Comrade Chakra

Let’s hand it to Narendra Modi . He really pulled off a tremendous victory, one that took almost everyone by surprise, including himself? For one thing he made all these fancy pollsters…exit polls/pre-poll surveys eat humble pie. Their situation is pretty similar to Forex analysts who most of the time wrongly forecast the direction to be taken by any currency. But even as the euphoria of the victory reaches a crescendo in the BJP camp (it is more the Gujarat BJP camp, as the central leadership do seem a little guarded in their enthusiasm) and the Congress leadership move around with their long faces (I really pity those Congress blokes, they cannot even speak their mind and blame it all on Sonia and her ill advised merchants of death speech) it appears a good time to understand what lies ahead. In the short-term, the Nuclear Deal is dead. Congress will just not have the stomach to take on the Left now and try push it through once again. And what about the long-term? First and fo...

This actually happened. You got to read this, talk about getting caught with your pants down!! "A New Zealand woman who sent a naked man to the wrong house on the promise of a good time has been charged with misusing a telephone, local media reported. The 17-year-old woman sent the man an enticing text message offering him an early Christmas present in the shape of two friendly women and suggested he take off his clothes to save time The 31-year old man wasted no time in arriving at the house, and took off his clothes and threw them through the window before entering. But it was the wrong house and the householder did not see the funny side. Both the man and the woman escaped prosecution and were cautioned and put on good behaviour bonds" See full report. I am now trying to think of the conversation that would have gone on between the 31 year old man and the dumbfounded householder…..the possibilities are endless (besides offcourse the usual “What the hell!!”) Householder: ...

I do not know how many times it has happened with you, but I can recall various occasions when I and others I know, have returned from a movie totally disappointed. No, not because it was a bad movie but because it turned out to be too heavily censored. It is not a well kept secret that the success of “Film Festivals” at one time depended on the collection of “bold” films that would form part of the “World Cinema Panorama” . These films would be much sought after among the discerning audience not for the fancy camera work, or play of light and shadow or distinctive editing techniques, but because of the various bold scenes. French cinema and various East European cinemas would fit the bill (not that they were otherwise deviod of rich cinematic content, but then, who's watching that!). These scenes would be well publicised by the festival organisers through the media by organising discussion forums and seminars featuring the local cognoscenti and the intelligentsia. However, occa...

How many times in your life do you get the chance to say “I told you so”. If the answer is “very often” get out of here you bore. If you say ‘never’ well, get out of here anyway, you must be either too dumb or too polite. Sometime back I had written about big changes coming (see previous post) and how our tastes, preferences and priorities are changing. Well, now that Om Shanti Om (aka OSO ...the uncannily similar sounding title acquired by a certain Rajnish who also was closely associated with nudity and ofcourse sex...and ok...if you insist..divinity) and Sawariya have released, I can, for once, proudly say…I told you so. Nudity and filmdom have gone hand in hand since…well since we had films I guess. Bollywood , or rather the part of Indian film industry that is based out of Mumbai (how long winded is that!) has had several watershed moments as far as nudity goes. Dimple Kapadia in Sagar , Kimi Katkar in Tarzan and predating all these, Zeenat Aman in Satyam Shivam Sundaram ...

There are big changes coming. And like most big changes, they are coming in small increments across various aspects of our life. They are being somewhat talked about, but in isolation they really do not mean much. However, once it all gets together, you suddenly realise how big it is and how it was always staring at your face. Let’s quickly take a look at what I am talking about…. 1. Climate pattern changes (a more timid way of talking about global warming). This is being noticed and is certainly being talked about a lot. 2. Men’s testicles actually coming to some good use other than producing sperm. “Stem cells that normally make sperm can be taught to make other tissues as well, perhaps offering men a medical repair kit, US researchers said on Wednesday. They found a way to easily pick the cells out from other tissue in the testicles and to grow them into batches big enough to use medically. This provides a new source of stem cells, the body's master cells, which exper...

