Monthly Archive for October, 2005

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Some Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind

Published on October 24, 2005 in Calcutta, Memories and Personal. 29 Comments

Here are a few of my observations about Pujo, Calcutta and India in general.

1. What’s the matter with Ma Durga being shown without weapons in Muhammed Ali Park ?(for you people for whom history starts with Sachin Tendulkar, this Muhammed Ali is not the famous boxer but one of the Khilafat movement leaders) What kind of liberal, pacifist horseshit is responsible for pigeons in the hands of the Goddess of Power?

2. What happened to Durga Protimas constructed based on the faces of film stars? Some people consider that blasphemy—I consider it fun. The Hema Malini/Sridevi/Madhuri Dixit lookalike Durgas—-aah the innocent 80s and early 90s. And I will never forget the Andy Roberts lookalike Asura and his cousin the Vivian Richards Asura……even though the West Indies were battering us in cricket, come Pujo and they would be groveling at the feet of our Holy Mother (who had badass spears and tridents in her 10 hands and not pigeons) ! This time I was expecting a Mallika Sherawat-Ma Durga and a Michael Jackson- Asura or at the very least an Asura with a ponytail called Murgasura (Chicken-Devil). But it seems our sculptors have totally lost their creativity.

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Pujo Perspective

Published on October 21, 2005 in Calcutta, Memories and Personal. 32 Comments

6 years had passed since I had last been in Kolkata for the Pujos. 6 years is a long time….back then Ganguly was still loyal to his wife, Sachin’s batting was still enjoyable, Abhishek Bachchan was the biggest failure of Bollywood, LK Advani was the future face of BJP, the World Trade Center was an overpriced tourist trap and I was still slim.

Indeed “a long long time”.

I had been away from the city I love for 6 years pursuing my PhD in a land far away missing one Pujo after another. I refused to visit websites with pictures of Durga Puja and indulge myself in that monstrosity marketed as “e-darshan”—-what a load of IIPM.

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When Bloggers Meet

Published on October 16, 2005 in Blogmeets, Calcutta and Personal. 27 Comments

16th October. Blogmeet. Is meeting bloggers a good idea in the first place?

Can the persona of the blogger and the person in real life be reconciled? We like Gaurav Sabnis’s blog but do we really like the “Real Gaurav Sabnis” ? You may read Greatbong’s weighty musings but would you care for his actual weight?

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Admin Update

Published on October 5, 2005 in Administration. 16 Comments

A small update. Right now in Kolkata where my net connection is erratic. So do not know when next I shall be able to post. I shall reply to all the comments once I return home. Or hopefully sooner.