Seems like it is straight out of an R.K. Narayan story. Oh! the irony of it all. Paris gives a 100$ note to a roadside beggar woman, who gives it to her relatives, who squabble over it and tear it to pieces.
This is perfect story for a television series or a short film.
The question is, how were the media there at the right instant to photograph Paris giving money to the beggar? Funny, no?
Women are very picky nowadays. Gone is the age when they used to look for the thoughtful, kind and importantly, rich man. Nowadays, women are quite rich themselves. As far as thoughtful and kind is concerned; well, when has a man ever been thoughtful or kind towards a woman (other than his wife) unless he wants to sleep with her? All that women seem to look for in a man is a good body. This phenomenon is fueled by visuals of fit Bollywood heroes who strip down as effortlessly for a maa-beta scene as they do for a fight sequence.
Basically, if you aren't fit, you aren't getting any. This is a situation which requires undivided attention and immediate action as far as sexually motivated individuals like yours truly are concerned. In fact, I have become so paranoid that I make sure to read the nutrition information given at the back of each packet of milk, biscuits, cereals and other assorted foods. Coffee has given way to green tea at the office coffee machine, even though I am of the opinion that green tea tastes like warm diluted sewage. My morning starts with a bowl of oats, which look and feel like baby vomit. But I endure the torture of all this plus a grueling fitness regime because I need some. Badly.
It's late, and I am sitting with a bowl of Maggi noodles in my hands. I have no desire to cook for myself after late workdays, and the instant noodles are a savior. Plus they have been a childhood favorite. When I switch on the TV, there is an Ad for Maggi. It goes : 'Aisa kya hai meri masala maggi mein?'
Honestly, I never bothered to check that. But my latest fitness paranoia made me flip the pack to find out what Masala maggi contains after all? Well, a little bit of high-tech research (read google-ing) gives the following results:
The noodles contain : Maida, oil, salt, wheat gluten , guar gum (thickening agent) and Mineral 170i (calcium)
In short, the noodles have carbs, fat and added calcium.
The flavoring has 13.4% of spices. The rest of it contains:
So aisa kya hai meri masala maggi mein? Well, a whole load of empty calories, that's what!
But what the hell, it is fast, easy and tasty! And it creates an illusion that you have actually cooked something yourself instead of buying stuff from outside.
And healthy? Well, it does seem to contain calcium, potassium and groundnut protein (This is actually added to improve flavor and texture. not for nutrition.). And that's how I brainwash myself into thinking that the stuff is actually good for me as I reach for another pack of meri Masala Maggi!
Yes, I am flogging a dead horse. The collective voice of the nation
has gone hoarse discussing the suicides at premier institutes of higher
education in India. I shall do the same! I am going to be totally insensitive while I move with the herd- please find
below a non-exhaustive table of suicides in IIT's and IIM's this year:
I am aware that nobody would have given a rat's ass if these students were not from IIT's or IIM's. Students from all over India, from large and small institutes alike, take their own lives in alarming numbers. Of course it is always an impulsive reaction. Part of the blame lies on the age of the individual. After all, we are like that when we are in our teens and tweens- Impulsive, naive and vulnerable.
As far as students from the IIT's and IIM's are concerned: You have been a top student from your school days. You burnt midnight oil to get into a top institution. Your marks are sufficient for every premier institution to open its doors for you. You have probably not faced too many setbacks in life.
How can such a person handle failure when it comes unexpectedly? When the top student discovers that studying engineering is something totally different from passing that entrance exam; he falters, but naturally.
Your friends idolize you and your family adores you. You are placed on a pedestal by every Indian Pappu. You are the apple of everyone's eyes. Everyone wants to be your friend. How can such a person handle rejection in love?
On top of that, there is the highly competitive atmosphere of the institutes which doesn't help things at all.
Point is, if you can't handle things like these, then I am sorry my friend, you are just not fit for the game that is life. This Pappu is usually not philosophical. But it saddens me to see young people, who have worked so hard to get to places where most of us only dream to reach, taking their own life on being faced with setbacks.
Strange are the ways of the invisible man in the sky. He makes them intelligent. He makes them industrious. But he forgets to give them resilience, which, after all , is more important than anything else.
