Shekhar Gupta has an excellent article in the IE. Gupta who also anchors the program “Walk the Talk” for NDTV, sounds much better in the written word than the spoken. Here he presents an effective case against the pervading VIP culture : And, of these, nothing is more important than our rapidly proliferating VIP culture. […]
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Alec Baldwin’s “thoughtless” episode
Heather Havrilesky has an interesting take on Alec Baldwin’s “thoughtless little pig” episode at Salon.com . She writes : “Rude, thoughtless little pig” was mild talk in my family, the kind of thing you might hear when you forgot to take out the trash. For a few years when my older brother was in high […]
Read the rest of this entry »Rape : An April Fool’s Joke ?
Going through the posts at feministing.com , this one made my eyes nearly pop out of my head.It has 4 college boys holding up a poster for an “Intramural Rape League” . Besides the fact that this is an unbelievably atrocious idea, I can’t imagine that there were sane people around who went along with […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bachchan TV : Are you bored yet ?
On the TV I see big, solid GATES. A few moments pass by, but the picture is unwavering. Still the same GATES. GATES which open and close, leaving me with glimpses of a few, well-dressed people, gathered inside. The camera slowly pans over the large GATES, searching for some orifice, through which to peer. A […]
Read the rest of this entry »You immoral, me violent
Immorality strikes again. The culture brigade is out is full-force. The threat to good old Indian values looms large. On TV, I witness men dressed in white burning effigies of Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere. The men seem enthusistic, even gleeful at their task. Somewhere nearby (I presume) because the camera pans to her, Shetty […]
Read the rest of this entry »Shashi Tharoor : Sari fate ?
One always assumes that people who’ve achieved some eminence, some significant perch in life, will think with their brains and not their patriarchal hearts. Apparently not. In his article for the TOI Shashi Tharoor writes on the disappearance of the sari: “So why has this masterpiece of feminine attire begun fading from our streets? On […]
Read the rest of this entry »Amitabh and the glorification of UP
With all the brouhaha in UP, there are also new ads on UP on NDTV. I say ads because there are a few, all very skillfully shot, featuring Amitabh Bachhan paying tribute to Uttar Pradesh. Along with making little of UP’s detractors, and pooh-poohing away the possibility of an increase in crime in UP, it […]
Read the rest of this entry »A different kind of hoo, hah !
Saw this via feministing.com , but here’s the link to the article. “A theatre in Florida has had to change the title of a charity production of The Vagina Monologues on its marquee, after a woman complained that it was offensive. The new name? They’ve decided on ‘The Hoohaa Monologues’.Atlantic Theatres in Atlantic Beach, Florida, […]
Read the rest of this entry »The new (and improved) Aesop’s fables : Ash and the tree
Lot’s of hoo-ha about Aishwarya Rai’s marriage to a tree. A much debated topic now. Plus an enterprising lawyer from Patna has filed a case against the Bachhan’s for engaging in regressive practices etc. Really, this lawyer’s service to the nation in bringing to the fore this important issue for women’s rights is heartwarming : […]
Read the rest of this entry »On being desi
Reading this post, I have mixed feelings. My own kids are yet small, but I’m pretty clear on the kind of knowledge I want them to have of their culture and on being desi. Because desi is what you are, born of 2 desi parents. I am Hindu but not really religious, which causes many […]
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