On My Mind

Over 19 crore Indians sleep hungry. [1]  I checked for who could be held accountable. Google tells it's been 71 years now since the British passed on the responsibility of keeping Indians hungry to ourselves. We have tried all sorts of conventional means to fail in our responsibility including the public distribution of subsidised food grains, raising the income of poor, and food for work among others. Unfortunately, this has worked second only to Indian batsmen against swing bowling in England. In light of this revelation, it is only imperative that we try something unconventional. Serve Pizzas Indian efforts have so far been limited to providing foodgrains. This is so 20th century. This inward-looking attitude is responsible for the persistence of hunger. The 21st century is globalised. Hungry people don't want rice. They want global cuisines. They want their share of modernity and Pizza is a good start. Make people eat their words I am talking about killing tw...

Among the virtues celebrated by the human society, honour is one of the most important. But to different people, honour means different. From one such perception, emerges the concept of honour killing. In my interaction with different people, I have come to realise that most people don't understand it really well. Hence, here's an attempt to answer some FAQs relating to honour killings. 1. What exactly is honour killing? When a person kills another to protect her (*aspiring feminist alert*) honour, it is very intelligently termed as an honour killing. You may think that the killer is actually bringing dishonour to herself by murdering someone, but there's a reason we humans are convoluted beings. 2. What kind of honour qualifies under honour killing? All kinds! There is an absolute equality of opportunity here. Marrying into other religion, caste, same gotra, or simply marrying against the wishes of your family is enough to bring dishonour. If you are more hono...

It was six men of great repute To learning much inclined, Who went to see the roots of India (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation Might satisfy his mind. The First approached the nation, And happening to strand But guided by its broad and sturdy side, At once begins to understand: "God bless me!- the ethos of the country Is very like a Hand!" The Second, feeling the pain of peasants, Cried: "Ho!- what have we bred So very oppressive and bland and dark? Grows hence my sense of dread This colour of the mystic land Is very like a shade of Red!" The Third approached the wild spirit, And in a manner very elegant Awoke the collectivity of outcastes, Which he found relevant "I see," quoth he, "Indianness Is very like an Elephant!" The Fourth reached out his eager hand, And found the other claims bogus "What most this wondrous civilisation is like Has come to my notice; 'T is clear enou...

It is the USA of the 1960s. Segregation of blacks in public places is the policy of the government. Blacks have different taps in restaurants, there are different queues for them. In the buses, they are to give up their seats for a white gentleman and move to the back. This goes on. Except for one fine day, when a certain Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus. She was tired, more than the white gentleman standing next to her. Ultimately she was thrown out of the bus. Is this to be the end of it? Back in India, a barrister came back from South Africa in 1915. The country was ruled by the British. Freedom was a dream not officially recognized yet by the Indian National Congress. The barrister undertook a tour of the entire country. The goal was to understand the pulse of the nation in making. The first action he took was Champaran Satyagraha where all he could do was save interests of a group of peasants who were forced to cultivate indigo. But the journey had started. It ...

Lights, Camera, Action! Except this time, it isn't actors performing. IPL is about to start and cricketers from across the globe will take the center stage of the discourse in India. The who's who among cricket giants will hit boundaries, and take wickets as cities fight it out for the glory. IPL has all components required to be a hit reality show - which some would say it is. But is it more than that? I wouldn't get into the cricketing part. That has been discussed and debated much. The Puritans hate the hybrid that is IPL, and the supporters have the list of all cricketers who rose to prominence through IPL ready. What I have in mind is all the other impact IPL has. The first three matches of the previous edition of IPL reached a staggering 185.7 million viewers!  [1]  In 2012, when Kolkata won IPL, they were given a rousing welcome by the crowd. The euphoria in West Bengal can be gauged from the fact that even the CM couldn't afford to skip the celebratory ...

