"Insulting" tricolour?

Team India in a legal tangle for 'insulting' tricolour - News - News - Indiatimes Cricket

Some guys have no work at all! This legal luminary from Kanpur has found it fit to file suit against the entire Indian team for what he considers as an insult to the National flag.

What should be then done with our tricolour? Use it to wrap dead politicians? Or dead soldiers? I have the greatest respect for our soldiers - but going by Mr. Lawman, how can your country's flag be used to wrap something dead? Is that OK?

People always complain that Indians are not patriotic as people of other countries. But how can you be expected to show your patriotism if it is not with your nation's flag? The team won a world cup and they shouldn't celebrate with their country's flag? Give me a break! And all those laws that prevent people from gesturing with it! I think our government should relax quite a bit.

Let people fly flags from their homes a la USA. I agree burning flags is bad - but people should be allowed a healthy happy celebration with their flag. After all, Dhoni and co identified themselves with the country and that is why they deserve to celebrate with it.

The flag represents the country that is supposed to be like a mother. Don't children play with their mothers? Don't they hug them when they're happy? If these government guys were allowed to make laws, they would even outlaw a child from hugging its mom.

Our government has plenty of arcane laws that need to be changed and very urgently. Otherwise we will continue to have these attention mongers file suit at the drop of a hat or at the flutter of a flag.

URA: ‘Not one single intellectual among the right’ (via Churumuri and Hindu)

‘Not one single intellectual among the right’ « churumuri

Whoa!! I don't know what to say!

URA must have had a pretty strong stimulant to make this statement. But then again, probably not. Look at the things this person does to stay in the news. He is intelligent enough to know that such a statement will be looked at by several newspapers. And he wants to do it just because now, he will get to stay in the news!

A question to Dr. URA. What is right? What is the Left? Can you just draw that fine line? Intellectuals (the real ones) will probably not subscribe completely to the left or the right.

He says:

The right wing failed in developing the thinking process that is pluralistic in nature.

What about the Left (according to Dr. URA's definition)? Pol Pot, Mao and Stalin are truly models of the pluralistic thinking process.

Dr. URA is entitled to his opinion. He can like what he likes. The "Left forces" will continue to develop "intellectuals" and "fine literary works" while they bomb police stations and kill people. Surely "unbridled", right?

With such daily news items from URS, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw will not have to ask "URA who?". It is a different thing that she might now say "URA?! Bah!".

This can happen only in India - annual licence fee on TV?

Govt mulls Rs 500/year fee on every colour TV-India-The Times of India

I still remember the dark blue book that was the radio license book. My father used to go the post office once a while to pay the license fee for the radio. The TV one was on then too. Thankfully, that had gone off.

Now this! I am livid with rage. Doesn't the government get sales taxes from the sale of each TV? And don't TV channels pay the government? Why does it have to snatch the pocketbooks of its citizens? This is by far the cheapest measure I've seen from the government.

Recurring annual licence fee. I am so disgusted with the stupid government for even thinking of this that I can't type any more.

Mr. Gurcharan Das, India is not yet unbound. At least not when such nincompoops are at the helm of affairs.

PS: 7/12/2007 - I heard on the news that the government has stopped considering this idea after stiff opposition. Thank God for putting some sense into these people!

There goes Mr. Puppet Minister again

PM speaks to Brown; says he can't sleep at night-India-The Times of India

I don't know what is wrong with our Prime Minister. As the reluctant architect of the economic reforms that kick-started the new Indian age, he had a lot of respect in my eyes. Once he became a puppet PM, he doesn't seem to exhibit his own brand of leadership, if there ever was something like that. A few days ago he had made the silly statement that CEOs should take smaller salaries and had drawn the ire of the entire business community (and all sane people). And now this. It is difficult to believe that such a brilliant man has been reduced to this pathetic state.

