn bewegen, die dann ziemlich überfüllt ist.
Es ist laut, da alle Fahrer mit Klingel und Hupe auf sich aufmerksam machen.

Zubins Yogabhyasa ist in Matunga nahe des Bahnsteigs im Tempelviertel.
Ich wohne im selben Gebäude, dem Sri Kanyaka Parameshwari Temple.
Es gibt morgens zwischen 6:45 und 10:30 ein bis zwei Klassen, und abends nach der Übungszeit von 7 bis 8:30 meist eine Klasse.
Der Unterricht ist toll. Es gibt viel zu lernen.
In den Klassen sind meist um 30 Schüler die dann auch den ganzen Raum beanspruchen.

Alles Liebe

Josef

Anime sua festa temática com roupas indianas

Festas temáticas e festas a fantasia sempre fazem sucesso, seja entre as crianças, seja entre os adultos. Se você quer fazer sucesso na sua próxima festa, vista-se no melhor estilo “Caminho das Índias”, com um belíssimo Sári como a Maya, ou com um punjab igual ao do Raj. E com nossos preços, comprar um traje indiano tradicional sai mais barato do que alugar! Venha conhecer nossos produtos, e aproveite para comprar um vestido para curtir a primavera que acaba de chegar. Temos vestidos lindos, em cambraia de algodão, com ótimo caimento e muito conforto.

A dança do ventre também é outra paixão brasileira, e a Tikilo tem roupas lindíssimas para dança do ventre, para crianças e adultas. Confira alguns modelos na página de catálogo, e entre em contato para conhecer nossos preços e condições especiais para lojistas. Faça bons negócios com as roupas e produtos Tikilo India.

Consulte nosso catálogo para conhecer um pouco da nossa linha de produtos. Temos, além de roupas indianas da melhor qualidade, uma linha completa de bijoux, colares, pulseiras, e também móveis e objetos de decoração. Venha conhecer nossa loja!

'CRPF to implement CCS strategy for tackling Naxals'

The CRPF said on Friday that it will “set in motion soon” the action plan cleared by the Centre to deal with Left wing extremism in the country.

 ”The action plan, approved by the Union government, will be set in motion very soon. The operations would be focused,” CRPF DG, A S Gill told reporters in New Delhi.

Gill also said the forces will very soon have “more successes” and new battalions of the CRPF and the specialised anti-Naxal force CoBRA would take their positions in the affected areas by the end of this year.

Terming Naxals as the “enemies to the security of the country”, Gill said the specialised forces would adopt new counter strategies to take on the Maoists.

“The terrain where the forces are operating are difficult. Naxals are in large numbers in these places. There will be more focused operations and we will deploy new counter strategies,” Gill said.

He strongly condemned yesterday’s attack in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra where 17 policemen were killed.

The Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the Government’s new plan to counter Maoists under which the infested states will have an effective coordination and the police will take a lead role.

According to the plan worked out by the Union Home Ministry, the anti-Naxal operations will be undertaken in states affected by Left wing extremism and would be assisted by CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), a specialised central force.

The strategy cleared by the CCS says that once an area is cleared of the Maoists, developmental activities could be carried out in full swing so that the ultras cannot return.

Air Force and BSF helicopters will be used for reinforcements and evacuation of casualties only, and not for any offensive action.

The operations will be carried out in 20 states affected by the Maoist menace and they will also share intelligence. The police will have the mandate to cross inter-state borders in the hunt for the Naxals.

The CCS clearance came in the backdrop of a police inspector being beheaded by Naxals in Jharkhand and gunning down of 17 policemen by Maoists in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

(The Indian Express, 9 October 2009)

News for October 8, 2009

In Science/Technology:

• Scientists are going to blow up the moon… well… sort of. They’re sending a missile up to the moon so that when the crater they’re sending it up to blows up, they can see if there’s any ice under the surface.
• Google Voice has presented problems for cell phone carriers, especially AT&T, as people can cancel their subscriptions to carriers and use it instead of normal cell phone use. But many carriers are now allowing it on their phones. Good news if you have an iPhone or an Android.
• While we’re on the topic of Google, Twitter may now sell your tweets to Google and Microsoft so that you can search tweets in Google and Bing.

