Saturday, June 25, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Raat hans hans kar yeh kahti hai ke maikhane mein chal,.
Phir kisi shahnaaz lala rukh ke kaashaane mein chal,
Yeh nahin mumkin tau phir ai dost weeane mein chal;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
Har taraf bikhri hui rangeenian , ranaaian,
Har qadam par ishraten leti hui angraaian,
Barh rahi hain god phailae hue ruswaaine;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
Raaste mein ruk ke dam le loon miri aadat nahin,
Laut kar waapis chala jaaon miri fitrat nahin;
Aur koi humnawa mil jaae yeh qismat nahin;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
Muntezir hai ek toofan-e-bala mere lieye,
Ab bhi jaane kitne darwaaze hain waa mere lieye;
Par museebat hai mira ahd-e-wafa mere lieye;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
Phir kisi shahnaaz lala rukh ke kaashaane mein chal,
Yeh nahin mumkin tau phir ai dost weeane mein chal;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
Har taraf bikhri hui rangeenian , ranaaian,
Har qadam par ishraten leti hui angraaian,
Barh rahi hain god phailae hue ruswaaine;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
Raaste mein ruk ke dam le loon miri aadat nahin,
Laut kar waapis chala jaaon miri fitrat nahin;
Aur koi humnawa mil jaae yeh qismat nahin;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
Muntezir hai ek toofan-e-bala mere lieye,
Ab bhi jaane kitne darwaaze hain waa mere lieye;
Par museebat hai mira ahd-e-wafa mere lieye;
Ai ghum-e-dil kya karoon, ai wahshat-e-dil kya karoon?
faani
karavaa.N guzaraa kiyaa ham rahaguzar dekhaa kiye
har qadam par naqsh-e-paa raahabar dekhaa kiye
[rahaguzar=path; naqsh-e-paa=footprints; raahabar=guide]
yaas jab chhaaii ummiide.n haath mal kar rah gaii.n
dil kii nabaze.n chhuT gayii.n aur chaaraagar dekhaa kiye
[yaas=despair; nabaz=pulse; chaara-gar=healer]
ruKh merii jaanib nigaah-e-lutf dushman kii taraf
yuu.N udhar dekhaa kiye goyaa idhar dekhaa kiye
dard ma.ndaan-e-vafaa kii haaye re majabuuriyaa.N
dard-e-dil dekhaa na jaataa thaa magar dekhaa kiye
[ma.nd=in need]
tuu kahaa.N thii ai ajal ai naamuraado.n kii muraad
maranevaale raah terii umar bhar dekha kiye
[ajal=death; muraad=desire]
har qadam par naqsh-e-paa raahabar dekhaa kiye
[rahaguzar=path; naqsh-e-paa=footprints; raahabar=guide]
yaas jab chhaaii ummiide.n haath mal kar rah gaii.n
dil kii nabaze.n chhuT gayii.n aur chaaraagar dekhaa kiye
[yaas=despair; nabaz=pulse; chaara-gar=healer]
ruKh merii jaanib nigaah-e-lutf dushman kii taraf
yuu.N udhar dekhaa kiye goyaa idhar dekhaa kiye
dard ma.ndaan-e-vafaa kii haaye re majabuuriyaa.N
dard-e-dil dekhaa na jaataa thaa magar dekhaa kiye
[ma.nd=in need]
tuu kahaa.N thii ai ajal ai naamuraado.n kii muraad
maranevaale raah terii umar bhar dekha kiye
[ajal=death; muraad=desire]
Faraz
dgrh gS jkgs xqtj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks
cgqr dM+k gS lQ+j FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
reke mez dgkWa dksbZ lkFk nsrk gS
;s tkurk gWaw exj&FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
u'ks esa pwj gWaw eSa Hkh rEgsa Hkh gks'k ugha
cM+k et+k gks vxj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
;s ,d 'kqc dh eqykdkr Hkh xuher gS
fdls gS dy dh [k+cj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
vHkh rks tkx jgs gSa fpjkx jkgksa ds
vHkh gS nwj lgj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
rokQ+ eft+ysa tkuk gesa Hkh djuk gS
Q+jkt+ rqe Hkh vxj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
dgrh gS jkgs xqtj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks
cgqr dM+k gS lQ+j FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
reke mez dgkWa dksbZ lkFk nsrk gS
;s tkurk gWaw exj&FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
u'ks esa pwj gWaw eSa Hkh rEgsa Hkh gks'k ugha
cM+k et+k gks vxj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
;s ,d 'kqc dh eqykdkr Hkh xuher gS
fdls gS dy dh [k+cj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
vHkh rks tkx jgs gSa fpjkx jkgksa ds
vHkh gS nwj lgj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
rokQ+ eft+ysa tkuk gesa Hkh djuk gS
Q+jkt+ rqe Hkh vxj FkksM+h nwj lkFk pyks !
fraz
qCp¾
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN-onËäo}ä íOèÆ
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN - p¿v}ä C{Æ PèF
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àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pËÖ ÝàäDOÚDV æë
ÞìèÚ yàä íåFÞìè×N íåFÞìÖ Ýàä oàZÞìÖ}¡Ú
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåNpÊC àä CrÖ C{F
}ä P×ìÛº íåF MDÂÔÖ íÆ fG¤ÈëC æë
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pGh íÆ ÐÆ}ä}wÆ
}Æ ÝàäCo ¹CpZ Þìä}äo ÉDV àN íåFC
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pev oßk}ä íåFC
}ä DÚpÆ íåFÞì×ä ÝDÚDV ÍrÛÖ ½Cà¬
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pÊC íåF ØN qCp¾
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN-onËäo}ä íOèÆ
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN - p¿v}ä C{Æ PèF
}äDOëk åNDv íñàÆÝDèÆ p×µ ÕD×N
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pËÖ ÝàäDOÚDV æë
ÞìèÚ yàä íåFÞìè×N íåFÞìÖ Ýàä oàZÞìÖ}¡Ú
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåNpÊC àä CrÖ C{F
}ä P×ìÛº íåF MDÂÔÖ íÆ fG¤ÈëC æë
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pGh íÆ ÐÆ}ä}wÆ
}Æ ÝàäCo ¹CpZ Þìä}äo ÉDV àN íåFC
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pev oßk}ä íåFC
}ä DÚpÆ íåFÞì×ä ÝDÚDV ÍrÛÖ ½Cà¬
àÏZ åNDv oßk ê'àåN pÊC íåF ØN qCp¾
Monday, May 30, 2011
Deconstruction Site
Deconstruction SiteFriday, April 01, 2011
No one every got bent when I burned a copy of Hesiod's Theogony
Afghan Mob Kills 10 United Nations Workers By ROD NORDLAND Published: April 1, 2011 KABUL, Afghanistan — Thousands of demonstrators angered over the burning of a Koran in Florida mobbed offices of the United Nations in northern Afghanistan on Friday, overrunning the compound and killing at least seven foreign staff workers, according to an Afghan officials. There were conflicting reports of the total number of people killed and whether two of the victims had been beheaded. Five Afghans were also reported killed. The incident began when thousands of protesters poured out of the Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif after Friday prayers and attacked the nearby headquarters of the United Nations, according to Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, spokesman for Gen. Daoud Daoud, the Afghan National Police commander for northern Afghanistan. After disarming or shooting the United Nations compound’s guards, the crowd surged inside. Mr. Ahmadzai said that eight of the foreign staff workers, whose nationalities were not known immediately, were killed by gunfire, and that two others were captured by the mob and beheaded. Other reports said that the operations center was burned down as well. The governor of Balkh Province, Atta Mohammad Noor, said that seven United Nations employees were killed in all, five Nepali security guards and two European international staff, one of them a woman. He said earlier reports of beheadings were unfounded; all of the victims were shot. The crowd, which he estimated at 20,000, overwhelmed police forces and the United Nations security guards, and the weapons they used in the attack may have been those they seized from the United Nations guards, he said. Gen. Abdul Raouf Taj, the deputy police commander for Balkh Province, where Mazar-i-Sharif is located, put the death toll at eight foreign staff workers and said there had not been any beheadings. The attack was carried out by “thousands of people,” he said. “Police tried to stop them, but protesters began stoning the building and finally the situation got out of control.” A spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Kieran Dwyer, said the attack had occurred during a demonstration. “We can confirm there have been casualties, including U.N. personnel, but the situation on the ground remains very confusing,” he said. The casualties included some deaths, he added, but could not give a number or the nationalities of the victims. Mirwais Rabi, director of the public health hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, said 20 wounded Afghan civilians and five dead Afghan civilians were brought to the hospital in all. Mr. Ahmadzai, the police spokesman, said the demonstrators were angry about the burning of the Koran at the church of Pastor Terry Jones on Mar. 20. Mr. Jones had caused an international uproar by threatening to burn the Koran last year on the anniversary of the Septe. 11 attacks, and demonstrations at the time led to deaths throughout Afghanistan, but on a small scale. Mr. Jones subsequently had publicly promised not to burn a Koran, but then presided over a mock trial and the burning of the Koran at his small fringe church in Gainesville, Fla. Fran Ingram, an assistant at the Dove World Outreach Center, in Gainsville, Fla., said that the church had burned the Koran after a ceremony on March 20. “We put the Koran on trial and we did burn it,” she said. Ms. Ingram said she and other church members were no more concerned about their safety than before the burning and the killings of the United Nations workers in Afghanistan. “We have a huge stack of death threats,” she said. “We take precautions. I have a handgun. A lot of us have concealed weapons permits. We’re a small church and we don’t have money to hire security.” After news of the attack, Mr. Jones, released a statement expressing no regret for the Koran burning. He called the attack on the compound “a very tragic and criminal action” and called on the United States and the United Nations to take action. “The time has come to hold Islam accountable,” he said. A prominent Afghan cleric, Mullavi Qyamudin Kashaf, acting chief of the Ulema Council of Afghanistan, called for American authorities to arrest and try Mr. Jones as a war criminal. The Ulema Council recently met to discuss the Koran burning, he said. “We expressed our deep concerns about this act and we were expecting the violence that we are witnessing now,” Mr. Kashaf said. “Unless they try him and give him the highest possible punishment, we will witness violence and protests not only in Afghanistan but in the entire world.” Last year, even though Mr. Jones called off his burning of the Koran, a subsequent wave of protests at NATO facilities in Afghanistan led to at least five deaths. In several of those incidents, Taliban agitators played a role, allegedly spreading rumors that the Koran burning had taken place. However, the Taliban have had little or no presence in Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the most peaceful places in Afghanistan. The Koran burning at Mr. Jones’ church this time drew little attention worldwide, with only sporadic protests in the 12 days since it took place. In other Afghan developments, six American soldiers have been killed in a single operation in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday and Thursday, a spokesman for the international coalition said Friday. “I can confirm that six coalition soldiers have been identified as US soldiers, and were all killed as part of the same operation, but in three separate incidents,” said Maj. Tim James. The operation, a helicopter borne assault into a remote part of Kunar Province close to the Pakistani border, was ongoing. The area is frequently used to infiltrate fighters from Pakistan. The purpose of the operation, Maj. James said, was to “disrupt insurgent operations.” The governor of Kunar Province, Said Fazlullah Wahidi, said the operation began Wednesday as a joint Afghan and American air and ground operation in the districts of Sarkani and Marawara, close to the border of Pakistan. He said that 14 insurgents were killed and 10 wounded, but had no information about Afghan government casualties.