Weekly wrap up: Well it has been an eventful week. The Indian cricket team finally lived up to expectations and lost lamely the Lords' one-day. Britain is much closer to its complete retreat from Iraq (offcourse retreat is hardly a word you’ll hear them use). President Bush visited Iraq and the Apec summit. At the summit he displayed his usual grip on international affairs by thanking the Opec (he forgot this was the Apec) and acknowledging Austria’s (a country which had nothing to do with the US’s Iraq occupation) contribution to the war effort ( Australian President John Howard took some-time to figure that one out). Hey what kind of stupid weekly wrap up is this? Where is the sex and violence??? Ok, here goes:- Osama Bin Laden’s new video surfaces. Now this is ironic, in the new video Osama seems to be a totally changed man. And it is not just his fitter look and dyed beard. It is his scholarly approach and reasoned discussion that I am referring to. He addresses prim...

“In a bizarre act, two churches here have banned a group from conducting yoga classes, saying the ancient practice was allegedly "un-Christian". See full report. I could not agree more. The churches have got it right. Certainly yoga is un-Christian . It originates in India and is closely associated with a religion or rather a group of religions with similar origins collectively referred to as Hinduism (the name of the religion itself is one given by foreigners referring more to a geographical location than a philosophy). Christianity , unlike Hinduism is a missionary religion. Their missionaries have, over centuries, spread the word of the Lord far and wide and ofcourse have done a few mean things along the way. However, the contribution of Christianity to the progress of civilisation as we know it today is undeniable. Yet it is a little surprising that these churches should feel threatened by yoga, which, even if one links it to Hinduism is pretty harmless as Hinduism is ...

I am too short. I had always known this. In school my class-mates soon out-grew me. My clothes lasted longer than my friends and it took me sometime to reconcile myself with my short-height. However, reconcile I did. And have been at peace with myself for quite sometime. Yet over the past few years it has come back to haunt me. There is this chart that gives you body-mass-index (BMI). And for the past few years when ever I have looked at it, it shouted back at me “You are too bloody short”. I looked at it again on Friday last and I realised that I have become shorter still. Now how did that happen? Earlier I was short by a few inches, but now I am short by almost a foot. The chart declares that for a man my weight I should be some 6ft+ tall. Till a couple of years back it told me that I should be 5’10’’ and now it has raised the bar. I am 5ft 6 inches and have been so for sometime, then how did I become shorter? And then it dawned on me, I do not have a height problem, I have a weight ...

The week before last was eventful. Now that the dust has settled let’s step back and examine exactly what went on. Well, three women Presidents of India made the news . Ok, so I made it up, but I am not that off really. I am thinking ahead. Only one of the women became the President of India, but the other two, mark my words, are solid President material and will be in the chair in a few years. Pratibha Patil: A great choice for a President. A Congress loyalist, enough skeletons in the cup-board (well not so much in the cup-board anymore) to keep her from doing anything rash like dismissing a Congress run State Govt and a veritable no-body. She is corrupt, unimpressive and obedient. I really cannot think of a better choice for President of India (if I put myself in Sonia Gandhi’s shoes). What was really heart-warming was to see how it was tom-tommed as a watershed event in empowerment of women in this country. The significance is not lost when you consider the giant strides we have al...

Yes. Kissing is overrated. Think about it. There is just about too much brouhaha (wow….finally I got to use the word)… about kissing these days….and to think that people have been kissing for ages. What is it about kissing that gives rise to so many controversies? So I have tried to do some research (which really means I googled a bit) and have tried to understand some of the kisses that come readily to mind…:- Judas Kissing Jesus:- Legend has it that Judas, to finger Jesus to the Roman soldiers, kissed Jesus on the cheek. Its strange bordering on yickee… Either people were really weird those days or someone made this up later. I mean, think about it, if you wanted to finger out a person you would probably ...well..use your finger and point at him…or maybe if you wanted to be discreet just make that meaningful movement of your eyes….or if you really hated him…throw a stone…but kiss him…who would do that? Now moving 2 thousand years forward:-- Gere-Shetty : So much have been said and w...

