Thursday, November 24, 2005
Another whistleblower is blown off
India has taken the sacrifice of another bright son of her. Manunath's death, if anything, will make our youngster's more cynical in working for their ideals, that is if Satyendra Dubey's murder has not already driven them away from it.
BTW, it was surprising to see that Indian MSM has given more prominence to the killing of Raman Kutty in Afghanistan than to the killing of Manjunath. Even the PM is now forced to make a statement in the Parliament on the killing of Raman Kutty and he does not have to talk about Manjunath.
Dont get me wrong; I'm not saying that Raman Kutty was a mere driver and Manjunath an MBA from IIM. But I'm saying this because the killing of Manjunath is a bigger tragedy for two reasons: 1) He was a bright young fellow who had the courage to follow his principles 2) His killing was so much avoidable. But by focusing more on Raman Kutty's killing, we are probably blaming the Taliban/ISI and escaping from the hard realities of the fallacies of our own society.
Your work is to serve the poor and miserable, without distinction of caste or colour.
-Swami Vivekanda
India has taken the sacrifice of another bright son of her. Manunath's death, if anything, will make our youngster's more cynical in working for their ideals, that is if Satyendra Dubey's murder has not already driven them away from it.
BTW, it was surprising to see that Indian MSM has given more prominence to the killing of Raman Kutty in Afghanistan than to the killing of Manjunath. Even the PM is now forced to make a statement in the Parliament on the killing of Raman Kutty and he does not have to talk about Manjunath.
Dont get me wrong; I'm not saying that Raman Kutty was a mere driver and Manjunath an MBA from IIM. But I'm saying this because the killing of Manjunath is a bigger tragedy for two reasons: 1) He was a bright young fellow who had the courage to follow his principles 2) His killing was so much avoidable. But by focusing more on Raman Kutty's killing, we are probably blaming the Taliban/ISI and escaping from the hard realities of the fallacies of our own society.
Your work is to serve the poor and miserable, without distinction of caste or colour.
-Swami Vivekanda
How free is free?
Itz interesting how easily people advocate the concept of freedom of speech when they need to support the likes of Khushboo. I dont know what exactly Khushboo said, and in what context. However, that aside, does freedom of speech mean complete and uninhabited freedom? Will the same principle hold good if tomorrow somebody condones sati, or for that matter child sodomy?
Similar fundas were thrown to condemn a TamilNadu university ViceChancellor who imposed a dress code for college students. Again, I'm not supporting imposition of a dress code for college students, but to say that it hinges on their freedom, is not tenable. Does that mean that the VC needs to see the other side if somebody wears a bikini to college?
Once we agree that freedom of expression is not without any boundaries, then we can discuss where to draw the line. However, to argue for absolute freedom is not practical.
Help another because you are in him and he is in you.
-Swami Vivekananda
Itz interesting how easily people advocate the concept of freedom of speech when they need to support the likes of Khushboo. I dont know what exactly Khushboo said, and in what context. However, that aside, does freedom of speech mean complete and uninhabited freedom? Will the same principle hold good if tomorrow somebody condones sati, or for that matter child sodomy?
Similar fundas were thrown to condemn a TamilNadu university ViceChancellor who imposed a dress code for college students. Again, I'm not supporting imposition of a dress code for college students, but to say that it hinges on their freedom, is not tenable. Does that mean that the VC needs to see the other side if somebody wears a bikini to college?
Once we agree that freedom of expression is not without any boundaries, then we can discuss where to draw the line. However, to argue for absolute freedom is not practical.
Help another because you are in him and he is in you.
-Swami Vivekananda
Monday, November 21, 2005
Remixing time???
Let me begin this blog with a confession, at the cost of sounding old fashioned - I hate remixes. I'm appalled by the sheer numbers by which remixed albums are been churned out. However, even with with an anti-remix bias, two recent remixes that I happened to hear/see over the weekend still have me in awe.
Now, whoever can think of remixing a class song like Yaara Silli Silli - a gem of a song sung by the nightingale herself - and with more than a touch of sadness in it. Well, as it turns out, somebody has thought about it! And I was cursed to tune into Radio City the same time this song was playing.
Well, how about the song Dhafliwaale dhafli baja from the movie Sargam? One of the hits of its time, I happened to watch a crude and suggestive remix of this on TV. The only difference is that the director took the liberty to replace the dhafli (a kind of drum) with the butts of a shabbily clad dancer. I guess Laxmikanthji would be turning in his grave and Pyarelalji would be waiting for his turn!
There is only one remix song that I have liked till now - the remix of the Vishnuvardhan-Dwarkeesh song kAlavannu taDiyoru yAroo illa - in the Kannada movie Apthamitra. This was one remix that was done well, and extremely enjoyable, especially on the big screen.
Strong reasons make strong actions.
- Shakespeare
Let me begin this blog with a confession, at the cost of sounding old fashioned - I hate remixes. I'm appalled by the sheer numbers by which remixed albums are been churned out. However, even with with an anti-remix bias, two recent remixes that I happened to hear/see over the weekend still have me in awe.
Now, whoever can think of remixing a class song like Yaara Silli Silli - a gem of a song sung by the nightingale herself - and with more than a touch of sadness in it. Well, as it turns out, somebody has thought about it! And I was cursed to tune into Radio City the same time this song was playing.
Well, how about the song Dhafliwaale dhafli baja from the movie Sargam? One of the hits of its time, I happened to watch a crude and suggestive remix of this on TV. The only difference is that the director took the liberty to replace the dhafli (a kind of drum) with the butts of a shabbily clad dancer. I guess Laxmikanthji would be turning in his grave and Pyarelalji would be waiting for his turn!
There is only one remix song that I have liked till now - the remix of the Vishnuvardhan-Dwarkeesh song kAlavannu taDiyoru yAroo illa - in the Kannada movie Apthamitra. This was one remix that was done well, and extremely enjoyable, especially on the big screen.
Strong reasons make strong actions.
- Shakespeare
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Back in blogosphere
Itz been a long long time since I rocked and rolled, and I blogged! Well, the hibernation was induced by a combo of various factor - frequent connectivity disruptions, personal issues taking more time, etc.
But I did not miss any of the fantastic activity that was happening in the Indian blogosphere last month when Indian bloggers took on IIPM. The complete coverage can be had at Wikipedia! I cant think of how IIPM or itz great visionary Chaudhari can get out of this dirt. Bravo bloggers! This is probably the first expose of Indian bloggers, and I'm sure will go down in history as a path-breaking expose of an active community that did not get bogged down.
At the cost of repeating what other bloggers have said, blogs will never be an alternate for mainstream media. There may even be anti-climactic ends - like Nimish Advani. However, the IIPM expose has shown the power of the community.
Let us fear to negotiate, but let us not negotiate out of fear.
Itz been a long long time since I rocked and rolled, and I blogged! Well, the hibernation was induced by a combo of various factor - frequent connectivity disruptions, personal issues taking more time, etc.
But I did not miss any of the fantastic activity that was happening in the Indian blogosphere last month when Indian bloggers took on IIPM. The complete coverage can be had at Wikipedia! I cant think of how IIPM or itz great visionary Chaudhari can get out of this dirt. Bravo bloggers! This is probably the first expose of Indian bloggers, and I'm sure will go down in history as a path-breaking expose of an active community that did not get bogged down.
At the cost of repeating what other bloggers have said, blogs will never be an alternate for mainstream media. There may even be anti-climactic ends - like Nimish Advani. However, the IIPM expose has shown the power of the community.
Let us fear to negotiate, but let us not negotiate out of fear.
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since May 1, 2005