Labels: Civil Religion, Irrationality, Islam, Violence
posted by publius @ 2:42 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
No one every got bent when I burned a copy of Hesiod's Theogony
Afghan Mob Kills 10 United Nations Workers By ROD NORDLAND Published: April 1, 2011 KABUL, Afghanistan — Thousands of demonstrators angered over the burning of a Koran in Florida mobbed offices of the United Nations in northern Afghanistan on Friday, overrunning the compound and killing at least seven foreign staff workers, according to an Afghan officials. There were conflicting reports of the total number of people killed and whether two of the victims had been beheaded. Five Afghans were also reported killed. The incident began when thousands of protesters poured out of the Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif after Friday prayers and attacked the nearby headquarters of the United Nations, according to Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, spokesman for Gen. Daoud Daoud, the Afghan National Police commander for northern Afghanistan. After disarming or shooting the United Nations compound’s guards, the crowd surged inside. Mr. Ahmadzai said that eight of the foreign staff workers, whose nationalities were not known immediately, were killed by gunfire, and that two others were captured by the mob and beheaded. Other reports said that the operations center was burned down as well. The governor of Balkh Province, Atta Mohammad Noor, said that seven United Nations employees were killed in all, five Nepali security guards and two European international staff, one of them a woman. He said earlier reports of beheadings were unfounded; all of the victims were shot. The crowd, which he estimated at 20,000, overwhelmed police forces and the United Nations security guards, and the weapons they used in the attack may have been those they seized from the United Nations guards, he said. Gen. Abdul Raouf Taj, the deputy police commander for Balkh Province, where Mazar-i-Sharif is located, put the death toll at eight foreign staff workers and said there had not been any beheadings. The attack was carried out by “thousands of people,” he said. “Police tried to stop them, but protesters began stoning the building and finally the situation got out of control.” A spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Kieran Dwyer, said the attack had occurred during a demonstration. “We can confirm there have been casualties, including U.N. personnel, but the situation on the ground remains very confusing,” he said. The casualties included some deaths, he added, but could not give a number or the nationalities of the victims. Mirwais Rabi, director of the public health hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, said 20 wounded Afghan civilians and five dead Afghan civilians were brought to the hospital in all. Mr. Ahmadzai, the police spokesman, said the demonstrators were angry about the burning of the Koran at the church of Pastor Terry Jones on Mar. 20. Mr. Jones had caused an international uproar by threatening to burn the Koran last year on the anniversary of the Septe. 11 attacks, and demonstrations at the time led to deaths throughout Afghanistan, but on a small scale. Mr. Jones subsequently had publicly promised not to burn a Koran, but then presided over a mock trial and the burning of the Koran at his small fringe church in Gainesville, Fla. Fran Ingram, an assistant at the Dove World Outreach Center, in Gainsville, Fla., said that the church had burned the Koran after a ceremony on March 20. “We put the Koran on trial and we did burn it,” she said. Ms. Ingram said she and other church members were no more concerned about their safety than before the burning and the killings of the United Nations workers in Afghanistan. “We have a huge stack of death threats,” she said. “We take precautions. I have a handgun. A lot of us have concealed weapons permits. We’re a small church and we don’t have money to hire security.” After news of the attack, Mr. Jones, released a statement expressing no regret for the Koran burning. He called the attack on the compound “a very tragic and criminal action” and called on the United States and the United Nations to take action. “The time has come to hold Islam accountable,” he said. A prominent Afghan cleric, Mullavi Qyamudin Kashaf, acting chief of the Ulema Council of Afghanistan, called for American authorities to arrest and try Mr. Jones as a war criminal. The Ulema Council recently met to discuss the Koran burning, he said. “We expressed our deep concerns about this act and we were expecting the violence that we are witnessing now,” Mr. Kashaf said. “Unless they try him and give him the highest possible punishment, we will witness violence and protests not only in Afghanistan but in the entire world.” Last year, even though Mr. Jones called off his burning of the Koran, a subsequent wave of protests at NATO facilities in Afghanistan led to at least five deaths. In several of those incidents, Taliban agitators played a role, allegedly spreading rumors that the Koran burning had taken place. However, the Taliban have had little or no presence in Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the most peaceful places in Afghanistan. The Koran burning at Mr. Jones’ church this time drew little attention worldwide, with only sporadic protests in the 12 days since it took place. In other Afghan developments, six American soldiers have been killed in a single operation in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday and Thursday, a spokesman for the international coalition said Friday. “I can confirm that six coalition soldiers have been identified as US soldiers, and were all killed as part of the same operation, but in three separate incidents,” said Maj. Tim James. The operation, a helicopter borne assault into a remote part of Kunar Province close to the Pakistani border, was ongoing. The area is frequently used to infiltrate fighters from Pakistan. The purpose of the operation, Maj. James said, was to “disrupt insurgent operations.” The governor of Kunar Province, Said Fazlullah Wahidi, said the operation began Wednesday as a joint Afghan and American air and ground operation in the districts of Sarkani and Marawara, close to the border of Pakistan. He said that 14 insurgents were killed and 10 wounded, but had no information about Afghan government casualties.
Labels: Civil Religion, Irrationality, Islam, Violence
posted by publius @ 2:42 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Ravi ki duniya
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
ONE (SLIPPER) IS NOT ENOUGH
Legislative bodies have vital importance in a democracy. They have, if nothing else, immense educative value for all those who care. Hitherto, hurling shoes and slippers (S&S) was the prerogative of the legislators. Our legislators are our role models in more ways than one. We so very readily and eagerly adapted and in no time became well-versed in the art and science of S&S hurling. It is said, it’s Science if the results are same every time irrespective of time and place. A shoe hurled at Chidamabaram did hit the target right in bull’s eye and Tytler bit the dust. Kalmadi may lament and justifiably so, that why just one slipper, of what use is one, why not a pair. Had it been a pair, he could have sold and made some more money out of this ‘individual’ event. Now that is what I call sportsman spirit. He may still be feeling sad, for while it was for the entire World to watch Bush, Omar and Chidamabaram being hurled at costly and branded shoes, poor Kalmadi had to be contended with ‘cheap chappal’. Now this is what I call I to I (Insult to Injury).
A great feature of this Government OF the people and FOR the people is that people are at LIBERTY to curse, use and abuse each other. This is what is called EQUALITY and FRATERNITY, two great hallmarks in the evolution of mankind in human history. Anthropologists will tend to agree with me there. It is people’s right and duty both at the same time to curse and criticize, to use and abuse. What a novel concept called Democracy, Greeks gave us.Its various facets and nuances are still Greek to us. Whether shoe hurling is a science or art may remain debatable till the topic is shunned and shooed away by the ‘intellectuals’. Everyone agrees that Democracy is an art – art of hair splitting ‘splitocracy’. Keep splitting the trivia, so that people are kept busy and hence, off the scent from real issues. Kalmadi may still feel hurt... why just me… why not that Kill Bill Gill, not even She La and why spare that LG (not the tv brand). If you say it is a scam involving billions than each of billion plus citizens of India (NRIs included) have a right and sacred duty too, to not just ‘hurl’ but bash up with the slippers or shoes as the case may be. A nation of billion plus people and just one lone slipper, no sense of ratio-proportion at all. Are we that poor in Three Rs ( Reebok, Red Chief & Relaxo).
We the people of India pride ourselves in being intellectuals. Being intellectual is different than being man of intellect, while the latter are few and far between hence, needed to be protected and prodded like Himalayan Panda, the former are parasites that live off our ignorance and indifference. Look at the poor guy! Who started selling salted grams in post independent India. We all pounced upon him and scolded him to educate his kids. He thought, if nothing else, he will be able to save his future generation from selling salted grams and bribing cops from Marine Drive to Marina Beach and Victoria Memorial to India Gate. How naïve of him. His educated son has no employment and refuses to sell gram. He is no illiterate so why should he be selling grams. Education has singularly taught us one thing from Rann off Kuchh to Sundarbans and from Kashmir to Kovalam --- hate manual labour. So, we the people of India, too educated to sell grams have become arm chair/ drawing room critiques – a forte of intellectuals.
India has all along been jeopardized, harmed and corrupted hollow by this so-called educated class. The simple toiler who lives off his sweat still remains a simpleton, honest and God fearing. Why just God fearing he breathes under constant fear of society, Gotra, Khaps, ‘what others will say’ and last but not the least his ‘conscience’. On the contrary the educated suave, articulate homo-sapiens is the devil who devours what he fancies/ sets his eyes on. He is so very game for every scam, cheating and embezzlement. To him, bribe is sweet as bride to his ears and eyes. Ever ready for sweet indulgence and get away. For you and me, India is our mother land, for him, her included, its not mother land rather a plot of land whose records can be tempered, FSI enhanced adding floor after floors and a sky-scrapper constructed.
Be it 2G, KarGil (Adarsh), Games (Commonwealth) all are the illegitimate offspring born out of the incestuous alliance of educated elites. Poor Bharat still lives on pavement and has stray dogs for company enabling you to turn your head other way in sophisticated snobbery wrinkling your nose and snaring with right tinge “the country is going to/gone to dogs”.
‘Savior with the Slipper’ is our poor men’s Gladiator with Excalibur. Critiques sprung and wasted no time in issuing condemnation – in democracy other than wearing there is no room / use for slippers or shoes. It is nothing but slipper assassination er ... character (?) assassination of a sports lover. Calling poor Kalmadi The Sports Czar is so very fascist. Whoever said the World loves the lover. I find on the contrary the world hates this sports lover and wants to beat him not in steeple chase but with chappals, shoes, hockey sticks, and finally with baton, Queen’s or otherwise. But the omnipotent statesman of his stature hardly gets ruffled by such petty misplaced bravados. For him, these are merely childish pranks. More so, when this lonely chappal could not come anywhere near his splendid aura, leave alone touching / hitting him. He is beyond all slippers and shoes. Remember the benediction Hirankashyap had received. Gods had blessed and assured him that neither man nor beast will be able to kill him, he will not be killed during day or night, he will not be killed on earth or in sky. So is our man, no less than Hirankashyap. No prison. No penalty. No police. No politician. He is above P-4. None will ever be able to reach His Holiness… the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful.
I am saddened beyond words by the utterance of people including the ones in authority who are going around ‘loose talking’ that Kapil Thakur (The S-3 – Shining Star of Slipper) is having disturbed mental balance. So very mean! Dear countrymen, among we the 120 crore people of India, I find he is the ONLY ONE having right mental balance. If you call him mentally disturbed or mad I wish and pray to the Almighty O God ! pray give us 120 crore the same mental disturbance, the same madness. We too have slippers rather are left with slippers alone, rest everything else is taken away by successive governments in new and newer taxes. God, if this is Adarsh (ideal model) save us from Adarsh, if this is Raja… give us ‘Rank’ (pauper) and if this is the 'Game', let us not host / watch any. We are not yet ready for this ‘Demonocracy’.
Did I hear Kalmadi say…. “Thaam mee yeto ! baraa!”
==
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 11:33 PM 1 comments
Thursday, April 28, 2011
एक चप्पल से मेरा क्या होगा
सदन का लोकशाही में शैक्षिक महत्व होता है. जो चप्पल-जूते अभी तक सदन में चला करते थे अब वे सदन के बाहर भी आन पहुँचे हैं. कलमाडी जी को यह ग़म हो सकता है कि एक ही चप्पल क्यूँ मारी. दोनों तो मारते. और कुछ नहीं तो इन्हें बेच कर कुछ मुनाफा और कमाया जा सकता था. या फिर उन्हें यह रंज भी हो सकता है कि बुश, उमर और चिदमबरंम को तो महंगे वाले जूते फेंक कर मारे थे और मुझे बस सस्ती सी चप्पल में ही निपटा दिया. यह तो सरासर अपमान है.
लोकतंत्र की एक महत्वपूर्ण विशेषता है कि सभी ‘लोक’ एक दूसरे को गाली देने, कोसने, को अपना अधिकार और कर्तव्य दोनों समझते हैं. उसी तरह लोकतंत्र के तंत्र की बाल की खाल निकालने को वे स्वतंत्र होते हैं. तदनुसार एक बुद्धिजीवी ने बक़ौल पान - मसाला एड कहा है “भला एक चप्पल से मेरा क्या होगा”. यह जितने हज़ार करोड़ का घपला / स्केम है, कम से कम उतनी चप्पल तो पड़नी चाहिये थी. कुछ तो अनुपात होना चाहिये, ये क्या कि हज़ारों करोड़ का स्केम और महज़ एक चप्पल. यह तो सरासर बे-इनसाफ़ी है. ना ऐसे नहीं चलेगा.