In World News:

• 17 are left dead in a car bombing outside the Indian Embassy today.
• Herta Müller has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• 3 dead newborns and a dead woman were found in a Calgary home. Police are opening an investigation.

In Health:

• The age group swine flu* affects most (middle and high school students) did the worst on getting shots.
• Scientists now think they can link chronic fatigue back to a virus.

*I HAVE to say this every time I say “swine flu”: Swine flu is no more dangerous than normal flu. It’s just a different strain. Don’t get all up in a fuss about it.

Rest.

I’ll start this off by saying, I’m not a Mary, I’m a Martha.

Short recap of the story: Mary is praised for sitting at Jesus’ feet, Martha’s scolded for being too busy and worrying about the little things (Lk 10:38-42). I always cringe at sermons on this passage because I’m not the sit-at-Jesus’-feet type of person, I’m a DOER! I have this incessant internal dialogue about how can it be fair, that the God who made me this way, scolds me for it? How did Jesus expect the food to get on the table??? Someone had to do something! I have to chew on this passage a bit more. Any exegetical wizards that have some light to shed, please feel free.

But I think the thought that helps me to reconcile myself to this passage is the image of waves on the ocean sand. There’s an ebb and flow. A back and forth. A time to be busy and a time for, sigh, rest. One friend wittily pointed out that my last name De Boer even points to that, there’s an “eb” in the middle of the “doer.” It’s a cute reminder

All that to say, my time here in India has forced me to sloooooow down. I think the past, oh let’s say, year and then some, has been a season of running, full speed ahead. Towards what? I think of the month I was home before leaving for India. Full of good things. FULL. That month is a bit of a blur. Maybe that’s what Jesus was getting at with Martha. What she was doing wasn’t “bad” or “wrong” but it was too much, all at once. So much that maybe she lost focus as to why she was doing it all.

As I wrote earlier one of the books I brought with me is Freedom of Simplicity. I’m all about living simply, I thought to myself as I purchased the book. But Foster writes about how simplicity is about more than possessions, it includes our schedules. Oooh, that doesn’t sound like fun…Foster quotes Thomas Kelly: “God never guides us into an intolerable scramble of panting feverishness…”   

And so, I find myself in India. And life is slower. For now

And it’s good.

I’ve had time to read. For FUN! Without feeling rushed or like I should be doing something else.

I’ve had time for sleep (did you hear that??).

I’ve had time for tea breaks.

I’ve had time to pray and journal and then pray and journal some more.

I know myself, and this is an “ebb” moment. Already I’m finding a few little things here and there, to do. There’s a Sunday School program I want to help out with on Sunday mornings. I’m leading a session at a retreat this weekend for the girls at the hostel. I’m looking into a few extra field site visits. And I don’t think that’s bad. Like I said, it’s who I am. But I don’t want my time in India to be a blur. I don’t want to get so busy that I can’t hear the whisper of the Spirit. I don’t want to run so fast that I miss the little moments that make for great memories.

Aste, aste.

Dealing with a sick child - in India.

Post #19:

Daniel was really sick overnight as a result of (probably) eating chicken in a fish restaurant.  He showed all the symptoms of some kind of food poisoning and by morning was dehydrated. While we didn’t feel that this warranted a visit to a doctor or hospital immediately, we were prepared to do this if we couldn’t treat it ourselves. Dehydration is never a joke and if not taken care of certainly will lead to a hospital bed.

The problem was that we had to move on from Cochin – Raja picked us up from the hotel and Daniel, feeling miserable, had to get into the van.  Raja was very optimistic that Daniel would be on the mend soon.  We were in Kerala, a region very strongly influenced by Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical system dating back thousands of years and our next stop was a homestay deep in the Keralan countryside, an area where Ayurveda is still practised regularly. 

To reach our homestay we had to take a short boat ride, and when we arrived, we immediately informed the family of Daniel’s situation.  The motherly lady of the house told us that dysentery and dehydration are common problems in rural India amongst local children and she was well prepared to offer a solution.  She suggested fresh rice water, and a ginger concoction to follow.  Daniel was struggling to keep anything down, but when the rice water was ready he drank it and went to sleep. When he woke up he was given the ginger mixture. By nightfall he was feeling much better and was able to eat some rice.  A folk remedy perhaps, but it worked, most probably a lot better than the rehydration salts we had brought with us.