Nobody is labeling India a terrorist haven. In this age, it is the unfortunate truth that terrorists mostly are of a single religious persuasion. Everybody knows that not all members of that faith are terrorists. But it is common knowledge that most terrorists are from that faith. If even well-educated and otherwise normal people from that faith are taking the path of extreme religious hatred, there is something seriously wrong.

And if our hon'ble PM can't see this or worse, refuses to see this, there is something wrong with him also. The problem exists; symptoms are for all to see. He, as PM of the most populous democracy, must try to solve the problem. He can't mouth statements like these any more.

If he can't sleep at night, he must do something about it. Like drink a glass of hot milk or take a sedative. That is the least he can do.

Manmohan Singh getting senile?

Trim fat salaries of CEOs: PM-India-The Times of India

Or so it seems, at least from this news link. Sorry.. this is a pure rant and had to get it out of my system. If you are not keen on rants, please skip this post.

I thought the Indira Gandhi era was over. But our PM probably has inhaled a lot of gas generated by his leftist comrades and he has started mouthing nonsense such as this. To extend this argument further, we have tall people and short people, right? So because short people see tall people as taller than themselves, they may feel the inequity and so it may also lead to social unrest between the short and tall groups. So what do you do, cut the heads off of tall people or prescribe drugs to not increase height!

If you see the idiocy here, I am sure you can see the idiocy in Manmohan Singh's argument.

It is not like these CEOs get these salaries for free. They have burdens to bear too! And, it is not like they don't pay taxes!

"Make hay while the sun shines" goes the old adage. These CEOs are doing exactly that. When their industries end, they will not be making so much money anyway.

BTW, as the article clearly says, isn't this completely opposite to what the former finance minister stood for?

He has begun with CEOs now. But where will he stop? As long as people don't make loads of legal money, the black economy will thrive. And this is the cause for the divide in India. Not CEOs earning "fat salaries". These CEOs earn a lot of money - but it is all white!! Every paise there is accounted for.

Mr. PM, try to focus on how the tax money gets disbursed. Try stopping flow of money to the black economy. Stop all your fodder scams and have the nerve to throw such people out of that cabinet.

Of course, he won't do that because those things are difficult. So, what does he do? Something that comes easy to him - teaching and sermonizing.

CII - please stop inviting these people to your meetings. You have enough trouble already and you want suggestions like these to get media attention?

Bah!

Infantile India: an editorial from the Times of India

LEADER ARTICLE: Infantile India-Editorial-OPINION-The Times of India

In a very well written piece, Jug Suraiya has brilliantly analyzed the reactions of several members of the Indian public. Some of his observations are spot on. But generalizing this to a national and civilizational level is probably stretching it a bit too far.

I tend to agree with his characterization of the typical Indian fan.

"..Many of the most demonstrative of Indian fans would be hard put to distinguish between off-spin and leg-spin. What the Indian fan is looking for is the adrenaline rush of winning, never mind the hows and whys.(Divine intervention is also seen as a legitimate source of victory: on Sunday night/Monday morning, prayers were being offered that Bermuda triumph over Bangladesh, thus enabling India to effect a back-door entry into the Super Eight.)"

He makes a jump after this point. He says that instant gratification without due effort marks most of India. He compares this behavior to :

The child wants a treat, an ice cream, and it wants it now. Not after it has earned the treat, by completing its homework or fulfilling some other form of compensatory obligation, but right now. And if it is denied the immediate gratification of its desire it will resort to the non-rational, magical behaviour of a tantrum: a wordless shriek of outrage which precludes any possibility of argument or negotiation.

It is at this point that he begins to generalize this. He takes this to denote the gain-without-pain attitude that is to be seen as a mark of infantilism or lack of maturation. For his data point, he brings in the examples of Singur and Nandigram and chastises the CPM for getting "fixated on reviving the state's moribund manufacturing sector".