बुद्धिजीवी हिन्दुस्तान में बहुत इफ़रात में पाये जाते हैं. चने बेचने वालों ने पूरे मरीन ड्राइव, चौपाटी, विक्टोरिया मेमोरियल, इंडिया गेट पर चने बेच बेच कर अपने बच्चे पढ़ाये ताकि उनमें शैक्षिक योग्यता के साथ साथ कुछ बुद्धि आ जाए. उन्हें क्या पता था कि इतने बुद्धि आ जाएगी कि वे बुद्धिमान बनने की अपेक्षा बुद्धिजीवी बन जायेंगे. नतीजा ? नतीजा आपके सामने है, नौकरी है नहीं और उन्होने चने बेचने से क़तई इंकार कर दिया है.
न खुदा ही मिला, न विसाल-ए-सनम
बस तो जनाब इसी तर्ज़ पर, न वे चने बेचने वाले ही बन पाये न नौकरी – पेशा. मेरा निजी मत है कि मेरे भारत महान को ख़तरा हमेशा पढ़े-लिखे लोगों से रहा है. ग़रीब, मेहनतकश तो भगवान से, समाज से, गोत्र से, खप से, ‘लोग क्या कहेंगे’ से और कुछ नहीं तो अंतरात्मा से बारह महीने, तीसों दिन, 24 घंटे,1440 मिनट और 86400 सेकंड डरता है. यह पढ़ा- लिखा जीव, बिंदास होता है. वह हर घोटाले, हर बेईमानी, हर दलाली, हर जालसाज़ी को कर गुजरने को आतुर है और बच निकलने का माद्दा रखता है. जिसे आप मातृभूमि कहेंगे, पढ़े-लिखे के लिए वो महज एक प्लॉट है जिसको घेरा जा सकता है, कागजों में हेर-फेर कर एफ.एस.आई.बढ़वाई जा सकती है. मल्टीस्टोरी माल बनाये जा सकते हैं, फ्लोर के फ्लोर बेनामी बेचे जा सकते हैं. आदर्श घोटाला, 2 जी स्केम, कॉमनवैल्थ सब पढ़े-लिखे, ओहदे दार लोगों की कारस्तानी है. ग़रीब, अनपढ़, सिम्पल लोग तो आज भी दूसरे ग़रीब, अनपढ़, सिम्पल लोगों की हर संभव मदद को तैयार रहते हैं. वे उन्हें सड़क के किनारे देख कर नाक-भों नहीं सिकोड़ते. हाऊ डरटी या हाऊ अन्हाइजेनिक कह कर मुँह नहीं फेरते. ना ही यह कह कर अपने कर्तव्य की इतिश्री कर लेते हैं कि ‘ दिस कंट्री इज गोइंग / गॉन टू डॉग्स’
ये जो चप्पल योद्धा, वीर पुरुष है वह मध्य प्रदेश का है, जहाँ विपक्ष की सरकार है. अतः यह कहा जा सकता है कि यह विपक्ष की एक और साज़िश है, सरकार के एक कर्मठ देशभक्त, एक क्रीडा – भक्त, आर्य पुत्र के सम्मान को ठेस पहुँचाने का शिशुतुल्य प्रयास है. दैदीप्यमान-सूर्यपुत्र ऐसे अनायास लकड़ी के खड़ग से किंचित भी मस्तक पर बल नहीं आने देते, वो और होंगे जो इतनी सी बात पर कलामंडी खा जाएँ. इस बेचारे कपिल ठाकुर का निशाना भी चूक गया. चप्पल अगले को लगी ही नहीं. तप-साधना में सचमुच ही अगाध शक्ति होती है. अब अगले ने तो कहते फिरना है ना मैं तो पाक-साफ़ हूँ तभी तो चप्पल मुझे छू तक ना सकी. बिल्कुल वैसे ही जैसे आज तक कोई भी पुलिस, सी.बी.आई उनके अधो वस्त्र तो दूर, शिरो-वस्त्र की चीर के स्पर्श से भी वंचित रही है.
मुझे तो सुन कर बहुत दुख हुआ, अब यह बात ना जाने कौन फैला रहा है कि कपिल ठाकुर पागल है, मानसिक रूप से विक्षिप्त है. अरे भले- मानुषो ! इस 120 करोड़ के मेरे भारत महान में एक वो ही तो बंदा बहादुर है, समझदार है, बुद्धिमान है.
ये बहादुरी, ये ‘पागलपन’ हमें दे दे ठाकुर.
चप्पल तो हम पर भी है, बल्कि चप्पल ही रह गयी है, नयी पीढ़ी के बच्चे भारत माता के लिए गा रहे हैं --- ........नानी तेरी मोरनी ( भारत कभी सोने की चिड़िया था) को मोर (अंग्रेज) ले गए बाकी जो बचा था अशोक (आदर्श) नरेश (राजा) और सुरेश ले गए.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 3:23 AM 1 comments
Friday, April 8, 2011
ELEGY OF VICTORIA MESS
The name suggests it is some place in Britain or at best in one of the numerous British colonies. It is said that the sun never set in British rule. The exact meaning of this phrase is the sun was always visible in one country or the other where Britain reigned. The Victoria Mess I am writing about was right here in the heart of New Delhi. Just a stone’s throw from the finest examples of British architecture i.e. the monumental Assembly House (Parliament), Viceregal lodge (Rashtrapati Bhavan) and war memorial (India Gate). Why just Victoria Mess, there existed this Edward Mess on the same road, a little distance away. The road was Dr Rajendra Prasad Road. These two mess were situated opposite and behind the National Archives of India, the imposing building at present day Janpath (Queen’s way) just before it cuts historical Rajpath (King’s way). As you pass the cross section of Janpath and Rajpath you have National Museum at the left side if you are travelling from Connaught Place end. Behind National Museum you have offices of Archaeological Survey of India and the famous Vigyan Bhavan, the official venue for those big sarkari events. The Vigyan Bhavan also Ashok hotel were got built fondly by Nehru ji for the first ever Non Aligned Meet. Those were the heady and dreamy days of Pt. Nehru, Gamel Abdul Nasir and Marshal Tito, of Non Alignment Movement, Afro - Asian friendship and awakening in Asia remembered as Nehruvian ideology. Geography at its place, lets go back to our Victoria Mess.
In our childhood we used to often wonder why the complex has bungalows number 15, 17 and 19 and not logically in continuity i.e. 15 (where we lived), 16 and 17. It was much later we came to know that the bungalows were numbered as odd and even No. All odd ones at your left and even at your right (if you are entering from Rajpath end). So that is how you have 10 Janpath at the right hand. 10 Janpath once was the official residence of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister of India. We are a nation of hero-worshippers. Teen Murti House official residence of the first Prime Minister of India was promptly converted to Nehru memorial museum after his demise on 27th May 1964. I am sure Nehru ji would not have liked the idea one bit. After all Gandhi ji was killed on 3oth January 1948 in New Delhi’s Birla House and it’s not a memorial. The road on which Birla house is situated was named Tees January lane nevertheless. After Lal Bahadur Shastri’s untimely demise on 10th January 1966 in Tashkent, (capital of Uzbekistan) then part of USSR. (We used to have fun, asking full form of USSR, five out of six times one was bound to miss a word, and by the way it stood for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). The bungalow was labelled as evil omen and none dared stay there for years. It remained office of Youth Congress during hey days of Sanjay Gandhi. Later Rajiv Gandhi showed the courage and shifted to this bungalow after he was no more the P.M. The big round about at your right, if you are facing the 10 Janpath was named York Place by the British, later rechristened Moti Lal Nehru Place. Let’s come back to Victoria Mess. The Victoria Mess was an Air force officers Mess. There were whole lot of double storied tenements in row. These quarters had occupant with shops of sweet meat, mutton shop, general store, cycle repair shop, washer men and what have you.
Evenings were full of such a din and fanfare. The round about of Dr Rajendra Prasad road and Janpath There did exist one, I felt sad when found it dismantled and levelled to make way for seamless tarmac ride to Parliament House. There would be these Pan shops and opposite a shoemaker sat. Right across the road four-five barbers sat with their apparatus in funny looking iron boxes, though some did have cute leather kit too.
In my childhood, a large slice of my free time was spent going to and fro Victoria Mess for everything big or small. A milk booth selling bottled milk of DMS (Delhi Milk Scheme) was there. One could buy milk against empty bottles after showing the aluminium token similar to the smart card used these days to access your hotel room. There was this ration shop too. Those were the times of Indo-china and Indo-Pak war, scarce crops and stringent rationing. We will get Australian, Canadian or American (PL 480) wheat under some agreement between the two govt. It was widely believed that the wheat they shipped to us Indians was the one which their pig ate, at times; critique retorted, the wheat was actually the one which their pigs too refused to eat, hence, exported to India. However, the wheat was much redder than our own wheat.
Victoria Mess was abode to all sorts of people. Hardly any one was studying. They were busy carting their wares. Be it colour, balloons (during Holi) crackers and sparkling sticks (during Diwali). The population largely was either of utility workers, chefs, cooks, stewards or of small time shopkeepers selling knick-knack and items largely consumables of daily use. There must have been hundreds of quarters on both sides of cross section of Dr Rajendra Prasad road and Janpath. Edward Mess stood once, where we have Shastri Bhavan today. There is a row of M.P. bungalows opposite Shastri Bhavan. There was this austerity type school running in one room, kind of play school. The teacher – a beautiful Christian damsel would take her tuition classes also side by side. I was one of her few pupils. I recall once we were addressed by a simple dressed bearded guy in white asking us to note down names of specific Christian Saints for a specific task e.g. snake bite.. Prayers should be directed to so and so Saint so on and so forth. I admit I was highly impressed. So very simple he made it sound.
The beautiful teacher used to come to our house also for taking classes of us brothers. No sooner she came, some smartly attired boy too would come (different boy, every time) and then both will go away abruptly ending our class. Some case of ‘class cutting’ was this, where teacher was bunking. Later, I got to hear so many tales of her escapades but that’s another story.
As I said, opposite Edward Mess were M.P. bungalows, still there. Great luminaries like Firoz Gandhi and Tarkeswari Sinha resided there. Latter acted as agony aunt for a children’s magazine ‘Milind’ The column also carried her beautiful picture with a strand of hair carelessly falling on her forehead like Mala Sinha, the cine actress. Dr Rajendra Prasad road once boasted of great leaders. Deen Dayal Upadhyay, most revered leader after Dr Shyama Prasad Mukhrji, (the founder of Jansangh, later renamed Bhartiya Janata Party) stayed there till his untimely death in a train fall somewhere in Bihar. I remember long queue of people who came with flowers and garland to pay their respect and have last glimpse of their leader. Dr Rajendra Prasad road was also the address of SK Patil, Morarji Desai and Babu Jagjivan Ram. Later one of the bungalows was converted to office and served as CVC office for several years. Just at the end of the road (India Gate end) we had Hyderabad House, now known as AP House where good quality mutton could be bought. Today one can have tastiest Andhra Pradesh delicacies in ‘Andhra Thali’ at reasonable rate there. Opposite Hyderabad House is located Dr Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Nursing College named after our first Health minister of free India. She was a spinster, scion of princely family of Patiala. In the vicinity, shrouded in mystery is Bahai’s House. Now they have the swanky address -- Lotus temple. Next building is Pataudi House of Nawab of Pataudi, a small princely state at the border of Rajasthan – Haryana close to Delhi. My father’s mentor in Delhi late Shankaranand Shastri ji lived in the officers’ accommodation there. He was Director Employment Exchanges. Sat at Rafi Bhavan, opposite Mavalankar Auditorium. Yes Dr Rajendra Prasad road’s story can not be over without sharing what happened to me on one summer afternoon. While returning from school I saw a tree in the bungalow laden with half ripe orange like fruit (Malta). There was this gap in the bushes, I entered the lawn and had plucked a Malta just then I noticed an ‘angry like mad’ gardener entering the wicket gate and charging towards me. I was paralyzed, plain immobile. My legs refused to leave ground, as if glued to ground. He thrashed me and confiscated the booty too. My school mate Dilip also stayed across the road where Ashok yatri and Kanishka hotels stood. Dilip had two sisters Asha and (strangely) Ramesh. I know when the displaced persons of East Pakistan were given refuge to start their lives it was named EPDP colony (East Pakistan Displaced Persons). The residents found the name rather unsavory so renamed the ghetto as CR Park (Chitaranjan). Today it is known as mini Bengal, where even the shopkeepers talk to you in chaste Bangla. CR Park has the grand Kali temple and the scale of grandeur during Pooja festival celebrations in CR Park is unparalleled in whole of Delhi.