Pretty dull …that was what my college days started out like. And for those of you who think that by the end of this post, you’ll realise how interesting it finally turned out to be….well, it depends really… it depends on how dull your college days were or are, or will be. Let’s face it, our opinion of ourselves, is really shaped by what those around us think of themselves.. Sounds strange…but think about it, it is true. If I am in the company of people who all think they have done well in life, I invariably feel…man, what have I done with mine!!! Let me explain. Say I am talking about my college days to Bill Gates , you know, the computer guy who dropped out of college and set up a jillion dollar enterprise…so the conversation would probably go like… Self : You know Bill, I had the most interesting of college days. Bill : Oh really…what’s your name again…I have the top 10 in the Forbes list memorised. Self : Man…this coffee is too strong…let me go get another cup. Or, maybe I am talki...

I have arrived at my new law of life . This is the longest break between two subsequent posts that I have had since I started this blog. Last week I told myself…I better write a post this week since I have made an unwritten rule that I shall be making one post a week. But hang on, I write blogs because its fun , but then when I start trying to live up to rules it suddenly makes it seem like a job . Ok, I know it is remotely possible there may be a couple of more who read this blog beside me (certainly not more than that)… and I can flatter myself into thinking that they will be, well disappointed! Hey come of it…they’ll survive! So I have now not written for two whole weeks. I am writing now because…well because I want to. Not because I feel I should. In other words, if I do not write now, it will seem like my job is to not write posts to my blog. So the rule going forward is, if you already have a job, stop doing everything else that feels like a job . (I am assuming you need that on...

“After being named the world’s second ugliest last year, Elwood, a 2-year-old Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix, is sitting pretty this year as the ultimate ugly dog. Elwood, who is often referred to as “Yoda” or “E.T.,” competed against 13 other dogs at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair’s annual ugly dog contest in Petaluma, California, on Friday, June 22. Sources: The Associated Press, Sonoma-Marinfair.org” I picked up this piece of news from CNN . In fact, in the CNN TV news, I learnt that the owners of the dog consider it “the cutest dog in the world”…..which somehow rings hollow when you remember that they regularly get their pet to compete for the ugliest dog competition. But what is really interesting to note is that last year Elwood (the dog) had come in 2nd. The news clip does not mention the all important part….did he beat last year’s champ, or, did last year’s champ just drop out of competition this year. I somehow think Elwood will feel only half as good if it is the latter. ...

I am sick and tired of seeing the big picture , taking a balanced view , accept challenges and be a teamplayer, collaborate …what do they mean anyway? I have always heard people saying…try to see the ‘big picture’…at times I myself have been guilty of using that phrase…."let’s try and see the big picture"…. “are we missing the big picture here?” Tell you what; I am tired of trying to see the big picture. Just when I think I am able to see it…someone comes along (mostly it would be my boss or his boss) who will make it clear that I am really looking at something pretty small and totally missing the big picture. I am also tired of being a team-player, code of conduct compliant, showing ownership and initiative, accept challenges etc. So I have now decided to make a ‘paradigm shift’ ( Stephen Covey …and his 7 habits…damn him!!!) and only look at the small picture. I shall cease to be a team player and abdicate all ownership. I shall focus on the inconsequential and the low im...

I love the Shiv Sena . These guys just rock. Look at all the things they hate…or have hated at different points of time. They started by hating Gujratis and Marwaris who drove Bombay’s commerce. Soon, their able supremo turned his eyes to the South Indians with lyrical slogans like "lungi hatao pungi bajao" Infact they hated all non-Maharashtrians, and slowly took up various communities in turn….they hated Bangaldeshis , which of-course in their well-informed mind was the same as hating Bengalis so they started a campaign of kicking Bengalis out of Bombay (apologies, Mumbai). Then they started hating all anti-nationals, which in their rational minds meant all Muslims . Of course, they also hated the Christians , why? Well not because they were anti-national, but because they were not Hindus. So do they love Hindus? Well yes, certainly they do, if that Hindu is nationalistic, hates Muslims, is a Maharashtrian, is prepared to dig up the cricket pitch when Pakistan is schedul...