But he has a point. In the system of democracy, where a party can garner votes only by promising and trying to implement such populist measures, both people and politicians look forward to getting something done just like that. But this definitely does not gel with real Indian civilization. For example, there is this famous subhAShita -

"gacchatpipIlikA yAti yojanAni shatAnyapi |
agacChan vainateyo.api padamekam na gacChati ||"

which says that even an ant that is moving can cover hundreds of miles, but even the king of birds, vainateya (garuDa), if he is unmoving, does not cover even a foot.This particular verse, known by several people, indicates the preferred behavior over the non-preferred. Indian civilization has always been for "necessary deferring of gratification" which Jug Suraiya holds to be a sign of "maturation".(I definitely agree with him on this).

When Jug Suraiya says that this infantilism is not compatible with "a republic that lays claim (emphases mine) to ancient civilisational values", it looks like he is actually saying that India just is laying claim to but doesn't really possess ancient values. I don't agree with that. Stupid people have been born at all times. The act of a few stupid people can cause big things. The following image from thinkgeek.com says it all





But as in this picture, stupid people are few. The vast majority of India doesn't care about things such as cricket. They have themselves to take care of.

On the ignominious Indian exit from the World Cup

I've been reading news reports over how Dravid, Tendulkar, Sreesanth and others were weeping upon exiting the world cup at such an early stage.



Poor Sreesanth could never play - but why were Dravid and Tendulkar weeping? They very well had it in them to change the course of the match. They should have knuckled down and played. I know the defeat can be sad, but what is the point of weeping? Or, could that be because of the loss of their potential financial benefits? I have high regard for both Dravid and Tendulkar. On their day, they can easily take an attack apart - but they couldn't do anything against Mortaza and the gentle left arm spin of Bangladesh, who got badly mauled by the SriLankans later. Why did they weep?



And also, our guys were heroes at home. They defeated Sri Lanka at home so easily when it didn't matter and now when it really mattered, they couldn't do much.



So much for the fancy coaching from the great Greg Chappell. Tom Moody, who initially interviewed for the position of Indian coach, must be laughing at the Indian Board. When John Wright could succeed with almost the same team, why couldn't Greg?



I, for one, was sick of his almost stupid experimenting with the batting order. Those things just didn't pay! India should have had a more conventional coach who got his team playing cricket rather than football during practice!



And Dravid -- though he is a good player, he is quite a lousy captain. He insisted upon Uthappa - and contributed to the demise of India in the world cup. A solid opening partnership could have saved India the blushes against Bangladesh and also against Sri Lanka. Uthappa shouldn't have opened at all. He could have been put through his paces in some other tournament. By relying far too much on a debutant, India dug its own grave.



Anyway, I am sick and tired of watching spineless performances by the Indian team. I actually now look forward to Sri Lanka and New Zealand who are the dark horses in this tournament. Now, I can watch the game for its own sake without extra patriotic feelings.

Mindless media! Have mercy! Leave us alone!!

This is a plain rant as is quite evident from the title.

I am, to state it plainly, amazed and appalled at what is being dished out as front page worthy news nowadays in the print as well as the audio-visual media. The case in question is of Shilpa Shetty and the shot in the arm that her sagging career has received. The continuous nonsense that people have been subjected to can be termed as nothing but cruel torture. Guantanamo Bay probably pales in front of this!

It is not as if we have a choice. Whatever newspaper you look at and whatever news channel you turn to, it is always the same thing - poor Shilpa Shetty who has been racially abused!! Reality shows like "Big Brother" or any other show for that matter are on the lookout for gullible audiences who lap such controversies up. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it were found that this show staged the whole thing. Shilpa Shetty is an actress who gets suitably remunerated for her role on that show.

Then comes our wonderful Indian government! The external affairs ministry has probably nothing else to do other than twiddling its thumbs. That seems to precisely why it jumped to protest against this "act of racism"! It does this in its official capacity and reports it to its counterpart in the UK. Taxpayer money wasted for such frivolous nonsense!! India's image in the world is that of a soft state. Doing nothing to change that image, our government now tries to look silly!

To top it all is the news item I saw just now. Shilpa Shetty's mother has called the ejection of that person who bad mouthed Shilpa "a victory of good over evil". Why, O why should the Indian public be subjected to such tripe!