Alas! I do not know where the DPs (Displaced Persons) of Victoria Mess got relocated. Could they be rehabilitated at all? Today there is no sign whatsoever of Victoria Mess on Dr Rajendra Prasad road except the DMS milk booth and a small road side shrine (grown from obscure idol under a tree)
Long live the spirit of Victoria Mess.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 6:11 AM 1 comments
Friday, March 18, 2011
ERROR OF JUDGEMENT Ha... Ha…Give me another one
(It is received with disbelief, hilarity and cynicism when none other than Prime Minister tried to unsuccessfully pacify the opposition’s criticism by calling a major constitutional appointment made by his government as an error of judgment. Who he thought would be so naïve to give credence to his statement.)
We are living in interesting times, to say the least. When did you last see or hear an ‘honest’ P.M. heading a bunch of corrupt…criminal...Tainted ministers. English is a funny yet rich language. You have terms to describe every situation and catastrophe politicians can push our country to. Error of judgment is one such phrase in the weaponry. I wonder! How every one in the numerous stages down the chain suffered from this color blindness called Error of judgment. So our PM brushes all allegations and comes out unscathed, or so he thinks. He is calling it (Thomas’s appointment as CVC of India) nothing big just an error of judgment. (EOJ) CWG was another EOJ. The list is endless. 3 G scam EOJ. Adarsh scam EOJ. Purchase of MPs votes so that an ‘honest’ PM could continue at helm—EOJ. Sharma says Nachiketa who? Next day newspapers splash him in family get- together photographs, may be yet another EOJ, this time probably by the photographer.
We all have a role to play till the curtains are down. Personal honesty is one of the traits required for prime minister. You can not rely on leading a nation of billion people by just one single sail called honesty. What about efficiency and effectiveness of the armada. The captain of the ship can not navigate rough sea on fate, hope and honesty. He has to have a team of equally honest, effective and dedicated crew aboard his ship.
Mr. Prime Minister you are not responsible for your honesty alone. You are responsible for honesty of your team mates too. Dhoni can not say I am sorry but see I am honest. He is on to the pitch not to display his honesty but his batting/bowling and captaincy skills. Isn’t he responsible for the performance of his entire team down to the last ball? Similarly, sir you are a nice man. You love poetry. You are a gentleman to the core. You do not vie for any personal gain but sir! Do us a favor even if it is for the first and last time – crack the whip... Go cracking man. Show them who the real boss is. Show them two of your sterling qualities, one - honesty that you already have in plenty and the other ‘zero tolerance’ to dishonesty. Sir, you may not be after Power but we do need a Powerful PM. Is it too much to ask. Don’t we deserve him/her?
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 11:33 PM 0 comments
Friday, December 31, 2010
THE FLYING SNAKE
There are hundreds of genre of snakes. One of the breeds is said to be of flying snakes. As the very name suggests, this snake flies. Have you ever seen one? Even I haven’t. However, a true story, I came across during my visit to Bandikui is here for you (as told to me by Kalyan Sahay Gaur, a retired Railway man of the era gone by).
Long long ago, during British Raj there was this C class station called flag station or way side station in Railway parlance. You might have noticed those tiny stations in your train journey when your train speeds by and there is this Assistant Station Master with green flag held at right angle from the ground. One Braj Gopal was the Station Master of this C class station. He was quite fond of ‘Bhaang’ (marijuana). During festive season folks in Rajasthan do indulge in merry-making by way of liberally consuming bhaang. Some of Braj Gopal’s staff made a rather strong potion and he along with his friends had more than he could hold. Since it was a shift change time, the staff including the Station Master who came to relieve Braj Gopal was also generously invited to the ‘party’ and offered liberal helpings of bhang. All the ‘guests’ of party were already sozzled and on a ‘high’. They had all rather forgotten that they were ‘on duty’. They were all too inebriated to remember that they were on duty. They had also forgotten that which trains are expected when, which trains required ‘line clear’ and which trains require ‘point setting’ through signal and caution order etc. All were in a trance. A train, not finding green signal is required to halt and give long whistles at the outer of station section, as per operating manual. Despite constant long whistles there was no green signal forthcoming Driver of the train, an Anglo-Indian, finding no signal and no effect of his constant whistling was annoyed. Driver and Guard together is the owner of the train in the mid-section. To say the Anglo-Indian driver was furious will be an understatement. The set rule in such eventuality is to uncouple the engine and ‘pilot’ it slowly into the station while continuously blowing the whistle.
The whistle sound closing by was enough to sober our party people. They staggered on their feet. Suddenly it dawned upon them what it means to be found ‘drunk’ on duty with train desperately languishing at outer. They realized they are going to summarily lose their jobs. Braj Gopal, the Station Master got brightest idea flashed in his mind. His room contained all the instruments of giving line clear and communication apparatus, he locked his room from outside and sat at the doorstep with a long face. When the driver shouted at Braj Gopal “Hey Man! What’s wrong?” Braj Gopal with suitable stammer in tongue and tremble in body replied “there is a flying snake in my office ... with great difficulty I have got the room locked before it could bite anyone... I have called the snake charmer... It is just not possible to open the cabin before that… who will open? Only the one who wants to commit suicide can open the lock, here is the key. No joke. It’s a flying snake, flies right at you aiming for your forehead. Once bitten, the death is instant. Not another moment. You may go …do whatever...I can’t risk life of my staff. Hearing this, driver too lost his nerve. He instantly calmed down. The entire train was piloted to the next station. From the cabin of next station, Control Room was informed of the flying snake. Mind of Braj Gopal was racing like Toofan Mail (Rajdhani Express or Shatabdi Express were yet to be introduced) how to come out unscathed from this entire flying snake saga. Men were sent in all the ten directions (North, South, East, West, North East, North West, South East, South West, Skyward (tree tops) and underground (snake pits) to catch a snake, flying or no flying, dead or alive. Alas! All came empty handed. They were wondering the snakes, hitherto galore in the area, where have they all vanished. Till yesterday one could not have ventured out to adjacent mangrove without spotting a couple of snakes with or without venom.
Next morning when a staffer was up on neem (margosa) tree looking for a twig to brush his teeth, he located a baby viper. He shouted “Mass Saab! Mass Saab! Snake!” The Station Master couldn’t ve asked for more. It was dream catch. Immediately a cloth was thrown at baby viper to confuse him and poor fellow got caught for no fault of his. He was consigned to a pitcher. Pitcher was sealed. The seal was duly signed by three employees; a kind of ‘panchnama’ and a paper slip was promptly pasted on the pitcher. The slip read:
1. Name: Flying snake
2. Time caught: 1900 hrs
3. Length: 1.5 yard
4. Color: Jet black
5. Age: Above 100 years
(Estimated by the snake-charmer)
6. Property: Flies, aims and bites only at forehead of anything moving.
7. Effect: Instant death.
A rookie khalasi was handed over the pitcher and assigned the task of carrying the catch to Bandikui to the District Traffic Superintendent. Mr. Jennison, D.T.S. immediately called for Mr Cononi, the Chief Controller and shared his wish to see a glimpse of the legendry flying snake. As it happens in bureaucracy, this order too traveled from the very top and stopped at the junior most staffer. They caught hold of a casual labor and ordered him to break open the seal of the pitcher. Hearing this, the casual labor hid behind the bushes and started crying non stop. “Maai baap I have nine children. I am the only earning member, they will all be orphaned”. The D.T.S. realized the sensitivity of the matter and futility of his desire to see a ‘flying snake’. Promptly, Badri Prasad Chaubey, the Chief Clerk was summoned and instructed to dig a deep pit to bury the pitcher. The secret of the Station Master’s bhang orgy and myth of a flying snake was buried forever.
Years later, superannuated Braj Gopal’s grand children would never get tired of hearing the story of flying snake night after night.As for Braj Gopal, he attributed his entire creative imagination to his favorite bhaang.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 11:13 AM 4 comments
COINS WITH FUNGUS
Ever since the establishment of Railways in 1853, when first train chugged off from Boribunder to Thane, wages to its employees are paid by way of currency in vogue. British later renamed Boribunder as Victoria Terminus. We Indians can not lag behind, so we very quickly rechristened it after our great warrior. As they say, it was a major operation of sex change when Victoria (terminus) emerged as Chhatrapti Shivaji (terminus). Provision of payment of wages in the valid currency exists in Payment of Wages Act 1936. Railways, a great network do not make the payment to all its employees on first of every month. Instead, due to a massive number of employees spread over a large area, wages are paid on different but fixed dates. Although salary is paid on ‘assumed attendance’ basis for full month yet absence, if any, is adjusted in the following month.
Bandikui was a major Railway activity center. Prior to carving out railway territory into divisions in 1956, Bandikui was a place of far greater significance than Jaipur.Those were the days of British Raj. Wages were paid in the form of prevailing silver coins.
There was this Dr. William Craft posted in a senior position as Divisional Medical Officer at Bandikui. Whenever DPC (Divisional Pay Clerk) with heavy bag of silver coins and menacing ‘security guards’ in toe, would visit Bandikui for disbursing wages, Dr Craft shall sit beside him and begin his ‘examination’ of coins, yes ! You read it right, examination of coins, coin by coin, one by one. The coins which had green fungus on them, he would pick aside for ‘closer’ or so to say intensive examination. He would begin the scrutiny of coins by poking lead pencil and digging out clean whatever little fungus he could, out of the faces (head and tail) of the coins.
All those coins which still had fungus deep entrenched in them, finally, he would place them apart. Such ten to fifteen rupees worth of different denomination 'dangerous' coins, he would then order, to bury deep underneath the mother earth. He was of the firm opinion that these fungus laden coins are ‘deadly’. Anyone who comes in contact with these coins will suffer ugly and painful death.
Month after month, ten to fifteen of such ‘infected’ and ‘evil’ coins were killed and buried by Dr. William Craft. He believed that by doing so he was actually doing a service to humanity and contributing his bit to save mankind. The orderly, peon or khalasi whosoever was available at the appointed time (coin examination) would have gala time for he would simply pocket them. An elaborate report of burial would be fabricated and submitted to the satisfaction of Dr Craft.
All through the tenure of Dr. William Craft in Bandikui, he observed and abided this procedure with a religious zeal to the great amusement and greater gains by the ‘pall-bearers’. Needless to say, Dr. Craft was immensely popular among his staff.
P.S.
Twenty years back, this tale was told to me by one Kalyan Sahai Gaur, a retired railway man of British era. I still wonder how and under what ‘head’ these dead coins were shown in the books.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 1:47 AM 0 comments
Friday, November 19, 2010
RAMU SETH
The world history is full of people migrating from one place to another for various reasons, be it on religious grounds such as persecution of group of people following a particular faith. Parsi, Bahai, Jews from Moses to Mohd. Saheb Romas to Dalai Lama, people en masse have been migrating from one corner of the earth to another. Nearer home, in the year 1970 Raj Kapoor the greatest ever showman of celluloid in his magnum opus ‘Mera Naam Joker’ (255 minutes running time with two intervals) delivered a dialogue (made a statement) of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, outlining the universal truth “There is something more frightening and fierce than the most fierce lion and that is hunger”. So dear readers, right from the days when man was ‘food gatherer’ he has been driven by hunger to navigate uncharted path to fathom unfathomable and undertake unthinkable.
Bihar has been sending manpower to fields in remote countryside to power-corridors of India. A galaxy of Statesmen from Bihar has adorned the motherland right from India’s freedom struggle days. Our story opens in 1960s of Delhi, Faya Ram, a low-paid employee of P&T (Post & Telegraph) Department, Eastern Court, Janpath would annually return to his native place armed with fascinating tales of big city called Delhi – the land of opportunities. A poor lad Ramu would intently listen to those fairy tales, completely awe stuck with gaped mouth and dreamy eyes. Driven by abject poverty, hunger pangs, and el-dorado that the Delhi was made out to be by Faya Ram, Ramu a boy all of 19 years set for Delhi with his sole worldly possession – eighth class pass certificate. Narrating spiced up stories to naive villagers is one thing and having to bear and provide for someone gate-crashing in Delhi is quite another.