You have heard of Superman , well what about Inferiorman (I-man) ? I know it sounds tacky and you are welcome to come-up with a name for this superhero as long as it means the same thing. I have a feeling; I am onto something big here. This superhero – I-man , belongs to a different world, a world very unlike our own world. Our world as we know today is one where the fittest is supposed to survive, meritocracy is the buzzword, where one embodies mantras like perform or perish. However in this very unique world of Inferiorman (I-Man) , one competes to be inferior to the other. In this world everyone is trying to prove how much more backward he is than those next to him. And I-man is the one whom every-one aspires to be. He is like Superman’s negative (I refer to a term used in the days of the analog, still film, photography). Now what is I-Man like, you ask? Well, Inferiorman is the most backward guy in this comic-book world, he belongs to the weakest section of society and through year...

Well, early this week, two pieces of news looked up at me trying to say something:- 1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6681793.stm “Female hammerhead sharks can reproduce without having sex, scientists confirm. The evidence comes from a shark at Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska which gave birth to a pup in 2001 despite having had no contact with a male. Genetic tests by a team from Belfast, Nebraska and Florida prove conclusively the young animal possessed no paternal DNA, Biology Letters journal reports. “ 2. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=157116 “Mr Partha Sarathi Ghose of the state’s animal husbandry department today said that the hen changed its gender without artificial intervention at Kamat-Chengrabanda village in Mekhligunj sub-division. Officials of the department rushed to the village with the local block development officer after a paper published the news yesterday. Claiming that there were scientific reasons behind the chan...

I have been thinking. Well that’s what I do when I am doing nothing else (and its most of the time really). What are the things that I am really ashamed of having done and will never do again? Cheat in my exams…well I am not all that ashamed of it in the first place…so the second part does not arise. The lies I told to my parents/family? Hey get real…are you joking….consider the lies I did not tell. Ashamed, no way! Picking on those weaker than me? Offcourse not, that’s what every one does. In History books they call it war. Infidelity, well I have not yet got the opportunity and when I do, believe me that will be a proud moment for me. Being dishonest? Now that’s a tough one….but considering that we have already got lies and infidelity out of the way… that takes away most of the dishonesty part with it, does it not? I think it does. This confessional isn’t working; let’s try to turn it around (it is at this point that the lawyer will dramatically turn to the Judge and say, “Mi-lord, p...

1 Richard Gere kisses Shilpa Shetty 2 Iranian President Ahmedinijad kisses his childhood teacher’s hand. 3 President Bush winks at the Queen. The above has hogged the headlines for the last couple of weeks and it is all for the good. Why? Well, here’s why:- 1. Richard Gere kisses Shilpa Shetty It’s good. Brings Shilpa back in the headlines (and Gere also, for the guy is pretty much a has-been now). So it’s good for them. Gets a presumptuous publicity seeking Judge transferred from Jaipur to the obscurity of Kishangarh - good for the judiciary. Exposes the shallowness of the country’s moral police – that makes it good for the country and society, and …this is important…allows warped minds such as mine to fantasise on what it would have been like to be in Gere’s place (especially considering Shilpa’s height, the average Indian male would not have reached as far as her cheeks…) which makes it good for, well, me. 2. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad kisses his child hood teacher’s hand...

On the verge of stepping onto the wrong side of 30, many memories flit by, not all pleasant. Of the memories that are pleasant, the ones from my days in school, standout. I passed my 12th Std in 1991… from one of the not quite leading schools of Calcutta…sorry….Kolkata. It was a Kolkata without today’s multiplexes and shopping mall. For better or for worse, Lindsay Street, Chowringhee, Park Street were still the most happening places in the city and school days were much different from what they would be now, at least in one aspect. The difference was pornography…or more accurately, the availability, sharing and quality of it. Yes, the wonderful, stimulating and informative world of pornography was different then. Those were the days when the internet was unheard of…a VCR (or the cheaper VCP) was a possession of pride… to be found in only a few privileged households in the neighbourhood or for that matter in our circle of friends… and the colour TV….though catching on was still a novel...