Shilpa Shetty is probably using all of this to get her minutes of fame as the wonderful Indian girl who battled it out in the inhospitable environs of Big Brother! It doesn't matter that she is getting a lot of money for it! Talk about eating the cake and having it too!

The media definitely deserves to be more responsible. It can't put its business needs above professional responsibility. Newspapers with pictures of scantily clad women in its front page make brisk business indeed. They don't seem to bother that they are dumbing down a complete generation of people.

The same can definitely be said about the 24 hour news channels. Their motto seems to be : If there is no news, make it! Having some news or the other is essential for their survival. However, as I said earlier, professional responsibility is lost here.

I try to overlook as many things in the news as possible. It now looks like I don't need to pay attention at all!

What is up with this?

It has been a long time since I blogged. Really.

Anyway, this is about something that has been irritating me for a while now. This is about advertising for liquor on Indian television.

For example, the Smirnoff ad has the usual tagline "The world is calling. Where are you?" but at the end of the ad we find that it is actually for Smirnoff CDs and cassettes. Can you imagine Smirnoff selling CDs and cassettes? What if someone actually wants those CDs? This is not just with Smirnoff but with many other liquor companies.

The other usual method is to sell club soda of the same as a hard liquor. For example, if Bagpiper is the name of a malt whisky, a soda of the same name is advertised.

What is the Indian government trying to achieve by having such silly rules ? Won't people be able to recognize that what is being advertised is liquor?

Now, the health minister is going overboard by banning cigarette smoking in movies! Why can't he ban smoking in public places for a change? And enforce that change?

I've written about this in one of my previous posts - but the liquor ad bit really did it this time.

There are many such silly rules in the Indian government. I hope some government realizes how silly these rules are, in spite of noble intentions behind such rules.

Play called off on day one in the Chennai test and other thoughts

I knew something like this would happen. Isn't it quite well known that Chennai experiences this kind of weather at this time of the year? If it is already known so well, why would anybody in his right mind schedule a match there?

India and SA could not play the one dayer because of rain and now the first day's play of the test has been called off. Please, please - don't schedule a match in Chennai in the months of November and December.

This brings me to another point. Is weather such an important part of cricket. Cricket - as the cliche goes - is a game of glorious uncertainties. We've all known the Fremantle doctor wreak havoc on unfortunate batsmen in Perth. The dew in the day night games in India is all too well known. If, however, the match has to be an equal contest without being some kind of a lottery, the same conditions have to be given to both teams.

Just think about what happens normally. A team fielding first will have it easy when the wicket is still green and the ball is easy to catch. But the team that fields next will have it bad, especially in a day-night game - when it has to cope with the dew and the ball getting slippery and all. Sometimes, I think this is unfair. Winning the toss and deciding to bat or field is OK - some one has to do it first. But you just can't have the team that wins the toss win the game - assuming that they've read the wicket properly.

Isn't basketball better? No weather gods intervening. Of course there is psychological pressure - but that's it! The fight is between the teams and their abilities only.

Many puritans of the game love this uncertainty which comes in because of the weather, the wicket and idiosyncratic umpires, in addition to the pressure that is experienced by the players. But in these days of instant food and one dayers in colored clothing, do we need such things that bring us more uncertainty?

I, personally, am on the fence on this. As long as it is enjoyable, anything is fine. But sometimes, scheduling the matches at a place and time perfect for rain is unforgivable. Talk to South Africa who had a great chance in the 1992 world cup and lost it in the Semi finals because of the rain and two guys known as Duckworth and Lewis.

The Telstra dome in Australia seemed to be a good idea. Cricket administrators and insurance companies all over the world would salivate over that kind of a cricket venue. You don't have rain interfering and won't have dew. Teams fight it out with all other things being equal. It should be an ideal kind of place to play cricket. But, then, I there is something that is seen lacking in such synthetic environments.