Faya Ram without wasting anytime took him to Shri D.A. Katti an M.P. from Chikodi, Belgaum at whose residence Faya Ram used to frequent in those idle evenings of Delhi. Ramu was promptly taken under the wings by Katti Saab. Ramu would cook and serve food to M.P. Saab. There was only one hitch... Ramu was not paid a penny, instead he was allowed to partake the food he cooked for M.P., and so he cooked for both. Greater hitch was M.P.’s sojourn in Delhi used to be disappointingly brief even when the Lok Sabha was in session. During the absence of M.P., Ramu was left to fend for himself. A famished boy, he had no option but to go door to door unnecessarily asking everyone’s well being, ever willing to lend helping hand. He would play like a child with neighborhood children in the fond hope that he may get a loaf of bread or at least a cup of tea. Often, he was given food out of sheer mercy as a charity. But not for too long. The lady luck smiled at him. Oh! How cruel and scheming a smile can be?
A lady passenger reasonably good looking, well past in her forties smiled at him in the DTU bus. Before it became today’s DTC, the bus fleet was known as DTU – (Delhi Transport Undertaking). Then what followed was a courteous conversation. Next day, it was little more social talk. Third day they went for a cup of tea. Exchanging pleasantries... the lady Mrs. Chadha wanted to know everything about Ramu. Finding that an unknown lady taking so much interest in him Ramu felt warm and nice, as nice and important as never before. Ramu opened his heart out to her. She was visibly moved hearing that Ramu does not know where the next meal will come from. She insisted Ramu to come to her parlor in posh Pusa Road. It was a sprawling bungalow. Mrs. Chadha hand-in-hand with Ramu walked in the bungalow. At ground floor, Ram saw two teenage boys staring at him. She gave them kind of ‘I hate you’ looks. Laughing, joking, cuddling, she went to first floor of the bungalow. She had the entire floor for herself and of course, for our Ramu...no not Ramu but Ramu Seth. Mrs. Chadha was into intimate relationship with one rich industrialist - Mr Chadha who was a widower. She looked after Mr. Chadha rather too well – leading to his untimely sudden death. All the kith and kin of Chadhas rose in unison against this ‘freshly widowed Mrs. Chadha’. Back in Soulful sixties it was difficult to keep honour intact and yet find time and space to do kind of wayward adventures Mr. Chadha indulged in. Therefore, every thing was kept hush-hush and more so after the demise of Mr. Chadha, nobody wanted to speak ill of him and yet knew not how to handle this ‘new Mrs. Chadha’. Mrs. Chadha on her part had played her cards rather too well. She staked her claim on entire property and wealth of Mr. Chadha being her widow - and children being minor. Ramu was her servant by the day and prized trophy by night. If it can be called a job then Ramu had chucked his job with our hon’ble M.P. His new swanky address had everyone who knew him in absolute amazement. Lucky You! Ramu had a wardrobe he had never dreamt of. People would call him Ramu Seth and he would not refute and thought he actually was one. Mrs. Chadha, the lady luck smiled at him, why smile, she was guffawing... Laughing her guts out and Ramu Seth was shyly grinning. Ramu had never had it so good. Everything was God sent or so believed Ramu. It was a classic tale of rags to riches. Ramu with his new found status was hugely embarrassed to do any household chores anymore. Life was a big picnic. A dream without morning. How could Ramu Seth do odd jobs any more? A non-descript maid was promptly engaged to do the menial chores. Little did Ramu know that the maid appearing at their doorstep was no co incidence? She was carefully planted by the Chadha clan to score even with Mrs. Chadha For that it was necessary to separate her from Ramu Seth. With rudimentary planning and enough grease, local police gladly obliged. Early hours of one cold morning Ramu was arrested for raping the minor maid and dealing in contraband with Pakistani seal smuggled via Punjab.
With all the witnesses at the right place, in a summary trial, Ramu was imprisoned for seven years. Ramu a semi-literate village rustic neither knew what his fault was nor had any ink link what had hit him.
Last letter from Ramu was a heart rending account of torture in prison, begging us for mercy he was desperate to come out of prison.
The elders say the roots of all evils are 3Zs - Zar – wealth, Zoru – woman and Zameen- Estate. Unfortunately poor Ramu’s rise and fall had all the three.
We never heard of Ramu... Ramu Seth again.
==
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 2:13 AM 0 comments
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Ravi ki kavitayen
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मेरे बारे मे
Ravinderkumar
Born on 11th March at Aligarh,UP. Educated in Delhi, Bangalore. Worked as Personnel Officer, HAL,Nasik, Manager(P&A) ITDC,New Delhi.Indian Railway Personnel Service(IAS allied ) Jt. General Manager (HRM) IRCON International. CPO & CVO Delhi Metro, Senior Professor (Organizational Behavior) Railway Staff College, Vadodara Presently: Chief Personnel Officer (Admn)Central Railway Head Quarters, Mumbai-1 BOOKS (poetry) 1.SEEPI MOTI BHARI 2.PANKHURIYAN GULAB KI 3.OS KI BUNDIEN 4.SUNEHRI DHOOP KI CHHAON TALE 5.EHSAAS 6.MERI 101 KAVITAAYEN SATIRES: 1. MISS RISHWAT 2, TIHAR CLUB 3. BALD IS BEAUTIFUL 4. MERA BHARAT MAHAAN 5. MERE 51 VYANG GENERAL : 1. GATT A CRITICAL ANALYSIS 2. EK BAAR KI BAAT HAI 3. RAILWAY KARMIK NIYAMAVALI 4. DID YOU KNOW Writing since childhood.... Awarded Millennium Award 2000 International Hindi Society. Regularly contributing on All India Radio, Mumbai and in magazines and websites India and abroad. BOOKS PUBLISHER: ABD PUBLISHERS B-46 NATRAJ NAGAR IMLIWALA PHATAK JAIPUR-302015 TEL:0141-2594705 email oxfordbook@sify.com
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ब्लॉग अर्काइव
▼ 2011 (4)
▼ May (1)
ONE (SLIPPER) IS NOT ENOUGH
► April (2)
► March (1)
► 2010 (223)
► 2009 (1)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
ONE (SLIPPER) IS NOT ENOUGH
Legislative bodies have vital importance in a democracy. They have, if nothing else, immense educative value for all those who care. Hitherto, hurling shoes and slippers (S&S) was the prerogative of the legislators. Our legislators are our role models in more ways than one. We so very readily and eagerly adapted and in no time became well-versed in the art and science of S&S hurling. It is said, it’s Science if the results are same every time irrespective of time and place. A shoe hurled at Chidamabaram did hit the target right in bull’s eye and Tytler bit the dust. Kalmadi may lament and justifiably so, that why just one slipper, of what use is one, why not a pair. Had it been a pair, he could have sold and made some more money out of this ‘individual’ event. Now that is what I call sportsman spirit. He may still be feeling sad, for while it was for the entire World to watch Bush, Omar and Chidamabaram being hurled at costly and branded shoes, poor Kalmadi had to be contended with ‘cheap chappal’. Now this is what I call I to I (Insult to Injury).
A great feature of this Government OF the people and FOR the people is that people are at LIBERTY to curse, use and abuse each other. This is what is called EQUALITY and FRATERNITY, two great hallmarks in the evolution of mankind in human history. Anthropologists will tend to agree with me there. It is people’s right and duty both at the same time to curse and criticize, to use and abuse. What a novel concept called Democracy, Greeks gave us.Its various facets and nuances are still Greek to us. Whether shoe hurling is a science or art may remain debatable till the topic is shunned and shooed away by the ‘intellectuals’. Everyone agrees that Democracy is an art – art of hair splitting ‘splitocracy’. Keep splitting the trivia, so that people are kept busy and hence, off the scent from real issues. Kalmadi may still feel hurt... why just me… why not that Kill Bill Gill, not even She La and why spare that LG (not the tv brand). If you say it is a scam involving billions than each of billion plus citizens of India (NRIs included) have a right and sacred duty too, to not just ‘hurl’ but bash up with the slippers or shoes as the case may be. A nation of billion plus people and just one lone slipper, no sense of ratio-proportion at all. Are we that poor in Three Rs ( Reebok, Red Chief & Relaxo).
We the people of India pride ourselves in being intellectuals. Being intellectual is different than being man of intellect, while the latter are few and far between hence, needed to be protected and prodded like Himalayan Panda, the former are parasites that live off our ignorance and indifference. Look at the poor guy! Who started selling salted grams in post independent India. We all pounced upon him and scolded him to educate his kids. He thought, if nothing else, he will be able to save his future generation from selling salted grams and bribing cops from Marine Drive to Marina Beach and Victoria Memorial to India Gate. How naïve of him. His educated son has no employment and refuses to sell gram. He is no illiterate so why should he be selling grams. Education has singularly taught us one thing from Rann off Kuchh to Sundarbans and from Kashmir to Kovalam --- hate manual labour. So, we the people of India, too educated to sell grams have become arm chair/ drawing room critiques – a forte of intellectuals.
India has all along been jeopardized, harmed and corrupted hollow by this so-called educated class. The simple toiler who lives off his sweat still remains a simpleton, honest and God fearing. Why just God fearing he breathes under constant fear of society, Gotra, Khaps, ‘what others will say’ and last but not the least his ‘conscience’. On the contrary the educated suave, articulate homo-sapiens is the devil who devours what he fancies/ sets his eyes on. He is so very game for every scam, cheating and embezzlement. To him, bribe is sweet as bride to his ears and eyes. Ever ready for sweet indulgence and get away. For you and me, India is our mother land, for him, her included, its not mother land rather a plot of land whose records can be tempered, FSI enhanced adding floor after floors and a sky-scrapper constructed.
Be it 2G, KarGil (Adarsh), Games (Commonwealth) all are the illegitimate offspring born out of the incestuous alliance of educated elites. Poor Bharat still lives on pavement and has stray dogs for company enabling you to turn your head other way in sophisticated snobbery wrinkling your nose and snaring with right tinge “the country is going to/gone to dogs”.
‘Savior with the Slipper’ is our poor men’s Gladiator with Excalibur. Critiques sprung and wasted no time in issuing condemnation – in democracy other than wearing there is no room / use for slippers or shoes. It is nothing but slipper assassination er ... character (?) assassination of a sports lover. Calling poor Kalmadi The Sports Czar is so very fascist. Whoever said the World loves the lover. I find on the contrary the world hates this sports lover and wants to beat him not in steeple chase but with chappals, shoes, hockey sticks, and finally with baton, Queen’s or otherwise. But the omnipotent statesman of his stature hardly gets ruffled by such petty misplaced bravados. For him, these are merely childish pranks. More so, when this lonely chappal could not come anywhere near his splendid aura, leave alone touching / hitting him. He is beyond all slippers and shoes. Remember the benediction Hirankashyap had received. Gods had blessed and assured him that neither man nor beast will be able to kill him, he will not be killed during day or night, he will not be killed on earth or in sky. So is our man, no less than Hirankashyap. No prison. No penalty. No police. No politician. He is above P-4. None will ever be able to reach His Holiness… the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful.
I am saddened beyond words by the utterance of people including the ones in authority who are going around ‘loose talking’ that Kapil Thakur (The S-3 – Shining Star of Slipper) is having disturbed mental balance. So very mean! Dear countrymen, among we the 120 crore people of India, I find he is the ONLY ONE having right mental balance. If you call him mentally disturbed or mad I wish and pray to the Almighty O God ! pray give us 120 crore the same mental disturbance, the same madness. We too have slippers rather are left with slippers alone, rest everything else is taken away by successive governments in new and newer taxes. God, if this is Adarsh (ideal model) save us from Adarsh, if this is Raja… give us ‘Rank’ (pauper) and if this is the 'Game', let us not host / watch any. We are not yet ready for this ‘Demonocracy’.
Did I hear Kalmadi say…. “Thaam mee yeto ! baraa!”
