Ego cogito, ergo sum

420 characters is not much, but I was piqued by the challenge of saying something intelligible in so many characters. Hence, my affair with Facebook started. Also, the fact that I commute for over 2 hours a day to work and back and have nothing much else to do, so the FB app on my cell came handy and I kind of got addicted.

Being a journalist, who dabbled in the business of news, I have not yet recovered from my habit of having a viewpoint on everything and anything. So, I tend to use FB more as a diary, a sort of thoughbook, that I can revisit some years later to know what I felt or did not. In this pursuit, I try to be as candid (and in this way caustic) as I can. I try not to think of people in my friends list and what they would feel about me. I consciously try and avoid that. So, in a way, FB has given vent to the Mr. Hyde in me.

As a friend of mine had suggested, I am compiling all my updates on this page, just like that. In case you like to view live action, go to: http://www.facebook.com/shashwatdc

*****

October 2010

* Noble for dissident Liu, wonder if it will do any good for him or democracy. When Aung Sang was awarded Noble Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991, there was so much hope and excitement. But, she still in under house arrest and the Junta is still in power in Myanmar. Have even lesser hope for Liu and for democracy in China… (Oct 8, 2010)

* Most of the mediawallahs are going on and on about how Shiv Kumar got of lightly with a life-sentence and that he actually merited death. Arre bhai, if you are so saddened by the verdict then instead of holding polls and chat shows with Suhel Seth, Javed Akthar and Shobha De, won’t it be better to pool money and hire a reputed lawyer to take up the case in High Court. Who stops you… (Oct 8, 2010)

* A ravenous beast is but media that needs a victim to sink its teeth in. Much like a vulture, they too love a gory carcass. The Pratibha Murthy case is an instance. Just look the way they are playing up the verdict, coaxing the mother to say things it wants, wanting Shiv Kumar to repent & pestering his wife to retaliate…. The whole tamasha is so abominal. At times, there is little difference between news channels & NG. (Oct 8, 2010)

* Did you know that good ol’ Dettol has an absolute alcohol content of 13.1%, that around the double of a Bacardi Breezer and somewhat half of a typical rum. And the the best thing is drinking it with water, you will not only reach a ‘high’ but the germs inside will also be killed. The only issue is your mouth will stink like an antiseptic. How goes? (Oct 7, 2010)

* Considering our abysmal record thus far at international meet, and just a handful of medals at all the Olympics ever staged; isn’t the glut of medals at CWG a tad difficult to swallow. Have Indian sportsperson, like Bhuvan in Lagaan, suddenly turned worldclass in spite of the odds. Or should a honrary gold medallion be given to Mr. Kalmadi for ensuring that the real competition petering out… (Oct 7, 2010)

* Rahul Gandhi’s barb on RSS is an orchestrated plan to deflect attention from real issues like development & inflationary pressures to inane things like fundamentalism, etc. Why is it that he raises such issues only during electoral times? The smart turk knows that by talking such, he can make hay while the oppn concent rates on attacking him. The BJP & rest should not underestimate him, and not fall for the bait. (Oct 7, 2010)

* Now, the Big T has taken on Big Boss, any guesses who will win? Come to think of it, a few months back, they weren’t able to stall “My Name is Khan” in spite of all the hoop-hulla. All it takes a few petis and a few more khokhas for such matters to be resolved, and surely Colors won’t be short of it.. (Oct 6, 2010)

* The trouble with us Hindus today is that we have too many ‘holy cows’ around. In the past, there weren’t as many, as we used to simply eat them up… (Oct 5, 2010)

*  In ancient Rome, to distract the marginalised populace from issues of governance, etc., despots like Nero built the Colloseum and organised massive games like gladiatorial combats. Little change over the centuries, as democratically despotic governments today build stadia and organise games as well… (Oct 5, 2010)

* After the Games are over, the real games will begin. Politicians and their progeny will rush to approbriate the swanky flats in Khel Gaon, the comfy stadias be used for working committee meetings or lavish shaadis, the swimming pools and courts will turn into swanky clubs for the rich to relax. Thanks to the hundreds of crore spent, the common man will remain the same albeit a tad less wealthy…. (Oct 5, 2010)