An article written on cricinfo a while ago was on similar lines. Both the players and spectators won't get to see the sky. There wouldn't be any birds (especially the seagulls we see in Australia), and of course, there wouldn't be people sun bathing.

As I said earlier, anything in the game is fine as long as it is enjoyable ! But what is enjoyable? That is a tricky question and I don't have the time to answer it!

ತಮಿಳು ಪುರಾಣ

ನನ್ನ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್-ಲೇಖನ ಸುಲೇಖ ಜಾಲತಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾದ ಲೇಖನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಇದು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಅದರ ಮೇಲೆಯೇ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೂ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದಿನಗಳಾದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೇ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

ಈ ರಾಜೀವ ಮಲ್ಹೋತ್ರಾ ಎಂಬುವರ ಲೇಖನದ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳು ಬಂದವು. ತಮಾಷೆಯ ವಿಷಯವೇನೆಂದರೆ ಇವರಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರೋ ಪಾರ್ತಿಬ ಎಂಬುವನು ತಮಿಳಿಗೆ ಆದ ಕಾಲ್ಪನಿಕ ಅವಮಾನವನ್ನು ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಹಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಬಹಳ ಗಲಾಟೆ ಎಬ್ಬಿಸಿದ್ದ. ಒಂದು ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರ ಹೇಳಬೇಕು - ತಮಿಳರಿಗೆ ವಿಷಯ ತಿಳಿದಿರಬಹುದು ಅಥವಾ ತಿಳಿಯದೇ ಇರಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ ಅವರೊಡನೆ ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ವಾದ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಬಹಳ ಕಷ್ಟ.

ತಮಿಳನ್ನು ದಲಿತರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ತುಳಿದಿದೆಯಂತೆ. ಎಷ್ಟು ತಮಾಷೆಯಾಗಿ ಈ ವಿಷಯ ಕಂಡರೂ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಇದನ್ನು ನಂಬಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ರೀತಿ ವಾದ ಮಾಡಿದ ಪಾರ್ತಿಬನಿಗೆ ತನ್ನ ಹೆಸರು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದ ಪಾರ್ಥಿವದಿಂದ ಬಂದದ್ದು ಎಂದು ಕೂಡ ತಿಳಿಯದೇ ಹೋದ. ಇರಲಿ - ಈ ರೀತಿಯ ಜನಗಳ ಒಂದು ವಿಚಾರ ಸರಣಿಯಿದೆ. ಅದೇನೆಂದರೆ -
೧. ಆರ್ಯ ಎಂಬ ಜನಾಂಗವೊಂದು ಬೇರೆ ದೇಶದಿಂದ ಬಂದಿದೆ.
೨. ಅದು ಬಂದು ಭಾರತದ (ಅಲ್ಲ, ಅಲ್ಲ, ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಇಂಡಿಯಾದ) ಮೂಲನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಾದ ದ್ರಾವಿಡರನ್ನು ದಕ್ಷಿಣಕ್ಕೆ ಅಟ್ಟಿತು. ಅವರ ಮತ್ತು ಅವರ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ನಡೆಸಿತು.
೩. ಆರ್ಯರ ಭಾಷೆಯಾದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತವು ಈ ದಬ್ಬಾಳಿಕೆಯ ಸಂಕೇತ.
೪. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತವನ್ನು ನಾಶಮಾಡಬೇಕು.
೫. ತಮಿಳು ಶುದ್ಧವಾದ ತಾನೇ ತಾನಾಗಿ ಉದ್ಭವಿಸಿದ ಭಾಷೆ. ಇದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಉತ್ಕೃಷ್ಟ.
೬. ನಮ್ಮ ಸಂಘದ ಕಾವ್ಯಗಳು ಎಲ್ಲ ನಷ್ಟವಾಗಿವೆ -(ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರತಿಕೂಲ ವಾತಾವರಣ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಗಳೇ ಕಾರಣ!). ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಕಾವ್ಯಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಾವ್ಯಗಳೇ ಇವೆ.
೭. ಮೇಲಿನ ಆರು ಅಂಶಗಳು ಆಕ್ಷರಶಃ ನಿಜ. ಯಾರು ಏನೇ ಹೇಳಿದರು, ಎಷ್ಟು ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ತೋರಿಸಿದರೂ ನಾವು ಅವರ ಮಾತನ್ನು ನಂಬುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.

