Random Musings..

Its been a while since I’ve posted…. actually, its been a while since I’ve logged in to this blog… partly, a very small part though, because its been an unusually busy time, but mostly on account of indiscipline and laziness! There, saying it absolves me, right? :o)

In the mean time, life, the universe and everything has been going along its lively pace. And there have been blips in the labyrinths of the mind that got thoroughly sqooshed by the laziness. Like for instance, Justice Patel’s remark on exploring the option of shifting the Siddhivinayak temple. And its only to be expected responses, including the predictable one from the Shiv Sena, the only unusual part being that the response came from the cub & not the tiger. Personally, I appreciate the judge’s willingness to state the unspeakable. I’m not so sure about shifting the temple, but I’m utterly convinced that the wall should be demolished and the nonsense about security should be completely trashed. The wall to me is a symbol of greedy, petty and power-hungry human beings who in their arrogance choose to believe that divinity needs police protection. Read some of the responses in the link above, you’ll find the whole gamut :o)

I happened to watch the T20 final between India and Pakistan - the alternative was to get drunk senseless, given the amount of noise from houses all around…. it was an almost-eerie contrast - empty roads, and waves of sound from practically every house! And found that I enjoyed the experience; most of all, it was great playing, with both sides playing as teams and not the usual ‘the stars fall and the rest of the team simply collapses’ style of the Indian side. The Indian captain took some fairly risky calls, some of which paid off brilliantly, while the others didn’t. So while I was certainly happy that India won, there was a point where it didn’t matter at all, and I was cheering Misbah’s batting skills… didn’t exactly make me popular with the crowd who was watching, I must confess :o)

I wonder what the Pakistan captain meant when he apologized to the ‘Muslims of the world’ for losing. Were the Pathan brothers, Shahrukh Khan and masses of other Indian Muslims who cheered for their country disappointed that Pakistan lost? The only thought that flickered in was a sense of pride that the Indian team composition is so secular. Its apparently the same with the English & Sri Lankan teams as well. Nuff said.

How about the hullabaloo over the Adam’s Bridge / Ram Setu? The CongI make asses of themselves, Karunanidhi behaves like a drunken gorilla in a Swarovski shop and the Hindu brigade…. nauseatingly disgusting as always. How about some discussion on the ecological impact of the proposed throughfare? Who benefits and how, and at what cost? All of that seems to get swept away in religious saber-rattling. My opinion of our political class continues its free-fall into subterrenean labyrinths…. and check out the excellent collection of articles on the issue on the Outlook India site.

I was on the highway yesterday morning and ran into the boys in blue….. quite literally. The traffic was jammed up for a kilometer towards Andheri, and god alone knows how long it was piled in the opposite direction. I’d thought that the pelting rain would make the reception committee change their plans, but it was unaltered, and I thought it was very sporting of the team to be on the open-top bus in the downpour, waving away to the incredible crowd that was waiting for them. Good show you chaps, keep up the sporting spirit.

Sharad Pawar and his loathsome party, and the rest of the political class have so much to learn that they probably never will. The posters on the highway hailed Pawar for the victory….. I even saw one where there was a small shot of the cricket team at the center (I’m guessing, it was too tiny to make out) and Pawar & Co. all over. Saw in the news that barring the captain, the team was relegated to the back rows at the reception organized - for the victors! The crowds must’ve been ecstatic to see the corpulent politicians lining the front-row…. after all, its because of them that the team won, wouldn’t you agree?

And an instance that establishes that the most serious dark cloud can have a tiny humorous silver lining:

Sycophants as OBC? Then most of India is backward, says apex court
Those present in the courtroom listening to serious arguments on the validity of the 27% OBC quota law were in splits on Wednesday after the Centre said traditional sycophants, who used to sing in praise of the kings, were also included in the backward class list. If sycophancy as a traditional occupation could make one qualify as a backward community, then the majority in India was backward and needed reservation, a bench headed by the CJI said.
“If there is an Olympics for sycophants, then no other country dare compete with India,” Justice Arijit Pasayat said.
An advocate said a community in Karnataka, who had expertise in circulating counterfeit coins, had also been given the backward class status. TNN

From ‘OBC quota law is like Caesar’s wife’; It Is Above Suspicion, Central Govt Tells SC, Brushing Aside Claims of Votebank Politics in Times Of India, Bombay Edition.

I was rolling around laughing when I saw the story headline, so the bit above was completely bonus! :o)