* Of all the Big Boss contestants, the man that really gets my goat is S Kazmi, Ajmal Kasab’s lawyer. By trying to derail the trial through various legal ruses, this man proved that his heart does not beat for India and he had no feelings for the scores that died. I am hoping that through the show he manages to prove that at least he is not half the a**ole that I believe him to be.. (Oct 3, 2010)

* My archaeology professor states that ancient Indians were pretty bad at recording dates of unusual astronomical events. According to him, there are not many instances of comets, meteors, or eclipses in the ancient literature or text. The one big exception was in Mahabharata, where Jayadrata was killed on Solar Eclipse, and a comet lighted the sky (possibly Halley’s) the day the war started. Remember any other?(Oct 3, 2010)

*  It is impossible to draw a line in the past. I keep sparring with a Kashmiri friend as to what is the cut-off date for peering into the past, he keeps referring to partition in ’47, and I ask him, why not the 12th Century before the advent of Islam, or even 3rd Century BC during the Kushan and Mauryan period, or we go further back to 3000 BC to the ruins of Burzahom and Gufkral. The big question is when do we stop? (Oct 3, 2010)

* The whole of Mumbai is splattered with hoardings of Salman and Big Boss, while I saw not even one in Delhi. Does it mean that while Mumbaikaars are bonkers over reality shows like Big Boss, the Delhiwallas don’t bother. Or is it like a frd in the media suggested, a ploy to create excitement among the bulk of advertisers that are based in the city. So, in reality it merely a case of Big Bucks.. (Oct 3, 2010)

* While I have no issues with a God that promises eternal salvation to his believers, I have much grouse with the one that threatens infernal damnation to people who don’t beleive in him. To such a God, I say, go to hell…(Oct 3, 2010)

* Yet another brutal rape case in India, a lady cop raped by her colleagues. Before we start belaboring the cops and get lost in the nuances, I strongly feel that real reason lies in the insufficient punishment meted out to rapists, just 7 years at max. Not to mention the abssymal conviction rates. Am curious to know whats the punishment for rape ard the world, and its impact on such incidences. Is there a co-relation? (Oct 3, 2010)

* Beyond the thousands of crores splurged on CWG, has anyone calculated the cost of closing down schools and govt offices for 17 days. Won’t it badly impact the academic schedule of millions of students and not to mention the insufferable delay in govt work. Is anyone even faintly concerned about these aspects? (Oct 3, 2010)

* A book that I sorely wish to write one day is titled, “Murder at Tashkent”. If there is some way you can help in terms of nuggets of information, or people references, please do.. (Oct 2, 2010)

* BTW, today also happens to be the birth anniversary of one my personal favorite Indian leader, and a man who was possibly the best politician this country ever had. Destiny or someone else snatched him from us, else, Shastriji would shaped the country’s future in a different. His humility camouflaged his iron grit. If only…(Oct 2, 2010)

* Why is that even though we always carry his image in our wallets & store it in our vaults; there are hundreds of roads, street corners named after him; his photo hangs prominently in every govt office; and yet only time we Indians remember Bapu is on October 2 (today) & August 30. We might have plastered his images & erected his statues all over, but he is absent inside us, where he would have really liked to be. (Oct 2, 2010)

* Life’s odd. The Great Irish famine in the 19th Century was created largely due to the uneven land-holding pattern & the potato crop failure. Millions died as wealth was funnelled to the Crown in UK. The current economic crisis resulted due to exaggerated financial outflow by Irish investors in real estate in UK. Back then, Britisher holding land in Ireland were to blame, now Irish buying land in UK are responsible..(Oct 2, 2010)

* Can’t fathom why people are going bananas over Robot and Rajni. ‘Rajni mania’ is a South India, and more specifically a Tamil Nadu phenomenon. If that is not the case, how come his films like Sivaji, etc., featured in the top grossing films from India. Going by the draw at BO, Aamir Khan films earn much more moolah when they release at the opening and in the long run, but no one talks of Aamir mania…(Oct 1, 2010)

* Why do I get the feeling that the mediawallahs in India are distraught over the verdict. A just settlement does not give them a chance to conjour up fear and hatred as they often do. They need a good excuse to drum up emotions, vitiate the atmosphere. Dont believe me, look at the xenophobic coverage in print that projects Hindus as winners. It is as if, they wished for riots & mayhem and are sad at not having them…(Oct 1, 2010)