ಮೇಲಿನ ೭ ಅಂಶಗಳು ಇವರ ವಾದದ ಸಾರಂಶವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿವೆ. ನೀವು ಏನೇ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ತೋರಿಸಿದರೂ ಅವರ ಏಳನೇ point ಇದೆಯಲ್ಲಾ, ಅದನ್ನು ಮೀರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ತಮಿಳಿನ ಪ್ರೇಮಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ದ್ವೇಷ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ರೀತಿ ವಾದ ಮಾಡುವ ಜನರೊಂದಿಗೆ ವಾದ ಮಾಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.

ಇಂದು ಕಛೇರಿಗೆ ಬರುವ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ - ಪಂಡಿತರೂ ಸಜ್ಜನರೂ ಆದ ಮಹನೀಯರೊಡನೆ ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯೇ ದೂರವಾಣಿ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಸಿದೆ. ಅವರು ಹೇಳುವ ಪ್ರಕಾರ - ತಮಿಳಿಗೂ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತವೇ ಮೂಲ. ಅಥವಾ - ತಮಿಳಿಗೂ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಕ್ಕೂ ವೈಷಮ್ಯಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಸಾಮ್ಯವೇ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂದು. ಇದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ನಮಗೇ ತಿಳಿದಂತೆ ತಮಿಳಿನ ಮಹಾಕಾವ್ಯವೆನಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ಸಿಲಪ್ಪದಿಕಾರಂ ಗ್ರಂಥದಲ್ಲಿ ವೇದಗಳ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖ, ವಿಷ್ಣುಪೂಜೆಯ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಇದೆ. ಇದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಭರತಮುನಿಯ ನಾಟ್ಯಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವೂ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಬರುತ್ತದೆಯಂತೆ. ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ ತಮಿಳು ಎಂದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತವನ್ನು ದ್ವೇಷಿಸಿತ್ತು?

ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ತಮಿಳಿನ ಕಾವ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಭಿನ್ನವಾದ ಅಂಶಗಳು ಕಡಿಮೆಯೇ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಬಹುದು. ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಹಲವು ದೇವಾಲಯಗಳಿರುವುದು. ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಕ್ಕೂ ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮಕ್ಕೂ ಅವಿನಾಭಾವ ಸಂಬಂಧವಿದೆ. ದೇವಾಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದಲ್ಲಿ ಪೂಜೆ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲವೇ? ಹೌದು, ಶ್ರೀವೈಷ್ಣವರ ನಾಲಾಯಿರ ದಿವ್ಯಪ್ರಬಂಧವನ್ನು ವೇದಸಮವಾಗಿಯೇ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅವರು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ದ್ವೇಷಿಗಳೇ? ಅರವತ್ತುಮೂರು ನಾಯನ್ಮಾರ್ (ಶಿವಭಕ್ತರ) ಗಳ ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯನ್ನೊಳಗೊಂಡ "ಪೆರಿಯಪುರಾಣ" ಕೂಡ ಶಿವನನ್ನು ವೇದಪ್ರಿಯನೆಂದೇ ಹೊಗಳುತ್ತದೆ. ವೇದಗಳು ತಮಿಳಿನವೇ?