This was our second episode of food poisoning and dehydration on our trip so far.  The lesson learned – be vigilant about what you eat in India, all the time!

Salman's sweet gesture for Bebo

The latest news that is spreading around the industry is that the beautiful babe Kareena Kapoor and smart hunk Salman Khan, who were recently in Melbourne, shooting for their forthcoming movie titled Main Aur Mrs Khanna went shopping after wrapping up the day’s shoot and Salman Khan gifted a Rs.250000 bag to the young lady.

salman and kareena

Kareena Kapoor instantly liked a Dolce and Gabbana bag and the actress was floored by Salman Khan’s gesture by saying that he is a wonderful person at heart. Both the stars share strong on-screen and off-screen chemistry which has turned into a new friendship that may be a threat for their lovers.

Main Aur Mrs Khanna is Prem Soni’s directorial debut, which also stars Sohial Khan in a pivotal role. The movie has a simple storyline. The script is not based on an extramarital affair. It is just a story of three people. The whole extramarital thing is only a perception. The movie is all set to get released on October 16, 2009.

We wish that the movie does well….

Delhi II

In the two months since I left, Delhi has already become unrecognizable. Perhaps this is due to the commonwealth games, which two months ago forced squatters from their tarpauline homes. Now those homes have become smooth concrete, shiny as glazed donuts. Even the backpacker district of Pahr Ganj smells a bit less like piss, and I am able to stroll through the main Bazaar without having to leap over puddles of mud.

Palika Bazaar

In the Gem bar I spend a night drinking with a BBC director. He abuses the United States, calling us “a bunch of Imperial assholes.” He fancies himself a fan of Shakespeare, and when I continue to win bets over which character is which, and “what year did Shakespeare write Titus Andronicus?” his distress turns to ire and he returns to reprimanding the United States, expecting to get a rise out of me.

As if I have any emotional investment in a country that refuses to help pay for my medical bills or subsidize my medication. The pills I buy in India for $8 a pack are about $350 in the United States, for the same active ingredients.

Er...crowded train station

As the BBC dickhead proceeds to offend any American any the room, I begin to wonder why there is no American in the room. Even in the backpacker’s mecca of India, I have yet to meet a single American, and the only familiar accents come from Canadians.

Afterwards I walk the Main Bazaar, the night market’s cunning aiming for me in all directions. Passing by other travelers, I see stereotypes so true and untrue, always laughable. Japanese girls wearing tight white masks to protect them from H1N1. Scottish blokes in ripped jeans and gigantic earrings. French families who stare apprehensively at their bottled water, clutching the pages of their guidebook as if it were a Bible. Australian boys always in large groups, perhaps intoxicated, pulling boyish pranks on any passerbys. Koreans giggling somewhere. Chinese men are watching the Indians, noting down any foulplay. Israeli hippies are looking for marijuana. British men are in long dresses and smoking cigarettes, absorbing the shit around them. German men are in extremely short shorts. Canadian men are in the corner, reading books.

And the Americans. The Americans are nowhere. Do you want to hear the confession of a traveling American? The most insulting part of belonging to this global Empire, one that not only believes that we know the world and what’s best for it, but that we somehow deserve to operate as its global police force–that our opinions should matter the most, that our IMFs and World Banks somehow “enlighten” the rest of the world? Are you ready? Here it is:

In nine weeks of traveling around India, I never met another traveling American. Not once.Not in the gigantic international festivals of Bangalore, not in the thrilling train rides packed with young backpackers, not even in the wondrous Taj Mahal, perhaps the most visited monument on the planet. I never even met a “Non-Resident Indian”-American.

The few Americans in South-east Asia made me suspicious, but the complete absence of my countrymen in India seems totally unbelievable, considering the amount of western youths trying their luck in South Asia. For a country that insists on acting like a world leader, this is abominable. As I watch the other travelers in Pahr Ganj, I begin to realize that the vitriolic criticism  that the BBC Director was spewing about the United States was by no means an uncommon diatribe. In bars all across the world, America is being denounced as an “Empire in denial,” and what’s worse, there is a deep nostalgia for the way the British Empire ran things.

As my Indian friend, Phillip, once told me: “at least the British built bridges and trains, what the hell is your Empire doing to help out? Trying to make us all Christian?”

Delhi Gate, again!