In 2016, the international word of the year for the Oxford Dictionaries was " post-truth ". [1]   Trump's victory in US presidential elections had brought a certain amount of interest in the "post-truth politics" which is defined as 'relating to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.' While the term generated an interest as late as 2016, it would be puerile to dismiss the existence of a "post-truth world" earlier. That humans are creatures of emotions has been the assumption behind the work of many scholars who have tried to identify the causes, consequences, and conflicts arising because of the same. Appeal to emotion is and has been routinely used by activists and others to further their cause. In Julius Caesar , a classic of Shakespeare, there comes a turning point. Caesar is murdered by his confidantes including Brutus. Brutus explains and just...

India - a country, a feeling, a sense of identity - is a wonder for some people. An ancient civilization, and a rather tolerant one, this mystic land has fired the imaginations of people all across the globe. For the melting pot culture of the USA, India has claims on a syncretic culture of its own. In the loose dichotomy of India the nation and India the country, there is a subtle tinge of Indianness that most accept. It keeps being defined. It keeps being pointed out. Here's another attempt at the same. The Siddis are a lesser known group of Indians. At first, they don't give the impression of being Indian. They are, after all, an Indo-African tribal community that descended from the Bantu peoples of Africa. Their ancestors were largely brought to India as slaves by Arabs, followed by Portuguese, and the British. They settled in India starting from the 7th century and are currently found in isolated pockets of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. [1] Despite hav...

Human beings are fascinating. We have some great abilities. In the little time, that modern man had to evolve, we have altered the course of the world like no one else before. Perhaps this is why we have an inflated image of self. For all our achievements , the accompanying arrogance is also second to none. It is on display at all levels - individual, community, and our species as a whole. A group of human beings, if left to themselves, will soon find themselves at the center of the universe. Let's talk about our property rights. While the Intellectual Property Rights have only recently come to the fore, they are still contested. However, we have somehow accepted the proposition that "land" can be owned. A piece of Earth, which has existed for over 4.5 billion years, is being owned by an organism from a species whose average lifespan is 79 years! A kid claiming the ownership of an ocean is less absurd. This sense of ownership comes from the collective arrogance w...

On Saturday, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) confirmed women will no longer escort male players to the stage after talks with broadcasters. [1] Formula 1 has announced that it will no longer use grid girls as the practice of having scantily clad women standing in front of cars before Grands Prix “does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern-day societal norms”. [2] The Women’s Sport Trust has called for the end of female models across the world of sport. The Women’s Sport Trust says its issue with the use of models in sport as “walk-on girls, grid girls, and ring girls is the message it gives about how women are valued in society”.  [3] Having checked on the present, let's take a trip to the past now.  It's the 1960s in the USA. Women can't serve on the jury. The main reason women are kept out of jury pools is that they are considered the center of the home, which is their primary responsibility as caregivers. The...

"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." - Dante Let me be upfront here. The Republic of India has been engulfed by a crisis of monumental proportions. Karni Terrorists Sena has been in news, a certain movie titled Padmaavat has been too. After checking with a reputed journalist, I am confident that the nation really wants to know what happens to the movie. Nikhil has stopped eating and Nikhil's mother has stopped caring. The pertinent issue is the release of a movie, not-marketed by Karni Terrorists Sena. Everyone has taken a stand, mostly in favor of the release of the movie, which perplexes me because I find the arguments of Karni Terrorists Sena compelling. At this time of crisis, I proudly stand in their corner. Karni Terrorists Sena's protest is valid because they believe the movie portrays Rajput women in bad light. And I believe in the power of belief. Mahatma Gandhi said and I quo...

The day was cold, the winds were chilly, The silence was deafening, the road was hilly, Somewhere deep within, he knew what lay ahead, He was reminded of the conversation left unsaid. He knew the risks when he took the bet, He knew it wouldn't come without breaking a sweat, Unyielding would yield with the labour of the man, The doubts, however, were his stans. Somewhere deep within, he knew what lay ahead, He was reminded of the conversation left unsaid. That there would be a hole, which would suck him in, The only way out, was to win...