==
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 11:33 PM 1 comments
Thursday, April 28, 2011
एक चप्पल से मेरा क्या होगा
सदन का लोकशाही में शैक्षिक महत्व होता है. जो चप्पल-जूते अभी तक सदन में चला करते थे अब वे सदन के बाहर भी आन पहुँचे हैं. कलमाडी जी को यह ग़म हो सकता है कि एक ही चप्पल क्यूँ मारी. दोनों तो मारते. और कुछ नहीं तो इन्हें बेच कर कुछ मुनाफा और कमाया जा सकता था. या फिर उन्हें यह रंज भी हो सकता है कि बुश, उमर और चिदमबरंम को तो महंगे वाले जूते फेंक कर मारे थे और मुझे बस सस्ती सी चप्पल में ही निपटा दिया. यह तो सरासर अपमान है.
लोकतंत्र की एक महत्वपूर्ण विशेषता है कि सभी ‘लोक’ एक दूसरे को गाली देने, कोसने, को अपना अधिकार और कर्तव्य दोनों समझते हैं. उसी तरह लोकतंत्र के तंत्र की बाल की खाल निकालने को वे स्वतंत्र होते हैं. तदनुसार एक बुद्धिजीवी ने बक़ौल पान - मसाला एड कहा है “भला एक चप्पल से मेरा क्या होगा”. यह जितने हज़ार करोड़ का घपला / स्केम है, कम से कम उतनी चप्पल तो पड़नी चाहिये थी. कुछ तो अनुपात होना चाहिये, ये क्या कि हज़ारों करोड़ का स्केम और महज़ एक चप्पल. यह तो सरासर बे-इनसाफ़ी है. ना ऐसे नहीं चलेगा.
बुद्धिजीवी हिन्दुस्तान में बहुत इफ़रात में पाये जाते हैं. चने बेचने वालों ने पूरे मरीन ड्राइव, चौपाटी, विक्टोरिया मेमोरियल, इंडिया गेट पर चने बेच बेच कर अपने बच्चे पढ़ाये ताकि उनमें शैक्षिक योग्यता के साथ साथ कुछ बुद्धि आ जाए. उन्हें क्या पता था कि इतने बुद्धि आ जाएगी कि वे बुद्धिमान बनने की अपेक्षा बुद्धिजीवी बन जायेंगे. नतीजा ? नतीजा आपके सामने है, नौकरी है नहीं और उन्होने चने बेचने से क़तई इंकार कर दिया है.
न खुदा ही मिला, न विसाल-ए-सनम
बस तो जनाब इसी तर्ज़ पर, न वे चने बेचने वाले ही बन पाये न नौकरी – पेशा. मेरा निजी मत है कि मेरे भारत महान को ख़तरा हमेशा पढ़े-लिखे लोगों से रहा है. ग़रीब, मेहनतकश तो भगवान से, समाज से, गोत्र से, खप से, ‘लोग क्या कहेंगे’ से और कुछ नहीं तो अंतरात्मा से बारह महीने, तीसों दिन, 24 घंटे,1440 मिनट और 86400 सेकंड डरता है. यह पढ़ा- लिखा जीव, बिंदास होता है. वह हर घोटाले, हर बेईमानी, हर दलाली, हर जालसाज़ी को कर गुजरने को आतुर है और बच निकलने का माद्दा रखता है. जिसे आप मातृभूमि कहेंगे, पढ़े-लिखे के लिए वो महज एक प्लॉट है जिसको घेरा जा सकता है, कागजों में हेर-फेर कर एफ.एस.आई.बढ़वाई जा सकती है. मल्टीस्टोरी माल बनाये जा सकते हैं, फ्लोर के फ्लोर बेनामी बेचे जा सकते हैं. आदर्श घोटाला, 2 जी स्केम, कॉमनवैल्थ सब पढ़े-लिखे, ओहदे दार लोगों की कारस्तानी है. ग़रीब, अनपढ़, सिम्पल लोग तो आज भी दूसरे ग़रीब, अनपढ़, सिम्पल लोगों की हर संभव मदद को तैयार रहते हैं. वे उन्हें सड़क के किनारे देख कर नाक-भों नहीं सिकोड़ते. हाऊ डरटी या हाऊ अन्हाइजेनिक कह कर मुँह नहीं फेरते. ना ही यह कह कर अपने कर्तव्य की इतिश्री कर लेते हैं कि ‘ दिस कंट्री इज गोइंग / गॉन टू डॉग्स’
ये जो चप्पल योद्धा, वीर पुरुष है वह मध्य प्रदेश का है, जहाँ विपक्ष की सरकार है. अतः यह कहा जा सकता है कि यह विपक्ष की एक और साज़िश है, सरकार के एक कर्मठ देशभक्त, एक क्रीडा – भक्त, आर्य पुत्र के सम्मान को ठेस पहुँचाने का शिशुतुल्य प्रयास है. दैदीप्यमान-सूर्यपुत्र ऐसे अनायास लकड़ी के खड़ग से किंचित भी मस्तक पर बल नहीं आने देते, वो और होंगे जो इतनी सी बात पर कलामंडी खा जाएँ. इस बेचारे कपिल ठाकुर का निशाना भी चूक गया. चप्पल अगले को लगी ही नहीं. तप-साधना में सचमुच ही अगाध शक्ति होती है. अब अगले ने तो कहते फिरना है ना मैं तो पाक-साफ़ हूँ तभी तो चप्पल मुझे छू तक ना सकी. बिल्कुल वैसे ही जैसे आज तक कोई भी पुलिस, सी.बी.आई उनके अधो वस्त्र तो दूर, शिरो-वस्त्र की चीर के स्पर्श से भी वंचित रही है.
मुझे तो सुन कर बहुत दुख हुआ, अब यह बात ना जाने कौन फैला रहा है कि कपिल ठाकुर पागल है, मानसिक रूप से विक्षिप्त है. अरे भले- मानुषो ! इस 120 करोड़ के मेरे भारत महान में एक वो ही तो बंदा बहादुर है, समझदार है, बुद्धिमान है.
ये बहादुरी, ये ‘पागलपन’ हमें दे दे ठाकुर.
चप्पल तो हम पर भी है, बल्कि चप्पल ही रह गयी है, नयी पीढ़ी के बच्चे भारत माता के लिए गा रहे हैं --- ........नानी तेरी मोरनी ( भारत कभी सोने की चिड़िया था) को मोर (अंग्रेज) ले गए बाकी जो बचा था अशोक (आदर्श) नरेश (राजा) और सुरेश ले गए.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 3:23 AM 1 comments
Friday, April 8, 2011
ELEGY OF VICTORIA MESS
The name suggests it is some place in Britain or at best in one of the numerous British colonies. It is said that the sun never set in British rule. The exact meaning of this phrase is the sun was always visible in one country or the other where Britain reigned. The Victoria Mess I am writing about was right here in the heart of New Delhi. Just a stone’s throw from the finest examples of British architecture i.e. the monumental Assembly House (Parliament), Viceregal lodge (Rashtrapati Bhavan) and war memorial (India Gate). Why just Victoria Mess, there existed this Edward Mess on the same road, a little distance away. The road was Dr Rajendra Prasad Road. These two mess were situated opposite and behind the National Archives of India, the imposing building at present day Janpath (Queen’s way) just before it cuts historical Rajpath (King’s way). As you pass the cross section of Janpath and Rajpath you have National Museum at the left side if you are travelling from Connaught Place end. Behind National Museum you have offices of Archaeological Survey of India and the famous Vigyan Bhavan, the official venue for those big sarkari events. The Vigyan Bhavan also Ashok hotel were got built fondly by Nehru ji for the first ever Non Aligned Meet. Those were the heady and dreamy days of Pt. Nehru, Gamel Abdul Nasir and Marshal Tito, of Non Alignment Movement, Afro - Asian friendship and awakening in Asia remembered as Nehruvian ideology. Geography at its place, lets go back to our Victoria Mess.
In our childhood we used to often wonder why the complex has bungalows number 15, 17 and 19 and not logically in continuity i.e. 15 (where we lived), 16 and 17. It was much later we came to know that the bungalows were numbered as odd and even No. All odd ones at your left and even at your right (if you are entering from Rajpath end). So that is how you have 10 Janpath at the right hand. 10 Janpath once was the official residence of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister of India. We are a nation of hero-worshippers. Teen Murti House official residence of the first Prime Minister of India was promptly converted to Nehru memorial museum after his demise on 27th May 1964. I am sure Nehru ji would not have liked the idea one bit. After all Gandhi ji was killed on 3oth January 1948 in New Delhi’s Birla House and it’s not a memorial. The road on which Birla house is situated was named Tees January lane nevertheless. After Lal Bahadur Shastri’s untimely demise on 10th January 1966 in Tashkent, (capital of Uzbekistan) then part of USSR. (We used to have fun, asking full form of USSR, five out of six times one was bound to miss a word, and by the way it stood for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). The bungalow was labelled as evil omen and none dared stay there for years. It remained office of Youth Congress during hey days of Sanjay Gandhi. Later Rajiv Gandhi showed the courage and shifted to this bungalow after he was no more the P.M. The big round about at your right, if you are facing the 10 Janpath was named York Place by the British, later rechristened Moti Lal Nehru Place. Let’s come back to Victoria Mess. The Victoria Mess was an Air force officers Mess. There were whole lot of double storied tenements in row. These quarters had occupant with shops of sweet meat, mutton shop, general store, cycle repair shop, washer men and what have you.
Evenings were full of such a din and fanfare. The round about of Dr Rajendra Prasad road and Janpath There did exist one, I felt sad when found it dismantled and levelled to make way for seamless tarmac ride to Parliament House. There would be these Pan shops and opposite a shoemaker sat. Right across the road four-five barbers sat with their apparatus in funny looking iron boxes, though some did have cute leather kit too.
In my childhood, a large slice of my free time was spent going to and fro Victoria Mess for everything big or small. A milk booth selling bottled milk of DMS (Delhi Milk Scheme) was there. One could buy milk against empty bottles after showing the aluminium token similar to the smart card used these days to access your hotel room. There was this ration shop too. Those were the times of Indo-china and Indo-Pak war, scarce crops and stringent rationing. We will get Australian, Canadian or American (PL 480) wheat under some agreement between the two govt. It was widely believed that the wheat they shipped to us Indians was the one which their pig ate, at times; critique retorted, the wheat was actually the one which their pigs too refused to eat, hence, exported to India. However, the wheat was much redder than our own wheat.
Victoria Mess was abode to all sorts of people. Hardly any one was studying. They were busy carting their wares. Be it colour, balloons (during Holi) crackers and sparkling sticks (during Diwali). The population largely was either of utility workers, chefs, cooks, stewards or of small time shopkeepers selling knick-knack and items largely consumables of daily use. There must have been hundreds of quarters on both sides of cross section of Dr Rajendra Prasad road and Janpath. Edward Mess stood once, where we have Shastri Bhavan today. There is a row of M.P. bungalows opposite Shastri Bhavan. There was this austerity type school running in one room, kind of play school. The teacher – a beautiful Christian damsel would take her tuition classes also side by side. I was one of her few pupils. I recall once we were addressed by a simple dressed bearded guy in white asking us to note down names of specific Christian Saints for a specific task e.g. snake bite.. Prayers should be directed to so and so Saint so on and so forth. I admit I was highly impressed. So very simple he made it sound.
The beautiful teacher used to come to our house also for taking classes of us brothers. No sooner she came, some smartly attired boy too would come (different boy, every time) and then both will go away abruptly ending our class. Some case of ‘class cutting’ was this, where teacher was bunking. Later, I got to hear so many tales of her escapades but that’s another story.