When it comes to defending the United States, I am lonely and alone. I do what I can to break the stereotype, but there are far too many American soldiers in third world countries sprouting districts full of prostitution and drugs, and too few (if any) American travelers to showcase a more approachable kind of American. We travelers love to laugh at the Japanese for wearing those absurd masks, and the Australians for being obnoxious drunk assholes, but we forgive them because they are here, among the world, experiencing it and letting the world experience them. But there is no redemption for young Americans. We refuse to see the world eye-to-eye, and the world only sees us through our bureaucrats, our corrupt politicians, our soldiers depicted in their newspapers when, as in Afghanistan last week, our airstrikes end up killing the civilians we are meant to protect.

Americans as a people are in absence, but as a world power we are ever present. Is it fear that holds us back? Our fear of what–stomach aches? India, at least, is ready for us. The Obama charisma has yet to wear off on its people, and as an American, I am greeted and shown respect in every capacity (most Indians are simply bewildered to see an American traveling at all). I have never lied about my nationality, not in communist Laos, not in the long lines of Beijing, not in Ho Chi Minh’s Hanoi, not in the knife-happy bars of Phenom Penh, nor in any part of “second-world” India.

Where I went in red, where I stayed in blue.

Last year, when the protests in Bangkok were at their most crucial, I followed the events with an astounding amount of care and dedication. This is perhaps what backpacking is, what makes it more than simple summer trips, brief outings into the limin, or inexpensive vacations. Because I had been to Bangkok, and knew the people, and had a cognitive map of the city, I could not help but empathize with the protesters, I could not help but care, and root always for the people trying to change their corrupt government. If, like the Europeans, every American spent their youth traveling to places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, India, would we still be where we are now? Would we still be so quick to ignore the number of Iraqi civilians we continue to call “collateral damage?” Would we have been fooled for a moment when they told us we were there for “liberation?” Would we have sat by watched our soldiers destroy those great monuments, those astounding mosques, those museums, those countless homes and those unprepared civilians?

Now we are on the verge of more violence, more occupations, more bad intelligence and misunderstandings. But we are still young. Our backs are still ready to sleep on park benches, our lungs, still willing to inhale the toxic fumes that await us, our hands, still ready to reach out to the unknown, to be grasped by whatever lurks there. Our spirit and enthusiasm, our openness, our efflux of our soul, our willingness to accept the world, this will not last forever. Let us go! As Americans, let us be rid of our fake certainty, of querulous libraries and our ivory, panopticon towers. Let us go! Into the world to break this stereotype that puts us always in a position of dominance and power, as the whippers of the third world. Let us go! Let us see and be seen, let us act and be acted upon, let us plunge, let us plunge!

Where I went in red, where I stayed in blue.

Peace march starts colourful on grey Wellington day

„Happy Birthday Gandhi!”

Happy Birthday, Gandhi! (pic: own)

I SAW the same statue in India a few years ago. So we meet here again, Mahatma.“

That was just one of the birthday greetings this morning when the first-ever World March for Peace and Non-violence started.

The opening event began at 9.30am with a speech by Rafael de la Rubia, president of World Without Wars -who initiated the march- and spokesperson for the march, at the Gandhi statue Wellington railway station.

Today is not only day zero of the march, but also the 140th anniversary of Gandhi’s birthday and the International Day of Non-violence.

Youngest marcher Oscar Wakefield with his granny Dr Kate Dewes (pic: own)

The opening speech was followed by music, other speekers and the appearance of the youngest participant in the march, little Oscar Wakefield (not the boxer, pictured right).

One very special performance was made by singer Graeme Allwright, who sang a self-composed peace song for “all the children of the world today”.

Graeme was born in Lyall Bay, but moved to London when he was 21 to go to theater school, and later to France, where he still lives.

“For years I have asked myself how the French can continue singing their national anthem, this war song.”, he says.

Based on the same melody as La Marsaillaise, his “international hymn for peace” calls for peace and freedom instead of telling about war, bloodshed and violence like the original French text does.

At 9.30pm the march officially started, together with the Wellington Peace Heritage Walk.