It's the latest fad in India. Follow it, and it is almost guaranteed to make you a celebrity overnight. Well, in most cases if not all. It helps if you are already quite well known because then, it will add to your repertoire. If you are not so well-known then you may garner anything ranging from instant fame to absolute indifference.It's worth a try any which way. Just pick an issue which is irking the public at large (there are a variety of them to choose from) and go and do a dharna/anshan somewhere. Prepare your slogans, clear your voice and if possible, get a few heckled supporters to join you as well. Yes, it's that easy.
If there is a trend, there has to be a top-five. So joining the top-five bikinis/mini-skirts/distressed jeans is a list of top-five fasts. Here goes.
1. Anna Hazare - Fast Fame
This is the one that started it all. The great Indian public, which is troubled to no end with corruption, high-prices, inflation, terror etc. needed a mouthpiece to vent its anger. And lo, Anna appeared as if sent by God himself. The multitudes joined him in the protest for the now famous Lokpal bill. Which seems to be getting somewhere, after all. Or so we'd like to think. After the terror attacks and more fasts by more people, the media seems to have forgotten about the Lokpal. So has our public. But this one deserves the No.1 spot, that's for sure. We got to know that there is somebody called Anna Hazare and there is actually something called the Lokpal bill at least.
2. Swami Nigamananda - Fast oblivion
When some of the protesters at Anna's rally were asked as to why the Lokpal bill was so important, they responded with confused answers and equally baffled expressions on their faces. Well, who's concerned as to what the bill does? We want to protest and we will, so there!
I am sure most of us will think of sex scandals and visualize petty starlets having a romp in bed with saffron-clad men when we hear of 'Nigamananda'. To the confused, this swami is different from my spiritual guide Nithyananda, of the Ranjitha fame.
This swami (idiot) was on a fast against the pollution in the Ganga (who cares, that river is as clean as a gutter. Holy, my ass!). The best part was that he died fasting! The even better part was that nobody cared. This shows that you have to pick a proper issue when choosing to stage an anshan. Nigamananda does not deserve the number 2 spot, but I am giving it to him because he died. This tribute on this unknown blog is the most he will get after all.
3. Irom Sharmila- Fast FAIL
Who? What? Sharmila Tagore? Where?
Are the few reactions that this name elicits. This is a woman who is demanding the removal of the AFSPA from Manipur. Some of her relatives were killed by the army, and so she has been on a fast since the past eleven-odd years. Yes, you heard right, eleven years. She is being force-fed to keep her alive since so many years. Methinks that's what the funny tube up her nose is for. This is another case of fasting for a cause that the majority does not care about. I mean, most of us from the rest of India can hardly pinpoint Manipur on the map. The whole of the north-East is a geographical confusion and we usually show interest only in the case of earthquakes and such. God only knows why she is still alive. Poor girl.
4. Narendra Modi/Vaghela - Fast Savvy
Why he chose to fast in the first place, nobody knows. But the desired effects have been achieved. The media went ballistic, Modi got the much-needed fillip among the masses and the power of fasting as a trend has been demonstrated to great effect. In the battle of the fasts, Congress leader Shankar Vaghela started a counter-fast against Modi's sadbhavana fast. This one was a five-star fast. There was an air-conditioned hall, celeb visits and media blitzkrieg. This one deserves a position on this list because it demonstrates the power of fasts even when you are fasting for no specific reason.
5. Baba Ramdev - Gender-bender Fast
He tried the fast-for-no-apparent-reason tactic too, albeit with different results than the one by Mr. Sadbhavna. One of the 'reasons' for the fast was the billions of Indian money stashed in Swiss banks. It ended in the swami dressing up in drag and trying to escape the cops. In an apparent case of the 'aa bail mujhe maar' syndrome, there were investigations conducted against the Yoga-man and his ashram. There have been reports of financial-funny business in his organization and the swami has been subdued ever since. He still merits a place in this list because he dared to dress in a salwar kameez.
'Which country can do more for your peace?' Asks an ad by the Pak Government in the American wall street journal. I don't know whether to laugh or cry owing to an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards our brave neighbors. The ad claims that Pakistan has done more for peace than any other country. This, apparently has been achieved by eliminating some of its own populace, an uncomfortable number of whom aspire to become suicide bombers even as I type this.
