charukesi December 31st, 2003
The year draws to a close…. As with all other years, I now think, where did the days go ? And as with all years, this has been eventful…. And good…. Feel-good, if not real good…..
For once, there is talk of a young India, a prosperous India, an India that will find its rightful place in the world…. Shining or otherwise, this seems to be the start of good times for the country…. Yashwant Sinha actually talks about Gross National Contentment, a measure more important that Gross Domestic Product. For the first time in this country, concepts like contentment are part of our active social discourse…. And not in a Nehruvian utopian economy scenario either…..
And there are ambitious plans for India-the brand….. If this is not the beginning of good times, then what is ? All you nay-sayers, there is no tonic like feel-good for a nation to do good…..
So, here’s welcoming the new year…. May it bring with it peace and prosperity…..
charukesi December 31st, 2003
Back in Bangalore….. after three months of being away…. have seen the length and breadth of the country in these three months….. feels good to be back home….
Home….
It is true that Bangalore is home….. it is the closest to home…… where my husband and I work and live…. For now…. But what does Bangalore hold for me beyond a rented house and a job ? Where are my roots ?
In Madras where my parents live ? Where I went to school and college ? Where I have no friends left ? Or where my father hails from – an obscure town in Tamilnadu he has not visited in forty years ? Where are my roots ?
I have a friend who hails from Andhra Pradesh (his parents now live in Vizag; he has never lived in AP), grew up in Madras, has worked in Bombay, Delhi, Hyderabad and is now in Bangalore. When someone asks him, where are you from, he gives his unique beatific smile. Where are my roots ? is a question he is fond of posing to himself…..
Surely enough, to our generation, where are the roots ? (I don’t know how many of us are even interested in finding our roots but that is a different issue). What does any place hold for us beyond immediate and relevant concerns such as work or parents.
What does Madras mean to me personally beyond my parents ? If they choose to move away now, the place itself has nothing left for me….
I had Indian friends at the LSE who were content in their knowledge that their roots lay back in India. But for me living back in India, where does my search lead ?
charukesi December 26th, 2003
As I have said repeatedly before, Blogger and I need to part ways…
I have had to use a new template due to some problem with my usual one….. Have lost all previous alteraitons to my blog page and all your comments…..
Bear with this bare page for a few days and I’ll be back, in a new and improved version !
In the meanwhile, do leave your suggestions on where I can move to…. a hassle-free, idiot-proof (me) service, which will also allow me to upload pics…..
Maybe with the New Year….
charukesi December 25th, 2003
Just couldn’t resist this one…..
One beautiful December evening Huan Cho and his girlfriend Jung Lee were sitting by the side of the ocean. It was a
romantic full moon, when Huan Cho said “Hey baby, let’s play Weeweechu.”
“Oh no, not now, lets look at the moon” said Jung Lee.
“Oh, c’mon baby, let’s you and I play Weeweechu. I love you and it’s the perfect time,” Huan Cho Begged.
“But I rather just hold your hand and watch the moon.”
“Please Jung Lee, just once play Weeweechu with me.”
Jung Lee looked at Huan Chi and said, “OK, we play Weeweechu.”
Huan Cho grabbed his guitar and they both sang…..
“Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas,
Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.”
So do I, people….. have a Merry Christmas and a Great New Year !
charukesi December 25th, 2003
So you thought you’d heard that last of it, eh ? No way ! As I was saying, I have no tolerance for pseudo piety during any season. So, here comes this one…..
Christmas should celebrate reason, selfishness and capitalism, says Leonard Peikoff. To push the point further he adds, it is time to take the Christ out of Christmas, and turn the holiday into a guiltlessly egoistic, pro-reason, this-worldly, commercial celebration.
Sounds interesting? Then check it out.
charukesi December 25th, 2003
After making me rant and wring my hands saying what to do, the jinxed Xmas post vanished……
Mysterious are the ways of Blogger……
I need to move out of Blogger into something more dependable…. preferably where I can upload pix and so on….. I know, you’ve told me before, but tell me again, people…. Which would you suggest ?
charukesi December 24th, 2003
Such a lovable Indian-English expression : What to do ?
Feeling that way now. Blogger hates me. And vice-versa.
Started a post yesterday : Why Christmas should be more commercial. Saved the post at the end of two lines (full of typos) to be continued later. For some reason unknown to me, blogger has published this post.
Then, I deleted it from blogger. And it continues to show up on my blog page…..
After all this, blogger now has the cheek to deny that any such post exists !
What to do? is the mot juste as Bertram Wooster would say (as would Jeeves)
charukesi December 21st, 2003
Came across this on a friend’s page on ryze.
By George Bernard Shaw
People are always blaming their circumstances
for what they are.
I don’t believe in circumstances.
The people who get on in this world
are the people who get up
and look for the circumstances they want,
and if they can’t find them,
make them.
charukesi December 21st, 2003
He asked “Will you marry me?”
She replied “No“.
And they lived happily ever after.
charukesi December 19th, 2003
Says Melvin Durai…. About how news-starved media is lapping up Saddam(?)’s capture…..
———————-
Saddam’s capture triggered a wave of euphoria throughout America, with almost every media outlet finding an angle
into the story.
On ESPN, it was a sports story: “Tiger Woods shot a big hole-in-one during a practice round today, while thousands
of miles away in Iraq, our troops scored a big one-in-hole. Congratulations to them!”
On the Discovery Channel, it was a nature story: “In other science news, experts learned today that it isn’t just
rodents and earthworms that burrow into the ground, certain forms of slime do, too.”
On the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN), it was a miraculous story:
Pat Robertson: “Folks, you’re not going to believe this. We’ve just received news that the newly captured Saddam
Hussein has been saved. Hallelujah! What a miracle!”
Reporter: “Reverend, I hate to tell you this, but there was
a slight mistake in that news report. Saddam hasn’t been
saved — he’s been shaved.”
Robertson: “Oh … well … never mind then.”
———————
For more, read Durai.