- read here what NewsWire wrote earlier this week

- view my blog post from 22/09/09

Beginning of the first-ever World March for Peace and Non-violence (pic: own)

On the way to Parliament: the marchers (pic: own)

அமார்த்ய சென்னின் பேட்டி

அமார்த்ய சென் பொருளாதார நிபுணர். பொருளாதாரத்துக்கான நோபல் பரிசை வென்றவர். பல வருஷங்களாக கேம்ப்ரிட்ஜ் பல்கலைக் கழகத்தில் பெரிய பதவியில் இருக்கிறார். சாதாரணமாக மேலை நாடுகளுக்கு செல்பவர்கள் இந்திய குடியுரிமையை உதறிவிடுவார்கள், ஆனால் இவர் இன்னும் இந்தியக் குடிமகன்தான்.

அவருடைய பெரிய தலைகாணி புஸ்தகம் Argumentative Indian . படிக்க ஆரம்பித்தேன், முடிக்க முடியவில்லை.

அவர் 1998-இல் கொடுத்த பேட்டி ஒன்றை அவுட்லுக்கில் மறுபதிப்பு செய்திருக்கிறார்கள். சுருக்கமாக சொன்னால் லைசன்ஸ் ராஜ் தளர்த்தப்பட்டால் மட்டும் போதாது, கிடைக்கும் வாய்ப்புகளை பயன்படுத்திக் கொள்ளக் கூடிய மக்கள் கூட்டமும் இருக்க வேண்டும், அதாவது அவர்களுக்கு அடிப்படை வசதிகள், கல்வி, மருத்துவ வசதி, infrastructure எல்லாம் இருக்க வேண்டும், அப்போதுதான் market liberalization தரும் வாய்ப்புகளை பயன்படுத்திக் கொள்ள முடியும் என்று சொல்கிறார்.

கடைசி கேள்வி இந்தியா அப்போது – பத்து வருஷங்களுக்கு முன் – வெடித்த அணுகுண்டு சோதனையைப் பற்றி. மிக லாஜிகலாக அதன் பாதகங்களை புட்டு புட்டு வைத்திருக்கிறார். இந்த அணுகுண்டு சோதனை தவறான முடிவு என்று சொல்கிறார். அவர் சொல்லும் காரணங்கள்:

1. இந்தியா வெடித்த அணுகுண்டு பாகிஸ்தானுக்கு தன் covert அணுகுண்டு டெக்னாலஜியை வெளிப்படையாக காண்பிக்க பெரும் உந்துதலாக அமைந்துவிட்டது. India created that opportunity for Pakistan for doing this without it being blamed as the initiator.
2. As a result, India’s massive superiority in conventional weapons has been levelled to a large extent.
3. இந்தியா ஏற்கனவே அணுகுண்டு சோதனை நடத்தியாகிவிட்டது. Pakistan has more to gain from its first explosion than India has from its second.
4. இந்தியா சர்வ தேச அரங்கில் சந்தேகத்துடன் பார்க்கப்படுகிறது. காஷ்மீர், ஐ.நா. செக்யூரிடி கவுன்சில் நிரந்தர இடம், இந்தியா-பாகிஸ்தான் ஒரே தட்டில் வைத்து பார்க்கப்படுதல் போன்ற விஷயங்களில் இந்தியாவுக்கு இருக்கும் ஆதரவு குறையும்.
5. பாகிஸ்தானில் ராணுவத்தின் ரோல், தாக்கம் அதிகரிக்கும். இது சிவிலியன் அரசை பலவீனப்படுத்தும். இந்தியாவுக்கு இது நல்லதில்லை.
6. பணச்செலவு

சென் சொல்வதில் செக்யூரிடி கவுன்சில் நிரந்தர இடம் எப்படி இருந்தாலும் கிடைத்திருக்கப் போவதில்லை. மற்ற நாடுகளின் சந்தேகப் பார்வை ஒரு short term setback மட்டும்தான். ஆனால் அதற்கு பிறகுதான் கார்கில், முஷாரஃப் பாகிஸ்தான் அதிபர் ஆதல் ஆகியவை நடந்தன.

என்ன லாபம் என்று சென் சொல்லவில்லை. Tangible லாபம் என்று பார்த்தால் நம் விஞ்ஞானிகளுக்கு கிடைத்த experimental data. Intangible லாபம் மக்களிடையே இருந்த உற்சாகம்.

