Monthly Archive for July, 2006

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Man Has Created Death

Published on July 12, 2006 in India. 274 Comments

Man has created death—- William Butler Yeats.

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I see secret violence under cover of darkness
Slaughtering the helpless,
I see the just weeping in solitary silence,
No power to protest the oppression of the mighty,
I see tender youths hitting out blindly
Cracking their heads against stones in their agony.

Today my voice is choked, my flute is without note,
The prison of the no-moon night
Has extinguished my world, given me nightmares;
And this is why I ask, through my tears:
Those who poison your air and blot out the sun;
Do You truly forgive them, do You truly love them?

-Rabindranath Tagore ( from The Question: original Bengali poem “Proshno”)

Me, Myself and All the Bengalis In the World

Published on July 10, 2006 in Blogs and Personal. 74 Comments

Dear Ms. Romila Saha,

This blog post is with reference to your article in the Indian Express July 1, 2006 edition where you refer to my blog thusly:

But for most Indians, the blog functions as a forum to connect with others. Take, for instance, blogs like greatbong.blogspot.com where Bengalis from around the world write in.

Now there is a little bit of confusion as to what you mean by “writing in”.

Continue reading ‘Me, Myself and All the Bengalis In the World’

Giving Head

Published on July 9, 2006 in Sport. 82 Comments

What was Zizou thinking?

[If the animation on the left is threatening to send you into a Zidane-state with its repetitiveness, just press "escape" on your keyboard]

That on World Cup night, with the eyes of a billion on him, he could get away with an off-the-ball headbutt? [At the very least, Figo's headbutt was way more subtle]

Was he high on Getafix’s magic potion that he thought that as a Gaul he would lay low a Roman with a lethal blow?

Did his years at the top of the soccer world not teach him to not take banter from opponents, no matter how abusive, “personally” ?

[My guess is that it was something about his baldness---- a touchy topic among people who lose all hair before 35. Just like the issue of his weight is for some people like Inzamam]

Continue reading ‘Giving Head’

Krrish Me Not

Published on July 7, 2006 in Reviews. 69 Comments

Hoooo hoooo, hoooo hoooo, hoooo hoooo
Aao sunao pyar ki ek kahani,
Ek tha ladka ek thi ladki deewani,
-Lyrics of a song from Krrish

The moment I read that Taran Adarsh had given Krrish his whole-hearted endorsement, my spidey sense started tingling. After all, this is Taran Adarsh we are talking about —the diabolical reviewer whose taste in movies is only rivalled by Monica Bedi’s taste in men.

But then against my better judgement, I sat through Krrish.

A few hours later as the end credits rolled, I felt as miserable and drained as Superman would feel after he has just been submerged in a vat of liquid kryptonite.

Continue reading ‘Krrish Me Not’

Cry Freedom

Published on July 6, 2006 in India and Politics. 77 Comments

“Dr Venugopal gathered faculty, students and outsiders in the AIIMS auditorium and spoke openly, criticising the Government for allegedly interfering in the affairs of AIIMS. It led to considerable tension in the institute. It has brought indiscipline and a bad name to the institute. In view of Dr Venugopal’s conduct, it is proposed that his continuance will vitiate the discipline in AIIMS further. It is, therefore, proposed for the institute body to consider that it would be in public interest to terminate the term of Dr Venugopal as Director of AIIMS with immediate effect and give him three month salary and allowance in lieu of the notice period as per Regulation 31.”

This above is the official press statement of the government justifying the firing of Dr. Venugopal from AIIMS. All I have to say is : could they not have gotten someone to better spin this, so that we could at least keep on pretending that we live in a democratic society?

When it announces that it is punishing someone for “speaking openly” and for “criticizing the government” and that dissent is “an act of indiscipline“, the government, in a way that cannot be any clearer, is poking us in the eye with a fact that we like to pretend not to realize.

And that fact is that we are fast becoming like China with respect to the protection of individual rights and freedom of speech.

Continue reading ‘Cry Freedom’