The Hallelujah Chorus - a rich recital.

Gujarat - 10 years - Whither The Way Forward?

Gujarat is uniquely positioned today.

It is a BJP-ruled state, ruled by what the right-wingers hail as the next Prime Minister of India, Mr. Modi. He has been re-elected with thumping margins the two previous elections. The last election probably eroded marginally the groundswell that he has enjoyed. However it goes without saying that he is the Master, as far as Gujarat is concerned.

The industrial and agricultural outlook for Gujarat is among the highest in the country. There has not been a riot in the one-perenially riotous state of Gujarat. Investment climate is at an all time high with possibly only Maharashtra pipping it to more FDI inflow in the entire country.

This has happened in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots.

And now nearly 10 years later, how do we look at the twin episodes of Godhra train-burning and the Gujrat riots? I feel these intervening years have helped us to look at these incidents from non-partisan eyes. I would like to know your comments on it.

You might well ask why am I interested?

Well, because:

1. This debate has not reached a final conclusion.

2. Our understanding of democracy is very school-bookish. This is my attempt to understand it at a more practical level.

3. Our children have heard about the Gujarat phenomenon and will build on our understanding of the event. What are we telling them?

4. A dialogue can open up a channel of reconciliation.

and many more reasons...

Your comments please.

Hallelujah Chorus

Please download

Handel's Hallelujah chorus - Noteworthy file

Handel's Hallelujah chorus - Midi file

Handel's Hallelujah chorus - Soprano midi file

Handel's Hallelujah chorus - Alto midi file

Handel's Hallelujah chorus - Tenor midi file

Handel's Hallelujah chorus - Bass midi file

Incredible India!

Vellore fort, Tamil Nadu



Gaganachukki Falls, Mandya, Karnataka



Munnar, Kerala



A Cathedral in Thiruvalla, Kerala incorporating the features of a traditional Hindu Temple, a Mosque and Church



A Boathouse on the placid backwaters of Kumarakom, Kerala



Silent Valley, Palakkad, Kerala



Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttaranchal



Tso-kyo Lake, Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh



Eravikulam National Park, Kerala



Lake Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan



The port city of Vishakhapatnam (Vizag for short), Andhra Pradesh



Thirumalai Nayak Palace. Inner courtyard, Madurai,Tamil Nadu



Kumbalgarh Fort, Rajasthan



Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan



Lake Pichola, Udaipur, Rajasthan



Kaveri river running through Hogenakkal, Tamil Nadu



Kargil District, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir



The blue range of mountains that run along the western coast of India.This shot taken in mid May from Palivasal Tea Estate in Munnar in Kerala.



Nubra Valley, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir



Enroute to Kibber, Himachal Pradesh, India



Temple Tank, Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple, Karnataka



Temple Tank, Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple, Karnataka



Temple Tank, Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple, Karnataka



Kanchenjunga (8586m) viewed from Sandakphu, Sikkim



Tea Gardens at Munnar, Kerala



Rajgad Fort, Maharashtra



View from Ooty, Tamil Nadu.



Nohkalikai Falls at Cherapunji, Meghalaya



A Baptist Church in Alichen, Nagaland

Why ONLY Lokpal?

After the brouhaha, and as is usual in such cases, some responsible people have started looking at other routes to tackle corruption. The concept of Lokpal is all very good, but in a system where there is no plethora of laws, but only of enforcement, the institution of the Lokpal would only have added to the number of existing laws without adding anything to the manner of enforcing the same. Add to that the fact that the Lokpal is pushing for the ability to call on the Prime Minister (the highest power in a Westminister democracy), it is a sure way to twist the arm of the PM, which is simply not allowable.

Though I cannot with any finality claim that the steps detailed by Mr. Athale are better than the concept of the Lokpal, the fact that another workable possibility to counter corruption has evolved, speaks much for the maturity of our nation.

Ramdev and Corruption - Where the twain meet

The civil society's support for Mr. Ramdev's adventurism disguised as fast against corruption has me worried. Don't get me wrong. I am as much against corruption as you are. But if you are against the corrupt and want to take the legislative way to deal with it (since we are in a democracy), I suggest you get into the hurly burly of politics and do so. Being out of it and taking a lone ranger's path to supposed activism against corruption is to see corruption from a very narrow viewpoint.

Corruption has many hues, and comes disguised in all kinds of shapes and sizes. To glibly put the onus of corruption on the black money stashed away in foreign banks by its owners is to trivialise the issue beyond redemption. The stashed away loot is only a visible manifestation of the malaise that grips our psyche. Don't we pay off the MCD when they come to check our water cooler on whether it contains the aedes egypti mosquito larva? How many times have we asked the Chemist not to print out a legitimate receipt for the medicine that we have bought because it entails adding another 12.5% to the total cost? The neighbourhood doctor never gives us a receipt for the consultation that s/he charges. Do we crib? That isn't corruption, right? The examples are just too many and the vista of their operation ridiculously large. We just need to watch our everyday life from a slightly more objective angle.

We are only corrupting our own body politic to the mire when we classify corruption as something that belongs to the political class. And the Ramdevs of this country would rather piggyback on that thought and earn even more adulation from an idiotic public!

Time out

A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN.

The only question asked was

"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the shortage of food in rest of the world".

The survey was a huge failure..... ... Do you know WHY?

* In Africa they didn't know what 'food' meant.

* In India they didn't know what 'honest' meant.

* In Europe they didn't know what 'shortage' meant.

* In China they didn't know what 'opinion' meant.

* In the Middle East they didn't know what 'solution' meant.

* In South America they didn't know what 'please' meant.

* And in the USA they didn't know what 'the rest of the world' meant.