சென் ப்ராக்டிகலான காரணங்களை சொல்வது எனக்கு பிடித்திருக்கிறது. மேலை நாடுகள், குறிப்பாக அமேரிக்கா செய்வது நியாயம்தான். நான் மட்டும்தான் பொறுப்பானவன், மற்றவர்கள் அணு குண்டுகளை பொறுப்பாக பாதுகாக்க மாட்டார்கள் என்று சொல்ல அமெரிக்காவுக்கு எந்த உரிமையும் இல்லைதான். ஆனால் சர்வ தேச அரங்கில் நியாயம், அநியாயம் எல்லாம் இரண்டாம் பட்சம்தான் என்று சென் உணர்ந்திருக்கிறார்.

பின்குறிப்பு: இந்த பேட்டி வந்தபோது சென் நோபல் பரிசு வென்றிருக்கவில்லை.

Molester jumps off second floor, lands in hospital.

Chandigarh, Oct 1 :A 30-year-old man jumped from the second floor of a house to escape after molesting a woman but only landed in a hospital bed with paralysed legs, police said here Thursday.

According to police, Harpreet Singh, an engineer, had entered the woman’s home in Sector 56 late Tuesday night and allegedly attempted to molest her. She raised an alarm.

Singh ran and jumped from the second floor only to fall on a car.

“We immediately shifted him to the government hospital and the doctors there referred him to the PGIMER (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research). He has suffered multiple injuries on his spinal cord and his legs have been paralysed,” said a police official.

“He was in an inebriated condition at the time of the incident,” added the official.

Singh told police that he knew the woman and had come there to discuss some matter with her, according to the official.

The complainant is the mother of a six-year-old boy.

Gandhi: India and Universalism by Gandhi Scholar Dr. Ravindra Kumar

India is a country committed to internationalism or universalism. This commitment is thousands of years old and can be well acknowledged and understood through India’s ancient slogan of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. Besides this, thousands of years old harmonious and evolutionary Indian Culture, through the practices of its up bingers, Indians, has also been categorically reiterating its commitment towards internationalism. Until today it is doing so. India’s Culture along with its other unique and exemplary characteristics, of which adaptation and universal acceptance are the foremost, has been drawing the attention of the whole world by opening the door of the Indian soil for each and every one, doesn’t matter to which part or region of the glob he or she belongs. This, definitely, has been an outstanding step towards internationalism. For all the nations and citizens of the world it is a good lesson to be learnt. Particularly, in these days of globalization, which is another form of internationalism, which is constantly decreasing distances among the nations at different levels and different walks of life, and in which marching forward together has become necessary, Indian Culture and its exemplary features can guide the world for the establishment of a true internationalism and also to make it firm and all welfaristic.

It was Indian Culture and its large scope that accorded protection to the followers of various faiths and beliefs of the world from time-to-time. This Culture opened doors for all to settle on the Indian soil and provided equal opportunities to them for development. This process started thousands of years ago and continued for centuries. Perhaps, such kind of exclusive and excellent work started in India alone.

India’s commitment to internationalism can also be well observed in its respect to Ahimsa, non-violence, the supreme human value. In other words, Ahimsa being an indivisible part of day-to-day practices of Indians calls upon human welfare at the highest level and thus makes the idea of internationalism firm and great. It works for human unity.

“Not to inflict others’ thoughts, words and actions by our own thoughts, words and deeds, simultaneously not to spoil the life” is included in India’s concept pertaining to Ahimsa. In brief, “The aloofness in toto from Himsa-violence is Ahimsa-non-violence.” It is evident that not only human beings but all living beings are within the domain of India’s concept of non-violence. Now, where there is such a feeling for living beings, how much regard will be there for human beings? We can understand it from India’s concept of non-violence and through it can realize India’s commitment and dedication to internationalism and universalism.

Indian philosophy, spiritual thinking and education and messages of those great men, reformers and initiators of new ages who born on India’s soil from time-to-time, called upon people to carryout their day-to-day practices having larger interest of humanity in the centre.  They urged people to base their behaviour on the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. They declared nationalism to be the first stage of internationalism and inspired people to strengthen it with the purpose of prosperity and welfare of the whole world. Therefore, India’s concept of nationalism is not a narrow one, or in it not ungenerous in its nature. I repeat it is the early step towards internationalism. Those who consider Indian nationalism to be narrow in outlook or observe it to be isolated, they must understand its reality. They should go into its roots. If they do so, I am sure they will find it completely free from the state of isolation. They will definitely find it to be dedicated to internationalism or universalism.