ಹೀಗೆ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ತಮಿಳಿಗೂ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಕ್ಕೂ ನಡುವೆ ದ್ವೇಷವನ್ನು ಕಲ್ಪಿಸಿದ್ದು ಹತ್ತೊಂಭತ್ತನೆಯ ಶತಮಾನದ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ. ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತ ಮತ ಪ್ರಚಾರಕರಾದ ಹಲವು ಪಾದ್ರಿಗಳು ತಮಿಳಿನ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಡಕು ಮೂಡಿಸಲು ಯತ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇವರ ಕೆಲಸವೇ ನಂತರ ಬಂದ ಮತಿಗೇಡಿ ದ್ರಾವಿಡಪಕ್ಷದವರಿಗೆ ಮೂಲಸಾಮಗ್ರಿಯನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸಿದ್ದು. ದೇಶವಿಭಜನೆಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಮಾಡುವಷ್ಟು ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಈ ಮೂಢಾಂದೋಲನ ಬಂದಿತ್ತು.

ಒಂದು ಮಾತನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಬೇಕು. ನಾನು ತಮಿಳಿನ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಲ್ಲ. ಎಲ್ಲ ಭಾಷೆಗಳ ಹಾಗೆ ಅದೂ ಒಂದು. ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಕಾವ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಹಲವು ತಮಿಳು ಜನರು ನನ್ನ ಮಿತ್ರರು. ಹಲವು ತಮಿಳು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ನೋಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ, ಮೆಚ್ಚಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಕೂಡ. ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಓಡಾಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಜನರೆಲ್ಲ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯವರೇ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ರೀತಿಯ ದುರಭಿಮಾನವನ್ನು ಸಹಿಸುವುದು ಕಷ್ಟ. ಯಾರೇನೇ ಹೇಳಿದರು "ಉಲಘಮೆಲ್ಲಾ ತಮಿಳ್" ಎಂದು ತಮ್ಮ ಮಾತನ್ನೇ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ದುರಭಿಮಾನವನ್ನು ತೊರೆದರೆ ತಮಿಳು ತಾಯಿಗೇ ಸಂತೋಷವಾಗುವುದು.

ನಾನು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದ ಕಟ್ಟಾಭಿಮಾನಿಯೂ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಆ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಸವಿಯನ್ನು ಬಲ್ಲವರೇ ಬಲ್ಲರು. ಎಲ್ಲ ಭಾಷೆಗಳಿಗೂ ಅವುಗಳವೇ ಆದ ಪ್ರಯೋಜನಗಳಿವೆ. ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ಮತ್ತು ತಮಿಳಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೇಕೆ ಬರೆಯಬೇಕಿತ್ತು?

Blood Sport : outlookindia.com

Blood Sport : outlookindia.com

What sort of perverts are these people? Killing for fun? For thrill? If these poor mute animals had in them the power to retaliate - would these guys still kill for fun ? What did these poor animals do to these stupid illiterate "high-class" people?

Time to chill....

I have to say that this is a very good and timely piece of journalism from Outlook. Maneka Gandhi apparently dissuaded Outlook from doing this piece as she thought that it would end up glamourizing hunting. I hope she isn't right.

Why do people hunt? I understand if somebody has to hunt for food. One's survival is more important than anything else in the world. So if one were starving to death, it would probably be all right to kill. However, with the beginning of agriculture, there was no need to hunt for food.

I suppose that then, the "noblemen" and royalty took up hunting as a sport. There are many references to hunting for sport in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. People at that time probably did not have much else to do. So they hunted - but I seem to think that they did not kill with such abandon (I may be mistaken here). Anyway, there were several more species in existence in India before the British came and decided to wipe them off.

On a different note, the act of enjoying the hunt smacks of something primal and basic in us. I think it is the same instinct that goads us to watch violent movies or kill enemy soldiers in video games. Even this is not conducive to a good mental makeup - but it is a lot better than killing animals in flesh and blood. (I had written in an earlier post on how doing this mentally is karmically close to doing the real thing)

For some people however, they want to kill animals physically. As this article mentions, these people must be really insecure or not have a thing to do in this world. What do you think Pataudi does every day? He has absolutely nothing to do! But he has to give vent to his feelings and he goes off hunting in his or his friend's Accord. Moreover, they want to hunt endangered species and species considered holy by certain tribes. (The blackbuck killed was both an endangered species as well as holy to the Bishnoi people)

Hunting purely for sport is depraved and unfair. I challenge the hunters who really want the thrill to fight a leopard or a tiger bare-handed and then kill it. But no! One has to have a powerful enough gun and be mounted in a safe place in a machan and then kill animals from some place far away where the animal cannot even see them. How fair is this?

