The deadly "M"

India has a new enemy. And the problem is being handled so terrifying wrong that it might haunt the country for decades. Maoists or Naxals have become the latest pests and the control is further spreading the fires rather than dousing it. Naxalism is not bad as a movement, the violent means to end are bad. After all, the fight is perhaps one of the oldest in the world, to fight for what is rightfully yours...here it is land. The Government's latest missive to include the Air Force can be its own waterloo if handled wrongly. And going by the past there is every chance that it might go eerily wrong. Naxals be it in Orissa, Jharkand or rural Bengal are fighting not the country per se but it's greed. In their astonishing haste to rape the land of its minerals...read Iron Ore and Bauxite many Corporations have been razing many a forest and hillock. The fight is to stop them not the police who are most often only dummy victims. The vast richness of our country is being invaded again, this time by merciless and bloodthirsty MNC's. I abhor any violence, Maoist or police but please do not categorize them as terrorists simply because they are not. I totally support Arundhati Roy's interview to CNN to this extent (Both Pt and Sa are aware of how much I oppose her ideologically) she has got it right this time and I greatly respect it. Another cardinal rule, please don’t confuse Maoists and the Communists but they might be a trifle similar in essence they are vastly different in things which matter. Unless you want another nuclear nation gone footloose in the sub continent DONT wage a war on yourself.

On a lighter note, there was a hilarious programme on NDTV yesterday with Brett Lee irritatingly named "Binga's Lingo" and the audience actually CHANTED "Lee will, Lee will rock you" The idiots, all of them educated!!

What's in a name?

asked Shakespeare. He was lucky that he is not around now, when our brilliant politicians change names under the guise of "Heritage" and "culture" at the drop of every election season. Now Orissa is Odhisa or something similar. My only question is why? Let us presume that it serves the purpose of saving history, you have better ways, the artisans of Orissa are slowing dying, Chandua a typically Orissan handiwork is slowing fading away due to lack of funds, the famed silver filigree industry is in shambles...all these are real and relevant issues, not naming and renaming! Assuming that the Government incurs a cost of atleast a crore in all of this stupid gimmickry it can easily save a village from starvation! Just to score some petty points these people are just getting away with sacrilege. And I thought Naveen Patnaik was educated and sensible!

Was at this ridiculous press meet for Jail today. The press conference started almost three hours late AND Mughda Godse walked out without as much waving to the Idiots from press(moi included) There are about 18 news channels in Telugu, added to that us poor print media fellas!! Must admit though she looks really gorgeous! Madhur Bhandarkar was a prized loser though and behaved disgracefully, shouting and behaving in a thoroughly disgusting manner. I fervently hope the movie flops! And Neil Nitin Mukesh speaks a looot, goodness never a straight answer!!

It's October and Hyderabad was sweating at 38 degrees this monday!!

Foreign returns

I was reading an article about Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, nobel prize winner of Indian origin and how he was complaining about a deluge in his mails from India congratulating him on his success and thinking Wow!, such atrocious behaviour and such eduaction can go hand in hand! I have a thing about foreign returned people not that he is one, he "achieved" his green card decades back but such simple things are overlooked by our overzealous media who behaved as if India herself got a Nobel, In Hyderabad there is a saying that every house has one person in US/UK/abroad, indeed that holds true for my entire street and every family(almost)I know, so it really disses me off when people crib about our country. It was like this when you were here,dont complain about Roads, noise, pollution, corruption or crowds...it's a part of us...if you dont like it jolly well get out!! The day we stop hankering for every/ anything labelled "foreign" would be the true Independence from our obsession with the whites!! In What's your Rashee, the Leo sun-signed avataar of Priyanka Chopra tarly dismisses Harman Baweja's phobia about water not being clean, it was an amazing sense of deva-ju. There's really nothing like our Country, respect it because it has made you what you are! Yes, if you feel strongly about issues stay and try to change it! Idiots like Amartya Sen and V.S Naipaul are NOT Indians just because their names sound Indian, stop hankering about them and respect what is ours!!

What's more scarier than a Rakhi Sawant trying to cuddle a child??
Ans...A Rakhi without make up!! gotcha...

Laziness in the air!

I cannot recall the last time I felt so bloody LAZY!! Seriously it's as if there is something other than gravity which is pulling me down. Lazy even to read (that's something real new for me), to go out and meet people or even to get up from my chair to fetch a glass of water. If there was something called the laziness quotient, I'd outscore everyone! All week my constant and only companion was lethargy. I really am quizzed as to whether it does not leave me or I don’t want to let go. But let me confess, it feels amazing! I really think I’m made for this and if I’d ever be a super hero my super power would be plain laziness! No pressure to do anything at all, just sit and fade away into the oblivion and wait for the day to turn to dusk. Immerse myself completely in "How I met your Mother", refuse to budge from my laptop and raise my hands only to drink Mountain Dew or open a new pack of Nutties, it feels so damn comfortable! Only if time would freeze!!