Mahatma Gandhi, who was a worshiper of Ahimsa and a forerunner of India’s Culture in his time, had said, “If I want freedom for my country…I do not want that freedom in order that I, belonging to a nation which counts one-fifth of the human race, may exploit any other race upon earth, or any single individual. If I want that freedom for my country, I would not be deserving of that freedom if I did not cherish and treasure the equal right of every other race, weak or strong, to the same freedom.” This statement is fully capable of clarifying the reality of India’s commitment to universalism. Simultaneously, his following statement is also equally relevant and significant in this regard:“ Through the deliverance of India, I seek to deliver the so-called weaker races of the earth from the crushing heels f Western exploitation. India’s coming to her own will mean every nation doing likewise.” Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of Sarvodaya, which is in consonance with Indian traditions and values and which is also influenced by Ruskin’s theory of ‘Unto This Last’, can be considered to be the best on the way to human equality. This principle without any caste, class gender, community or territory-based discrimination endorses equal value for the labour of an intellectual or a cultivator. It talks of greatest happiness to all in comparison to utilitarian theory of greatest happiness to greatest number. In it is the room for equal opportunities for the lowest to progress. This firmly elucidates that in greatest happiness to all also includes the greatest happiness to greatest number. Hence, it brings the whole humanity in its fold and, therefore, reveals internationalism in a beautiful manner.

Furthermore, Gandhi’s theory of Trusteeship, which according to the Mahatma can be the alternative to the violence-based institution like the State, clearly reflects the perception of internationalism. He as one of the great anarchists is in favour of abolishing the institution of the State step-by-step. In place of the State he stresses upon the establishment of a worldly order based on equality. It is in fact a step beyond internationalism. In it whole humanity without any discrimination and territorial limit comes together and becomes identical. Therefore, Mahatma Gandhi’s views cannot be taken slightly, doesn’t matter if the institution of the State as desired by him cannot be abolished immediately or within a time fixed for the purpose. His views are worth giving a thought, doesn’t matter if his desire for a worldly order seems to be utopian to many. In this regard Gandhi during his stay in South Africa had set an example of collective living in the ‘Tolstoy Form’. In it people belonging to different religious-communities, sects and castes stayed together. They worked together and ate together. It was a successful experiment of Gandhi. Therefore, his ideas, in spite of seeming utopian or impractical and fully imbibed with morality and ethics, are the subject of minutely analysis as they are important and significant for the establishment of internationalism. Eighty-five years ago, in 1924, Mahatma Gandhi had said, “The world desires today not absolutely independent States warring one against another, but a federation of friendly interdependent States. The consummation of that event may be far off. I want to make no ground claim for our country. But I see nothing grand or impossible about our expressing our readiness for universal interdependence rather than independence.” This statement of the Mahatma adds to the concept of internationalism. It makes its range to be large.

It is possible that eighty-five years ago the above statement of Gandhi seemed just to be imaginable to many. But, today in completely changed circumstances of the world it calls upon us to think over it honestly and sincerely.

Due to constantly increasing development at the global level, in spite of existence of independent nation-States, an advanced state of interdependence is before us today. This state will still go higher. Doesn’t matter if it is considered to be a compulsion of the nations of the world, but to move forward together is inevitable now. Working together is necessary for all citizens of the world. In such a situation suggestions of the Mahatma and views expressed by him from time-to-time, which are full of internationalism, prove their adaptability and significance. It will be better and welfaristic if nations of the world by having the views and suggestions of Gandhi in the centre come forward to work in a state of harmony as per the demand of time and space instead of working in a state of compulsion. If they create conducive atmosphere collectively it will do well to all in the world. In the beginning we have discussed about India’s commitment to internationalism. Mahatma Gandhi had desired India to come forward for the establishment of a worldly order dedicated to peace and prosperity. He also desired India to accomplish this gigantic task considering it to be her responsibility. It is possible because India due to its unique values, exemplary Culture and commitment to non-violence is capable to do so. Therefore, India must come forward for the establishment of a true and real internationalism, and by doing so it must become ideal for others in the world.

*Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a renowned Indologist; he is a former vice chancellor of CCS University, Meerut, India.