As for Pataudi and his ilk of rich and inconsiderate brutes that have been interviewed in this article, they should be made to feel the anguish of a creature hunted. How will they feel if they are chased around till they are tired and then be subjected to the fear of death? These hunters might begin to understand then.

Instead of demanding a paltry fee of Rs 60,000 (which is peanuts for people like this) and simple imprisonment, a punishment that actually scares the heck out of these people would be much better. That way, these guys may begin to understand the value of life. If a similar act had been committed in the US, environmentalists would have raised such a hue and cry that the government would have to give a couple of 99 year life sentences to each of the accused.

May good sense prevail in the judges and may they throw the book at the offenders.

Govt’s Doctor plays The Cigarette Censor - Newindpress.com

Govt’s Doctor plays The Cigarette Censor - Newindpress.com

This is absolute nonsense! Is this an April Fool's joke or what? To be clear, I don't smoke. But what on earth is the government doing? It is trying to stop smoking in movies and on television!!!

I really don't know who could be behind such a - what is the word - draconian act. This is a Nero-esque kind of law. Do people know it is a democracy ?

Anyway, this doesn't mean that smoking will be banned in public places. It is next to impossible to implement this. People will continue to smoke and spoil their health. Though the intention behind this law is good, don't we all know that the way to hell is paved with good intentions?

This is not like what has happened in the US. Something like that - something sensible - would have been good. All our government does is something as ridiculous as this.

Tomorrow, if somebody in the tobacco industry bribes a section of the government, the laws will be reversed and probably everybody will be asked to smoke.

Now I have to look back at my own feeling that India is developing as a country. I am inclined to say now that it is not. How can a country with such stupid and impractical lawmakers ever develop?

I am irritated, amused and saddened at the same time. I don't care about India's image in the world, though that is important, as long as the government is doing the right things for its people. Actions such as these are not right. Something deep inside me was pricked by this - though I don't smoke and I was off typing this rant in a flash.

May good sense prevail everywhere!

Timesofindia Limited Edition

Timesofindia Limited Edition

This article talks about assault by Lucknow "brats". My question to the clueless TOI editors is - do you guys know what a brat is ? A brat is a spoilt child - look at any dictionary. Please don't reduce the gravity of the incident by labeling it as perpetrated by brats. It sounds like a bunch of kids stole mangoes from a tree.

Brats do not indulge in causing harm of this kind. I even looked for a place to comment and they haven't provided one. TOI is really "toilet paper of India"..

The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bomb hoax at Wipro office

The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bomb hoax at Wipro office

I am infuriated by the behavior of this self-styled security expert. What is wrong with this guy ? He has put a lot of people in his company and other people to inconvenience to say the least. Look at the number of people affected by this guy's moronic behavior. Apparently his company has no work for him which seems to be why he was thinking of doing such things.

And look at this guy's intelligence! He goes to a coin operated booth and calls his wife after placing a warning to his company. Good that the police were able to trace the call to him. It is a pity that he was released on bail. Such miscreants and trouble-makers must be sentenced to at least a year in prison so that it serves as a lesson for other people with such intentions.

The LeT threat is not to be taken as an empty one. When police and other security forces are working to address such problems, foolish pranks like these will result in the police not responding to even genuine calls for help. This is what this person has caused.

I hope he gets fired from his company for doing such mischief. Self-righteous idiot! His intention was probably good - but isn't the path to hell paved with such good intentions ? Or was he trying to get a day off this way?

May the number of such people decrease!