As I said, opposite Edward Mess were M.P. bungalows, still there. Great luminaries like Firoz Gandhi and Tarkeswari Sinha resided there. Latter acted as agony aunt for a children’s magazine ‘Milind’ The column also carried her beautiful picture with a strand of hair carelessly falling on her forehead like Mala Sinha, the cine actress. Dr Rajendra Prasad road once boasted of great leaders. Deen Dayal Upadhyay, most revered leader after Dr Shyama Prasad Mukhrji, (the founder of Jansangh, later renamed Bhartiya Janata Party) stayed there till his untimely death in a train fall somewhere in Bihar. I remember long queue of people who came with flowers and garland to pay their respect and have last glimpse of their leader. Dr Rajendra Prasad road was also the address of SK Patil, Morarji Desai and Babu Jagjivan Ram. Later one of the bungalows was converted to office and served as CVC office for several years. Just at the end of the road (India Gate end) we had Hyderabad House, now known as AP House where good quality mutton could be bought. Today one can have tastiest Andhra Pradesh delicacies in ‘Andhra Thali’ at reasonable rate there. Opposite Hyderabad House is located Dr Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Nursing College named after our first Health minister of free India. She was a spinster, scion of princely family of Patiala. In the vicinity, shrouded in mystery is Bahai’s House. Now they have the swanky address -- Lotus temple. Next building is Pataudi House of Nawab of Pataudi, a small princely state at the border of Rajasthan – Haryana close to Delhi. My father’s mentor in Delhi late Shankaranand Shastri ji lived in the officers’ accommodation there. He was Director Employment Exchanges. Sat at Rafi Bhavan, opposite Mavalankar Auditorium. Yes Dr Rajendra Prasad road’s story can not be over without sharing what happened to me on one summer afternoon. While returning from school I saw a tree in the bungalow laden with half ripe orange like fruit (Malta). There was this gap in the bushes, I entered the lawn and had plucked a Malta just then I noticed an ‘angry like mad’ gardener entering the wicket gate and charging towards me. I was paralyzed, plain immobile. My legs refused to leave ground, as if glued to ground. He thrashed me and confiscated the booty too. My school mate Dilip also stayed across the road where Ashok yatri and Kanishka hotels stood. Dilip had two sisters Asha and (strangely) Ramesh. I know when the displaced persons of East Pakistan were given refuge to start their lives it was named EPDP colony (East Pakistan Displaced Persons). The residents found the name rather unsavory so renamed the ghetto as CR Park (Chitaranjan). Today it is known as mini Bengal, where even the shopkeepers talk to you in chaste Bangla. CR Park has the grand Kali temple and the scale of grandeur during Pooja festival celebrations in CR Park is unparalleled in whole of Delhi.
Alas! I do not know where the DPs (Displaced Persons) of Victoria Mess got relocated. Could they be rehabilitated at all? Today there is no sign whatsoever of Victoria Mess on Dr Rajendra Prasad road except the DMS milk booth and a small road side shrine (grown from obscure idol under a tree)
Long live the spirit of Victoria Mess.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 6:11 AM 1 comments
Friday, March 18, 2011
ERROR OF JUDGEMENT Ha... Ha…Give me another one
(It is received with disbelief, hilarity and cynicism when none other than Prime Minister tried to unsuccessfully pacify the opposition’s criticism by calling a major constitutional appointment made by his government as an error of judgment. Who he thought would be so naïve to give credence to his statement.)
We are living in interesting times, to say the least. When did you last see or hear an ‘honest’ P.M. heading a bunch of corrupt…criminal...Tainted ministers. English is a funny yet rich language. You have terms to describe every situation and catastrophe politicians can push our country to. Error of judgment is one such phrase in the weaponry. I wonder! How every one in the numerous stages down the chain suffered from this color blindness called Error of judgment. So our PM brushes all allegations and comes out unscathed, or so he thinks. He is calling it (Thomas’s appointment as CVC of India) nothing big just an error of judgment. (EOJ) CWG was another EOJ. The list is endless. 3 G scam EOJ. Adarsh scam EOJ. Purchase of MPs votes so that an ‘honest’ PM could continue at helm—EOJ. Sharma says Nachiketa who? Next day newspapers splash him in family get- together photographs, may be yet another EOJ, this time probably by the photographer.
We all have a role to play till the curtains are down. Personal honesty is one of the traits required for prime minister. You can not rely on leading a nation of billion people by just one single sail called honesty. What about efficiency and effectiveness of the armada. The captain of the ship can not navigate rough sea on fate, hope and honesty. He has to have a team of equally honest, effective and dedicated crew aboard his ship.
Mr. Prime Minister you are not responsible for your honesty alone. You are responsible for honesty of your team mates too. Dhoni can not say I am sorry but see I am honest. He is on to the pitch not to display his honesty but his batting/bowling and captaincy skills. Isn’t he responsible for the performance of his entire team down to the last ball? Similarly, sir you are a nice man. You love poetry. You are a gentleman to the core. You do not vie for any personal gain but sir! Do us a favor even if it is for the first and last time – crack the whip... Go cracking man. Show them who the real boss is. Show them two of your sterling qualities, one - honesty that you already have in plenty and the other ‘zero tolerance’ to dishonesty. Sir, you may not be after Power but we do need a Powerful PM. Is it too much to ask. Don’t we deserve him/her?
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 11:33 PM 0 comments
Friday, December 31, 2010
THE FLYING SNAKE
There are hundreds of genre of snakes. One of the breeds is said to be of flying snakes. As the very name suggests, this snake flies. Have you ever seen one? Even I haven’t. However, a true story, I came across during my visit to Bandikui is here for you (as told to me by Kalyan Sahay Gaur, a retired Railway man of the era gone by).
Long long ago, during British Raj there was this C class station called flag station or way side station in Railway parlance. You might have noticed those tiny stations in your train journey when your train speeds by and there is this Assistant Station Master with green flag held at right angle from the ground. One Braj Gopal was the Station Master of this C class station. He was quite fond of ‘Bhaang’ (marijuana). During festive season folks in Rajasthan do indulge in merry-making by way of liberally consuming bhaang. Some of Braj Gopal’s staff made a rather strong potion and he along with his friends had more than he could hold. Since it was a shift change time, the staff including the Station Master who came to relieve Braj Gopal was also generously invited to the ‘party’ and offered liberal helpings of bhang. All the ‘guests’ of party were already sozzled and on a ‘high’. They had all rather forgotten that they were ‘on duty’. They were all too inebriated to remember that they were on duty. They had also forgotten that which trains are expected when, which trains required ‘line clear’ and which trains require ‘point setting’ through signal and caution order etc. All were in a trance. A train, not finding green signal is required to halt and give long whistles at the outer of station section, as per operating manual. Despite constant long whistles there was no green signal forthcoming Driver of the train, an Anglo-Indian, finding no signal and no effect of his constant whistling was annoyed. Driver and Guard together is the owner of the train in the mid-section. To say the Anglo-Indian driver was furious will be an understatement. The set rule in such eventuality is to uncouple the engine and ‘pilot’ it slowly into the station while continuously blowing the whistle.
The whistle sound closing by was enough to sober our party people. They staggered on their feet. Suddenly it dawned upon them what it means to be found ‘drunk’ on duty with train desperately languishing at outer. They realized they are going to summarily lose their jobs. Braj Gopal, the Station Master got brightest idea flashed in his mind. His room contained all the instruments of giving line clear and communication apparatus, he locked his room from outside and sat at the doorstep with a long face. When the driver shouted at Braj Gopal “Hey Man! What’s wrong?” Braj Gopal with suitable stammer in tongue and tremble in body replied “there is a flying snake in my office ... with great difficulty I have got the room locked before it could bite anyone... I have called the snake charmer... It is just not possible to open the cabin before that… who will open? Only the one who wants to commit suicide can open the lock, here is the key. No joke. It’s a flying snake, flies right at you aiming for your forehead. Once bitten, the death is instant. Not another moment. You may go …do whatever...I can’t risk life of my staff. Hearing this, driver too lost his nerve. He instantly calmed down. The entire train was piloted to the next station. From the cabin of next station, Control Room was informed of the flying snake. Mind of Braj Gopal was racing like Toofan Mail (Rajdhani Express or Shatabdi Express were yet to be introduced) how to come out unscathed from this entire flying snake saga. Men were sent in all the ten directions (North, South, East, West, North East, North West, South East, South West, Skyward (tree tops) and underground (snake pits) to catch a snake, flying or no flying, dead or alive. Alas! All came empty handed. They were wondering the snakes, hitherto galore in the area, where have they all vanished. Till yesterday one could not have ventured out to adjacent mangrove without spotting a couple of snakes with or without venom.
Next morning when a staffer was up on neem (margosa) tree looking for a twig to brush his teeth, he located a baby viper. He shouted “Mass Saab! Mass Saab! Snake!” The Station Master couldn’t ve asked for more. It was dream catch. Immediately a cloth was thrown at baby viper to confuse him and poor fellow got caught for no fault of his. He was consigned to a pitcher. Pitcher was sealed. The seal was duly signed by three employees; a kind of ‘panchnama’ and a paper slip was promptly pasted on the pitcher. The slip read:
1. Name: Flying snake
2. Time caught: 1900 hrs
3. Length: 1.5 yard
4. Color: Jet black
5. Age: Above 100 years
(Estimated by the snake-charmer)
6. Property: Flies, aims and bites only at forehead of anything moving.
7. Effect: Instant death.
A rookie khalasi was handed over the pitcher and assigned the task of carrying the catch to Bandikui to the District Traffic Superintendent. Mr. Jennison, D.T.S. immediately called for Mr Cononi, the Chief Controller and shared his wish to see a glimpse of the legendry flying snake. As it happens in bureaucracy, this order too traveled from the very top and stopped at the junior most staffer. They caught hold of a casual labor and ordered him to break open the seal of the pitcher. Hearing this, the casual labor hid behind the bushes and started crying non stop. “Maai baap I have nine children. I am the only earning member, they will all be orphaned”. The D.T.S. realized the sensitivity of the matter and futility of his desire to see a ‘flying snake’. Promptly, Badri Prasad Chaubey, the Chief Clerk was summoned and instructed to dig a deep pit to bury the pitcher. The secret of the Station Master’s bhang orgy and myth of a flying snake was buried forever.
Years later, superannuated Braj Gopal’s grand children would never get tired of hearing the story of flying snake night after night.As for Braj Gopal, he attributed his entire creative imagination to his favorite bhaang.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 11:13 AM 4 comments
COINS WITH FUNGUS
Ever since the establishment of Railways in 1853, when first train chugged off from Boribunder to Thane, wages to its employees are paid by way of currency in vogue. British later renamed Boribunder as Victoria Terminus. We Indians can not lag behind, so we very quickly rechristened it after our great warrior. As they say, it was a major operation of sex change when Victoria (terminus) emerged as Chhatrapti Shivaji (terminus). Provision of payment of wages in the valid currency exists in Payment of Wages Act 1936. Railways, a great network do not make the payment to all its employees on first of every month. Instead, due to a massive number of employees spread over a large area, wages are paid on different but fixed dates. Although salary is paid on ‘assumed attendance’ basis for full month yet absence, if any, is adjusted in the following month.
Bandikui was a major Railway activity center. Prior to carving out railway territory into divisions in 1956, Bandikui was a place of far greater significance than Jaipur.Those were the days of British Raj. Wages were paid in the form of prevailing silver coins.
There was this Dr. William Craft posted in a senior position as Divisional Medical Officer at Bandikui. Whenever DPC (Divisional Pay Clerk) with heavy bag of silver coins and menacing ‘security guards’ in toe, would visit Bandikui for disbursing wages, Dr Craft shall sit beside him and begin his ‘examination’ of coins, yes ! You read it right, examination of coins, coin by coin, one by one. The coins which had green fungus on them, he would pick aside for ‘closer’ or so to say intensive examination. He would begin the scrutiny of coins by poking lead pencil and digging out clean whatever little fungus he could, out of the faces (head and tail) of the coins.
All those coins which still had fungus deep entrenched in them, finally, he would place them apart. Such ten to fifteen rupees worth of different denomination 'dangerous' coins, he would then order, to bury deep underneath the mother earth. He was of the firm opinion that these fungus laden coins are ‘deadly’. Anyone who comes in contact with these coins will suffer ugly and painful death.
Month after month, ten to fifteen of such ‘infected’ and ‘evil’ coins were killed and buried by Dr. William Craft. He believed that by doing so he was actually doing a service to humanity and contributing his bit to save mankind. The orderly, peon or khalasi whosoever was available at the appointed time (coin examination) would have gala time for he would simply pocket them. An elaborate report of burial would be fabricated and submitted to the satisfaction of Dr Craft.
All through the tenure of Dr. William Craft in Bandikui, he observed and abided this procedure with a religious zeal to the great amusement and greater gains by the ‘pall-bearers’. Needless to say, Dr. Craft was immensely popular among his staff.
P.S.
