On My Mind

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...

India, they say, is the mystical land of the east. The spiritual aura, ancient texts, and architecture from the past just add to the entire mysticism surrounding it. Apart from the overt spiritualism, traveling through the pages of history, the country has acquired many other traits which now qualify as "Indianness". Having lived my entire life in the Indian India, I was hesitant to visit the utopian ideal we would have had otherwise. My reservations notwithstanding, I ended up visiting this land called Unindia - the much talked about utopian ideal. My experience was disturbing, to put it mildly. One needs to take a good look at Unindia to understand and appreciate the nation we have built. ---------------------------- The train had almost reached Unindia. The window was open. I was staring outside and it took me a good 10 minutes to realize I hadn't seen a single soul defecating in the open. It made me slightly nauseous. I knew I had to prepare myself for more o...

I n 2005, the Central Government constituted a committee headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic and educational condition of Muslims in India. The Sachar Committee submitted its report in 2006. The report found a range of disabilities hampering the Muslim community in the country. It placed Indian Muslims below Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with respect to backwardness. It especially highlighted the poor representation of the community in decision making positions like the IAS, IPS and in the police. [1] To understand the intricacies of the issue, we need to go back to the creation of the modern nation of India.  India was independent in 1947. At the very onset, attempts were made by the state to bring reforms in the Hindu (here it implies anyone who was not a Muslim, Parsi, Christian or Jew) personal laws. The first elected government came to power in 1952 and by 1956 it was able to g...

Long ago, the world was different. It was simple but with its own challenges. In a corner somewhere, lived Pandora. It is said that she opened a box, freeing up all kinds of evils to spread through the society. While violence, dishonesty, greed, selfishness may be some of the "better" known ones, the evil of "Pretentiousness" has its own far-reaching impacts. Things as basic as food can be pretentious today. A box of candies, assorted from the very best of Mediterranean fruits, hand picked by the renowned chef from the exotic country of Luxembourg are basically the candies you purchased 4 of which for Re. 1 from the nearby grocery store. The box now sells at INR 1000/- only, and if you are lucky, you get 25 instead of 24 candies. Golgappas have magically transformed to a delicious serving of Indian Bread made of nutritious whole grains dipped in tamarind sauce with a pinch of salt and filling of healthy boiled peas or potatoes. Sounds yummy! Sports is some...