BJP and obscene western music

Seems like this world is going to hell!!(So am I.. But who cares?) Every day I see the news about climate change disrupting the normal living of people all around the world. News paper reading is a tough task these days. Yesterday, in the opinion page of 'the hindu', I saw the picture of an African child affected with malnutrition. It's condition was so pathetic that I couldn't think of anything else for the next two hours.

But the news on Indian politics do provide some relief. BJP has promised the people of Hariana that the party will ban obscene western music, if elected. This statement was in their election manifesto and when a party spokesperson was asked about this, he failed to define what obscene western music was. A few more questions, and he was totally exasperated. He said that the party is not going to win the elections, so, why make a big fuss about what ever is said in their election manifesto.. Well.. This is hilarious isn't it? I had a good laugh over it..

BJP will have to ban item numbers in Bollywood before they ban western music. They will have to conduct a meeting and sort out the difference between obscene and decent western music.

Do things like this happen only in Indian politics?

Hysteria

I want my head to burst into pieces, I want my eyes to get swollen out of sleeplessness, and I want to have a dream, in which an elephant would try to catch me. Dream, well.. what a beautiful word that is.. Once, I dreamt of dining with the duke of Venice, and as soon as I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in the sewage.

Okay.. Okay.. chill...chill.. Everything is under control. Some sort of hysteria is pervading through the walls of my brain.

Oho.. What am I typing about? I started this blog, anticipating it to be an update about what is going on in my life. But, it turned another way. Thank God, this ain't a popular blog. Otherwise, the readers would have shot me dead for posting meaningless stuff like this.

Am at the office, working on this public holiday. No, no.. Don't mistake it to be the diligence concerning my work. Of course, if you know me well, you are not gonna think that way.I'll take leave on a working day instead of this.

At last, Pakistan has started to take actions in order to suppress terrorism. (At least, it looks that way..). It was an audacious thing to do, because the Government will have to take a lot of blame from inside their country, for being swayed by the pressure from India.

I am so thrilled to hear that Chetan Bhagat's new book is going to get released on October 8th. Currently, am reading Life of Pi, winner of the Man Booker prize, 2002. Hope to finish it soon.

The reluctant fundamentalist - Mohsin Hameed

This book, which found a place in the short list for Man Booker prize 2007, is a portrayal of how a Pakistani Muslim's life changes after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The story begins as the author, guides An American tourist, along the streets of Lahore. The author describes his story to the tourist as they have food together from a road side restaurant.

The author did his graduation from Princeton University in New York and he acquired a high paid job there itself. He fell in love with an American girl, Erica, during his Princeton days. But, Erica was a girl who had lost her lover, who was also her childhood companion. Her love towards Chris, was so strong and true that she could not accept the truth that he was no more, even several years after his death took place.

Erica liked the author, but it was not possible for her give away the space in her heart that was once occupied by Chris. At one occasion, author and Erica tried to have sex with each other, but she failed to get aroused. She confessed that it has been always like that ever since Chris died.

Erica believed that Chris was not gone yet and her mind refused to accept the truth. She found more pleasure in living with Chris, in a virtual world created in her mind. Gradually, she withdrew from all social activities.

By that time, the 9/11 attacks had taken place. It totally changed the way Americans looked at Muslims. The author had a beard and it made people look at him suspiciously. He had to face abuses from people walking along the road. Some of them turned hostile at him. He was deeply upset by all these. As a consequence of the terrorist attacks, American army invaded Afghanisthan, a muslim dominated country. The author couldn't help questioning the righteousness of the Americans.

After a few months, terrorists attacked the Indian parliament. india turned belligerent on Pakistan and a war was on the cards. The author was very unhappy because India was threatening his homeland. (That's the only place where I had to disagree with the author. It's difficult for any country to watch it's parliament being attacked and do nothing.. isn't it?). He got distracted from his work because of all these, and also due to Erica's matter.

By that time, Erica had gone away to a distant place so that she could live alone with the thoughts about Chris. The author got fired from his company and he had to go back to Pakistan. He went to meet Erica for te last time, but she had gone missing.

Hearing the whole story, the American started to be a bit suspicious. But the author proudly declares that all pakistanis are not terrorists just like all Americans are not under cover assassins.

Brilliant, according to me. It got straight away into my favorite list.

Back to work..

Em back at office today, after the onam vacation. This Onam was pretty special and unforgettable for me. My Dad, Mom, Sis and Bro in law were all at home. And that was a very rare thing to happen.

I couldn't find much time for reading and all. Eating, sleeping and chatting with relatives stole most of my time. Completed reading 'The reluctant fundamentalist' by Mohsin Hameed. I loved the book. It has got into my favorite list straight away.

Started reading 'The secret' by Rhonda Byrne. At first, I was under the impression that It's just another inspirational book. But later, I felt that it is somewhat different. The whole book is based on a single, small, concept. Back

Cat, Jmet, Xat etc. are on the way. I have had hardly any time to prepare since I joined for job. And I can't expect any of these exams to be a cakewalk. Let me try and do my best..

The Inscrutable Americans - Anurag Mathur

The American way of living is totally different from ours. What if someone from a small Indian town visits US, and stays there for one year? How will he cope up with the Americans, who, according to him, seems to be highly mysterious in their way of behavior? That's what the author is trying to describe in this fun filled novel.

Gopal, whose family owns a hair oil factory, and who wants to be a part of the same business, is going to America for doing a diploma in Chemical engineering. His foolishness and disastrous English, made him run into a lot of trouble. He got an American friend, Randy, who was totally amazed by the fact that Gopal was still a virgin. Randy was so keen to destroy Gopal's virginity but it was not an easy task for him.

Gopal was tried to stick to the instructions given by his grand mother, and he searched for a restaurent where the cook was a brahmin. Obviously, he couldn't find one and later, he found himself eating beef, without knowing what it was. The American life and the friendship with Randy changed him so much that he started to drink beer and go to late night parties. Towards the end of his course, he was entirely transformed and he was desperate to lose his virginity. His best idea to impress a girl was to take his certificate along with him and to show her his grades. At last, he ended up fucking an Indian lady during his flight back to India.

The story is just about average, according to me. Even though there are a lot of humorous occasions through out the story, all of them lack a genuineness. Gopal's transformation seemed too quick and slightly unbelievable.