Reflections

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/CBI-honour-for-Pak-ISI-s-founder-member/Article1-1036365.aspx CBI honour for Pak ISI’s founder-member - Hindustan Times The CBI - an Indian body  -will bestow an honour on its ex-director. Lovely, and thoughtful. Except that the same gentleman was also the founder member of the ISI after independence. Great, isnt it? Secondly, the CBI is honouring the british-era ex-director; 66 years after independence. Why, may I ask? Where was the need to do so? Or is it that the colonial hangover still exists? Or is there some deeper reason? Ok, you want to honour your ex-directors; you can decide to honour all directors since independence. Where is the need to honour British era officials? And where is the guarantee that the British era officials did not target and hunt freedom fighters? The article glibly states that the CBI was set up to investigate wartime crimes in the War and Supply Department. But can anyone guarantee that ...

This is the fifth article on the cutlure series Video 1:  Video 2:  I have nothing against either performer in the above videos. The above is used as just an example to drive home my point; I could have used any other 2 performers.  My point is simple:  In 30 or 40 years, we have moved from side-heroines or professional exotic dancers performing item numbers, showing skin by wearing hot dresses or 2-pieces in suggestive hot dances - to frontline heroines doing the precise same roles...  remember , the performers above do it as people  watch it and accept it - and appreciate it. The above is a mirror of  society... like it or not.  This is progress?  THIS is progress? Your decision, your call.

Kejriwal's fast against inflated bills enters second day - Hindustan Times This little tit-bit of news is tellingly absent from any other news website as at 6:38 pm today. It can be seen only on Hindustan Times... link above.  For the rest, I had to do a  search... DNA:  Arvind Kejriwal's fast against increased power, water bills enters second day TOI:  Kejriwal's indefinite fast in Delhi indianexpress.com Arvind Kejriwal's fast against inflated bills enters second day More importantly, India has moved on... Corruption? Chaltaa hai.  Bribe? Ok. No problem This precise same attitude can be seen in each and every case that has happened in living memory... AMRI file case. Remember that? What happened afterwards? Were the guilty punished? What steps have been implemented by various state governments and the central government to ensure mandatory fire-safety equipment and procedures in buildings? There has been a...

This is the fourth article in the culture series Disclaimer: I have used Hindu examples, as I am a Hindu myself; I have observed similar nuances in friends from other religions as well. This is in no way meant to hurt anyone's religious feelings I have been vehemently arguing that western mores are making inroads into our society; that the impact of "westernism" (to coin a new term in the Indian context), is a felt and real impact. That much is unfortunately true. But, as always, there are 2 sides to every coin. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, something which applies to just about everything in life. In this article, I take a look at some heartening trends from Modern India that belie the hopeless tone of my previous articles. The objective is to give a balanced view of the Indian cultural scenario.  There is an increasing prevalence and impact of Hollywood movies, western dresses, English complex, Western art, Television, Food, Lifetsyle...

Becoming Indian: The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity Pavan K Varma The author is a member of the Indian Foreign Service, and has served in Moscow, New York, United Nations, London, Cypress. He is at present India's Ambassador to Bhutan As usual, I will start the review with  an excerpt, which should make at least the more discerning reader sit up and take notice; an excerpt that accurately diagnoses the rising tide of fundamentalism that is raising its head even  in Hinduism... Excerpt: Even as the complex and deeply problematic legacies of colonialism continue to shape our world, we are faced with the equally complex effects of globalisation which now appears irreversible. It is imperative, therefore, that those at the receiving end of the often imperceptible project of co-option preserve and reassert their cultural identity. Nations and peoples that do not will be relentlessly homogenised. However, this very process will unleash huge tens...

Won't leave India till asked to leave, says Italian envoy | NDTV.com www.ndtv.com  ›  All India Share 6 days ago – New Delhi: Italian Ambassador to India, Daniele Mancini, has said ... "I will not leave this country till a competent authority makes me a persona non grata," A tell-tale statement by the Italian Envoy... it seems to me from the statement above that the Italian strategy had banked on a tame Indian response, and a declaration of the envoy as a persona non grata, and a few diplomatic noises by India.. followed by normalcy after a period of a few months. An acceptable risk, one would have thought - under normal circumstances But... Circumstances in India are at the moment anything but normal, as anyone with a keen observation should have known - especially considering the nation in question: Italy. This opens up the vista of a very disturbing possibility: that Italy (and by extension Europe as a whole) has little understanding of the internal dy...

The second article on culture... (the below stands true for every Indian Language; I am using Hindi and Marathi since they are the languages I speak) I am a person schooled in 3 languages: English, Hindi and Marathi. My language of choice is English; followed by Marathi and Hindi. Marathi is my mother tongue; but I am furthest from it. I am fluent in Marathi - more than in Hindi, in fact; but it is still my third language, behind the other 2. This post stands despite the above facts, and is in fact borne out of the above. My first tryst with  language was in college, when I studied language groups and the origins of language as a hobby. Thereafter, along the line of a career, my hobbies got lost: Language, Reading, Dramatics, Culture etc... and life just became too fast paced. The initial flame was lit during my sojourn as a visiting faculty of Brand and Advertising Management, when I came in touch with SPIC-MACAY, and began attending cultural dos again - after a gap of...