So basically, the Pakis are tom-tomming about saving the world from... er... themselves.
'More than a dozen assassination plots against the President and the Prime minister foiled!' Claims the ad.
Pray, tell us, who were the ones who hatched the plots in the first place? And how did that help the rest of the world? If one of your leaders died, another would have replaced him anyway. We wouldn't have given a rat's ass. We are busy protecting our own borders from Pak trained militancy and internal terrorist agencies. Or so we'd like to believe until the next bomb blast.
The only difference is that we don't claim that we are the watchdogs of the world, when we kill our own miscreants!
Basically, the message of the Ad is: Look! If we hadn't killed our own people (who, incidentally, have been trained by us to kill your people) you would have been killed.We saved your asses from ourselves so now show some gratitude!'
I am overwhelmed by emotion at this show of bravery and selflessness by our neighbors. I dedicate this song to them, out of gratitude.
I plan to post videos, pictures and other material which I find sexy. A weekly process, this will lead to the expansion of the intellect and flow of positive energy.
This week's sexy comes from my spiritual mentor. Swami Nithyananda.
Nothing more needs to be said, watch and feel erotic!
From time to time, the opposition party and other insignificant people raise a hue and cry about Indian black money stashed away in Swiss banks.
Then they say that the money has to be brought back from Switzerland, as if that is the panacea to all of India's problems. I mean, we can't even bring to task the terrorist organizations in our neighboring Pakistan, we have a bunch of Naxals and Maoists running rampant in our own country, and we want to bring back Swiss bank money!!
But you know what, Indian black money is in really safe hands, or rather, heads. Have a look at this:
This is the crown of the lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati. It was donated by the corrupt Janardhana Reddy , who is currently languishing in jail for his involvement in a mining scam. Studded with diamonds and one giant emerald, it is reportedly worth 45 crores!!
The devotees of Balaji are now protesting to get the crown removed from the temple premises as it is 'tainted' by corruption.
I want to ask the devotees a few questions. Did they not already know that the Reddy brothers were corrupt? Janardhana Reddy has never received a college education and he has been involved in politics. Within a decade he has been able to amass enough wealth to donate a 45 crore ornament to the idol of Balaji. Do I need to say more?
Such money can come out of legitimate business only if you are Mark Zukerberg or some other computer genius. Obviously Reddy had aptitude in other areas than computers and clearly, the devotees are not fools to not see through this.
So why protest now? Let the money remain with Balaji. Imagine the amount of money that could be there on our temple idols across India! A lot of it could be black as well. Why look towards Switzerland when we have given our black money in divine hands for safekeeping?
Blasts in Delhi high court. What to write about it? There will be another round of heated discussions on the telly. Fake sorrow expressed by global leaders and 'condolence' messages from people we don't care about. Political leaders will make funny statements with fancy phrases like 'never-die spirit' and other such inane words strung together.
At least, this time we know who did it because they have apparently claimed responsibility. Case in point, we are still clueless about the last set of blasts in Bombay.
The most ridiculous thing is the reason behind the blasts. Reportedly, the perpetrators want a mercy petition to be granted to terrorist Afzal Guru. I mean, what's the point? Why is he useful to anyone now?
Clearly, this is nothing more than an attack on India, its judicial system and the soft stance that we take with regards to Islamic terrorism (or any other kind of terrorism) in India.
The big reason that there have been no terrorist attacks of note in the US after 9/11 is that the US sent a clear message to the perpetrators - 'If you dare to attack the US, be ready for total destruction and chaos in your country.'
We need to send a similar message to the terrorists (Internal or external) who so audaciously conduct such operations in India. Merely strengthening the internal security system is not enough. The morale of the terrorists has to be broken.
Moreover, this is what happens when you keep delaying the death sentence of a convicted terrorist. What next, a blast requesting the mercy petition of Kasab?
As usual, the drama will unfold. News channels have found new fodder after the Anna Hazare case and there will be more discussions while terrorist groups across the border work overtime to execute the next dastardly act.Within the next one month, this will die down and people will be back to work until the next bomb blast.
Sad. I just hope they execute that terrorist at least. ASAP. Not that it will change anything, but at least to assuage the anger of the people.