Watched "Wake Up Sid" last week and felt really great. The first half was slow, but the photography was brilliant! Preferred that to an interview with the entire Deccan Chargers team, the Editor thought I was nuts but I didn’t regret it. Loved that part in the Second half where Ranbir meets his friend from College with whom he has fallen out and asks him why he was dumped. The reply- both friends break out into spontaneous hysterical laughter. That’s real friendship for you- no frills or fancies, only plain understanding. It sucks that the one song which I really liked was not there for download! Also, I fell in love with Supriya Phatak's photos!

Sample this from a government report "The water received by three districts in AP is equivalent to that a normal river receives in a span of 10000 years"...No less!!

Rains and sickness

It's raining like mad! I'm almost continually drenched everyday since Sunday. It's a really heady feeling, to drive when the drops strike you full in face with force you wouldnt expect from a droplet of all things...tantalising and seductive, a wonderful time to feel alive and glory in it.I always enjoy the Rains and could never stop raving or writing about it. I dont know why but rains have this tendency to rake up your past, get nostlagic and really think of the time gone by. It always reminds me of one day spent in torrid rains when I was a kid- amazing and extraordinary, of my College where rain looked better than ever (if it's possible) and of splashing in puddles. Must've had a hundred cups of chai this week and a visit to my favorite gup chup waalah has cheered me enormously!

because I've drenched so much, I was sick on two days. I hate being ill. The feeling of being hapless and helpless is most irritating. I have a friend who likes being ill *smirk* but I must confess I have never known such joys! To lie on the bed and wait for the feeling to pass is nothing but the most humongous waste of time!!

While 10 lakh people are marooned in AP, the headlines of National Channels scream "Karan johar apologizes to Goonda Raj"...ironic or my foot??

et al

Could'nt think of a name this time around!

first things first. Rahul Mahajan's Swayamvar!! Really? I mean, a guy with a drug abuse case/ sexual orgy controversy/ serial eater (Bigg Boss)/ human personification of the words "ewww"/ Monica Bedi's doormat really wants to get married. Poor Pramod Mahajan. But the best suggestion I heard was that he should marry apna Rakhi Sawant. Some reasons I think that would be a marriage in Reality Television heaven are

-both are Marathi manoos, they could be a part of the MNS.
-you are effectively saving two other individual lives.
-let's think of it like this, they might actually end up finishing each other!
-they can have a "live" marriage, a new drama with every sunrise..Just imagine!!
-they need not engage in any physical activity to produce offsprings. Words would do the trick.
-they could ask people like Mika, Arnaub goswami and Amar singh to join them and open the World's most bizzare zoo.

Watched "What's your Rashee" yesterday with Pt and felt man, whadda waste. It was tooo long, the songs were too many and I didnt see any point in what was happenning but I liked the premise, could have been made in a better manner. Thank God, it had Priyanka Chopra, imagine if it had Kangana or other bad looker in 12 avataars...Priyanka looked really hot but I felt really sad for Hurman. He looks decent, dances well and acted okay but has no future whatsoever because he resembles a stockier version of Hrithik! Poor chap.

Ostere chaos.

The Government's Austerity drive seems to be doing it more harm than good. An interesting idea handled badly is always dangerous, remember NDA's India Shining which has dug a grave so deep that the BJP seems to be caught in the rut forever? Austerity is a way of life which we Indians have always practiced. When was the last time you threw away your Text Books without thinking of a cousin/neighbor/junior or got a new school uniform when you had an older sibling of the same sex? However, the Gandhi family has always been known for its simple way of living, if you ignore the fact that Motilal Nehru paraded entire fleets of cards outside Oxford University for his son, Jawahar before donating all his wealth for the Independence Struggle.Indira Gandhi got married at Anand Bhavan with her only adornments being flowers from her garden and a sari made out of silk woven by her father in Prison, never mind the fact that the original Mrs G spent all her youth in sanatoriums across Europe receiving treatment for TB. Forget Sanjay Gandhi's high decibel lifestyle during the Emergency and you get our own Rahul baba's simple signature kurta's. While the idea is certainly brilliant, can be legitimately used to cut down extra flab and is highly recommended in this tough times, it has gone completely awry from the word go. From Shashi Tharoor's amazingly tweety tweets to the Shatabhi Express being stoned, it is absolutely abysmal micro management. Maybe Jayanthi Natarajan can take a leave out of her party's notebook and speak less? Any chances??

Also, Rakhi Sawant's latest reality show scares me. You mean there are actually people who would entrust the upkeep of their new born with erm that woman!!

I positively am afraid to watch Times Now during the night, Arnab Goswami makes sure that the only thing you hear is his booming and boisterous babble!