Double standards?

Siva Sena MP Sanjay Raut has hit out against Shahrukh Khan for speaking Baba Ramdev's proposed hunger strike. Why don't you practise what you preach Mr. MP?

Dear Shiv Sena-ists,

I fully agree that those who are called to one profession should stick to that profession. I frankly don't think Shahrukh Khan had any business talking about Baba Ramdev.

But equally so, I believe Baba Ramdev has no business meddling in politics and government. His domain is yoga. He should seriously sincerely stick to that.

Your tough stand against Shahrukh is commendable, but unfortunately it shows up your hypocrisy when you soo lap up Baba Ramdev.

We are all against corruption. But equally so we are all for freedom of expression too. Don't take the aam aadmi for a fool.

How zipped luggage gets ripped off

At a time when Anna Hazare has almost single-handedly brought the entire working machinery of the government to its knees, I think this video goes a lot to explain that at the end of it all, a single person's dedication and commitment is enough to get things going!


But I must confess that I am more bewildered than buoyant at this sheer outpouring of patriotic fervour that is spilling out into the streets around the country.

I mean, Anna Hazare has gone on a fast demanding certain things. How many of us are aware what his demands are? I researched the net and here is what I found.

1. Feb 25
[Rediff.com]

Veteran social activist Kisan Baburao alias Anna Hazare is going on fast unto death at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from March 5 to press for Parliament to enact the 'Jan Lokpal bill' drafted by former Supreme Court Judge Santosh Hegde to effectively tackle corruption in the government.

So, here was a news item that said Anna Hazare was going to fast until death to compel Parliament to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill. Worthy cause and a worthy means, I mused. Though it smelt of blackmail, I was on Anna's side here for a bill that had hung in limbo for 41 years, a bit of blackmail was probably just what it needed to get it passed.

And then on 5th April, 2011, Anna Hazare started his fast at the iconic Jantar Mantar. And the setting could not have been more appropriate. What better than the time keeping monument to proclaim that the time had come to end the lethargy of inaction!

On April 8, at the latest round of talk that M/s Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh and Kiran Bedi had with Kapil Sibal, the government announced that it had accepted every demand of the fasting Anna.

For some moments, not only was I absolutely astounded, I was downright sceptical too.
Yes, a deteriorating Anna would have put immense pressure on the government to act. But, I had seen Anna Hazare on TV. He looked hearty enough to last another couple of days without solid intake. Yes, looks could be deceptive, but I wondered if the government actually knew THAT or CARED!

At around 10:45 pm that same evening, Anna announced that he would end his fast the next morning at 10 am. His fast had achieved the following:

1. The government agreed to the setting up of a committee with five representatives of civil society, including Mr Hazare, and five ministers. At the head will be two chairmen - a minister and an unelected representative.

2. Govt agreed that committee should prepare draft law to present by monsoon session.

3. The government agreed for a notification which specifies constitution of committee, names of members, chairperson, timelines and terms.

Ho hum.

So from the lofty ideals of ensuring that his fast would actually enact the Jan Lokpal bill, it had seriously watered down to ensuring that the committee to draft the Jan Lokpal bill would have 50% representation of civil society.

Well, as I always say, something is always better than nothing!! And to think that THIS was what I went on a one-day fast for! Sigh.

BlogCatalog

Home remedies

Yes, these exist on the internet. And so does here. :-)

And please, use your discretion while using these remedies. Common sense may not be so common, that is why we have disclaimers. But even so, since you are part of the gene pool and are an active participant therein, give yourself a pat and use your 'onion'.


To avoid tears while cutting onions : Chew gum.

To remove ink from clothes : Put toothpaste on the ink spots generously and let it dry completely, then wash.

To get rid of mice or rats : sprinkle black pepper in places where you find mice or rats. They will run away.

To skin sweet potatoes quickly : Soak in cold water immediately after boiling.

To boil potatoes quickly : Skin one potato from one side only before boiling.

To avoid smell of cabbage while cooking : Keep a piece of bread on the cabbage in the vessel while cooking.

To get max imum juice out of lemons : Soak lemons in hot water for one hour, and then juice them.

To give a shine to hair : Add one teaspoon of vinegar to hair, then wash hair.

To whiten white clothes : Soak white clothes in hot water with a slice of lemon for 10 minutes
To remove chewing gum from clothes : Keep the cloth in the freezer for an hour.

To make the mirror shine : Clean with spirit

To get pure and clean ice : Boil water first before freezing.

Ants Problem : Ants hate cucumbers. Keep the skin of cucumbers near the place or ant hole.

The Godhra potboiler

There was a conspiracy. A bogie was meticulously burned and its passengers killed.

What should a government do? Try and get the situation under control, immediately, using all the available resources. Using all available resources, find the cause of the incident. It now having been confirmed that it was a conspiracy, hunt down the accused and put them on trial.

What did actually happen? And therein lies the tragedy.

And now 9 years later, internet-nationalists are outraged that 63 people were acquitted for no crime of theirs.

There is no denying that there was a conspiracy. I earnestly appeal for the most stringent punishment for the perpetrators of this heinous crime. I also appeal that the perpetrators of the Gujrat pogrom be also put on trial. Injustice should just not be tolerated in this great nation of ours.

The tragedy of Gujrat is not just Godhra. The tragedy is both Godhra and post-Godhra Gujrat. As long as this divide exists, Gujrat will always be viewed as a stigma. And that is an even bigger tragedy.

Life has continued and will continue. But at the next flare-up, and we are all fools if we believe that there won't be a flare-up, the tragic consequences will even be greater.

Doesn't Gujrat deserve better? Doesn't India deserve better?

Alleluia Fugue

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