Twenty years back, this tale was told to me by one Kalyan Sahai Gaur, a retired railway man of British era. I still wonder how and under what ‘head’ these dead coins were shown in the books.
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 1:47 AM 0 comments
Friday, November 19, 2010
RAMU SETH
The world history is full of people migrating from one place to another for various reasons, be it on religious grounds such as persecution of group of people following a particular faith. Parsi, Bahai, Jews from Moses to Mohd. Saheb Romas to Dalai Lama, people en masse have been migrating from one corner of the earth to another. Nearer home, in the year 1970 Raj Kapoor the greatest ever showman of celluloid in his magnum opus ‘Mera Naam Joker’ (255 minutes running time with two intervals) delivered a dialogue (made a statement) of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, outlining the universal truth “There is something more frightening and fierce than the most fierce lion and that is hunger”. So dear readers, right from the days when man was ‘food gatherer’ he has been driven by hunger to navigate uncharted path to fathom unfathomable and undertake unthinkable.
Bihar has been sending manpower to fields in remote countryside to power-corridors of India. A galaxy of Statesmen from Bihar has adorned the motherland right from India’s freedom struggle days. Our story opens in 1960s of Delhi, Faya Ram, a low-paid employee of P&T (Post & Telegraph) Department, Eastern Court, Janpath would annually return to his native place armed with fascinating tales of big city called Delhi – the land of opportunities. A poor lad Ramu would intently listen to those fairy tales, completely awe stuck with gaped mouth and dreamy eyes. Driven by abject poverty, hunger pangs, and el-dorado that the Delhi was made out to be by Faya Ram, Ramu a boy all of 19 years set for Delhi with his sole worldly possession – eighth class pass certificate. Narrating spiced up stories to naive villagers is one thing and having to bear and provide for someone gate-crashing in Delhi is quite another.
Faya Ram without wasting anytime took him to Shri D.A. Katti an M.P. from Chikodi, Belgaum at whose residence Faya Ram used to frequent in those idle evenings of Delhi. Ramu was promptly taken under the wings by Katti Saab. Ramu would cook and serve food to M.P. Saab. There was only one hitch... Ramu was not paid a penny, instead he was allowed to partake the food he cooked for M.P., and so he cooked for both. Greater hitch was M.P.’s sojourn in Delhi used to be disappointingly brief even when the Lok Sabha was in session. During the absence of M.P., Ramu was left to fend for himself. A famished boy, he had no option but to go door to door unnecessarily asking everyone’s well being, ever willing to lend helping hand. He would play like a child with neighborhood children in the fond hope that he may get a loaf of bread or at least a cup of tea. Often, he was given food out of sheer mercy as a charity. But not for too long. The lady luck smiled at him. Oh! How cruel and scheming a smile can be?
A lady passenger reasonably good looking, well past in her forties smiled at him in the DTU bus. Before it became today’s DTC, the bus fleet was known as DTU – (Delhi Transport Undertaking). Then what followed was a courteous conversation. Next day, it was little more social talk. Third day they went for a cup of tea. Exchanging pleasantries... the lady Mrs. Chadha wanted to know everything about Ramu. Finding that an unknown lady taking so much interest in him Ramu felt warm and nice, as nice and important as never before. Ramu opened his heart out to her. She was visibly moved hearing that Ramu does not know where the next meal will come from. She insisted Ramu to come to her parlor in posh Pusa Road. It was a sprawling bungalow. Mrs. Chadha hand-in-hand with Ramu walked in the bungalow. At ground floor, Ram saw two teenage boys staring at him. She gave them kind of ‘I hate you’ looks. Laughing, joking, cuddling, she went to first floor of the bungalow. She had the entire floor for herself and of course, for our Ramu...no not Ramu but Ramu Seth. Mrs. Chadha was into intimate relationship with one rich industrialist - Mr Chadha who was a widower. She looked after Mr. Chadha rather too well – leading to his untimely sudden death. All the kith and kin of Chadhas rose in unison against this ‘freshly widowed Mrs. Chadha’. Back in Soulful sixties it was difficult to keep honour intact and yet find time and space to do kind of wayward adventures Mr. Chadha indulged in. Therefore, every thing was kept hush-hush and more so after the demise of Mr. Chadha, nobody wanted to speak ill of him and yet knew not how to handle this ‘new Mrs. Chadha’. Mrs. Chadha on her part had played her cards rather too well. She staked her claim on entire property and wealth of Mr. Chadha being her widow - and children being minor. Ramu was her servant by the day and prized trophy by night. If it can be called a job then Ramu had chucked his job with our hon’ble M.P. His new swanky address had everyone who knew him in absolute amazement. Lucky You! Ramu had a wardrobe he had never dreamt of. People would call him Ramu Seth and he would not refute and thought he actually was one. Mrs. Chadha, the lady luck smiled at him, why smile, she was guffawing... Laughing her guts out and Ramu Seth was shyly grinning. Ramu had never had it so good. Everything was God sent or so believed Ramu. It was a classic tale of rags to riches. Ramu with his new found status was hugely embarrassed to do any household chores anymore. Life was a big picnic. A dream without morning. How could Ramu Seth do odd jobs any more? A non-descript maid was promptly engaged to do the menial chores. Little did Ramu know that the maid appearing at their doorstep was no co incidence? She was carefully planted by the Chadha clan to score even with Mrs. Chadha For that it was necessary to separate her from Ramu Seth. With rudimentary planning and enough grease, local police gladly obliged. Early hours of one cold morning Ramu was arrested for raping the minor maid and dealing in contraband with Pakistani seal smuggled via Punjab.
With all the witnesses at the right place, in a summary trial, Ramu was imprisoned for seven years. Ramu a semi-literate village rustic neither knew what his fault was nor had any ink link what had hit him.
Last letter from Ramu was a heart rending account of torture in prison, begging us for mercy he was desperate to come out of prison.
The elders say the roots of all evils are 3Zs - Zar – wealth, Zoru – woman and Zameen- Estate. Unfortunately poor Ramu’s rise and fall had all the three.
We never heard of Ramu... Ramu Seth again.
==
Posted by Ravinderkumar at 2:13 AM 0 comments
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Ravi ki kavitayen
Ravikikavitayen
4 days ago
मेरे बारे मे
Ravinderkumar
Born on 11th March at Aligarh,UP. Educated in Delhi, Bangalore. Worked as Personnel Officer, HAL,Nasik, Manager(P&A) ITDC,New Delhi.Indian Railway Personnel Service(IAS allied ) Jt. General Manager (HRM) IRCON International. CPO & CVO Delhi Metro, Senior Professor (Organizational Behavior) Railway Staff College, Vadodara Presently: Chief Personnel Officer (Admn)Central Railway Head Quarters, Mumbai-1 BOOKS (poetry) 1.SEEPI MOTI BHARI 2.PANKHURIYAN GULAB KI 3.OS KI BUNDIEN 4.SUNEHRI DHOOP KI CHHAON TALE 5.EHSAAS 6.MERI 101 KAVITAAYEN SATIRES: 1. MISS RISHWAT 2, TIHAR CLUB 3. BALD IS BEAUTIFUL 4. MERA BHARAT MAHAAN 5. MERE 51 VYANG GENERAL : 1. GATT A CRITICAL ANALYSIS 2. EK BAAR KI BAAT HAI 3. RAILWAY KARMIK NIYAMAVALI 4. DID YOU KNOW Writing since childhood.... Awarded Millennium Award 2000 International Hindi Society. Regularly contributing on All India Radio, Mumbai and in magazines and websites India and abroad. BOOKS PUBLISHER: ABD PUBLISHERS B-46 NATRAJ NAGAR IMLIWALA PHATAK JAIPUR-302015 TEL:0141-2594705 email oxfordbook@sify.com
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Saturday, May 28, 2011
The Technocon: Solar Power Basics
The Technocon: Solar Power Basics: "One of the pillars of the Technocon and essential to achieving self-sustainability is a reliable power source. When we have a unlimited pow..."
The Battle for Maat
The Battle for Maat
The Battle for Maat
previously known as Cairote Women and Other Stories
Egypt the Uprising
Blog
About
Hello newcomers and old friends,
If you were a regular visitor to my blog, you may be puzzled by the name change.
Don't be... this is merely a step forward.
I have changed and therefore a change in my blog followed.
I became an author. I wrote the Novel I always wanted to write. In fact, I planned out a whole series.
This blog started out as my voice to the world... Cairotes Women &Other stories.
I will still write about Cairo, and the women, but there are many more stories to talk about now.
Stories that are worthy of their own domain name.
Stories that make up the Battle for Ma'at.
Monday, May 23, 2011
When the Armed Reign Supreme
My friends and family from all over the world ask me: “how fares the Egyptian revolution?”
And in all honesty, I choke on the answer. I usually gulp down some coffee and stare into the empty space ahead and shake my head.
For those of you who don’t know, Egypt is now run by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF). Does the name sound scary enough? Sounds pretty scary to me!
I’ve always been wary of those who are armed, especially if they reign supreme.
The Egyptian people, however, has a completely different view. Army tanks deployed on the streets of Tahrir square back in the Mubarak-days were greeted with loving chants. Army officers were being hugged by people from all walks of life. Tears of joys were in the eyes of many of the protestors who had once chanted “wahid, itnayn, el gayesh el masry fayn” which roughly translates to “ one … two … our army where are you?” The truly believed in the Egyptian Army as their savior and deliverer from the hellish grip of the brutal police.
“What the hell is wrong with these people,” I had asked .
“What do you mean what’s wrong with them? Nothing is wrong with them, they’re welcoming our Army.” He said looking at me as if I had just landed from a different planet. “Our army. The army that has sworn to defend and protect us. The army that stands guard to keep Egypt safe.”
I still failed to understand the true reasons behind the love affair between Egyptians and the Army. Not because I had anything against them, but because I knew all too well that the disciplined army soldiers, who live and die by a sacred hierarchical structure, have no taste for democracy--or rights.
Mubarak stepped down, or rather was forced to step down by a yet-to-be-identified entity. And SCAF stepped up.
I immediately did not like this. Armed forces are trained to fight, not rule. It is just a simple as that. They undergo rigorous training that encourages blind obedience, suppresses individuality, fosters patriarchal world views, and teaches blindness to the rights of the one when it conflicts with the good of the many. And herein lies the rub!
SCAF’s current version of the good of the many involves keeping ex-president Mubarak in 5-star suite in a private Sharm El Sheikh hospital.
SCAF are just extending some courtesy to their ex-leader Mubarak, you say? You want us to let it go? Well, Mubarak has ordered the police to gun down protestors which resulted in the death and maiming of thousands of Egyptians, most of them young and still had a full life ahead of them. Mubarak lies in a 5-star hospital bed while the dead lie in their graves. Does that sound fair to you?
Egypt is spiraling down a very dark tunnel while our future is not revealed to us by the powers that be. Lack of transparency, camouflage-clothing inspired perhaps, is baffling us. When EXACTLY are the elections? Dates… numbers? No one knows for sure. Who’s voting? Rumor after rumor followed by a denial here and a confirmation there.
Civilians undergo military trials. While Mubarak, once the high commander of the Armed Forces, is being investigated by the Attorney General. Justice? I think not.
We seek justice for those who were wronged and we seek our long-lost freedom. That’s how I know we are on the side of righteousness.
May 27th is when we attempt to right the wrongs and walk-down the paths of Tahrir Square again. If you cannot join us, I beseech you, remember us in your prayers.
Be the first to rate this [?]
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Novel Coming Right Up
Did you notice that awesome new mysterious background I have?
Have I been doin' something behind your back? ;p
Yes, 'tis true boys and gals, I've been up to something ...
I have been hiding out writing a novel.
It will be coming out in the beginning of June 2011 *fingers crossed.*
Want a sneak peak?
Here's the cover...
rated 5.0 by 2 people [?]
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Children of the Egyptian Revolution
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Egypt's Sectarian Clashes : Same Misogynists Different Shit
It is with a heavy heart that I write today about the God-forsaken events that shook Egypt in Imbaba , a poor Cairo district. Two churchs were attacked and lives were lost. Egyptian precious lives.
Here I beg to argue that the root of all evils in Egyptian Sectarian tension is partiarchial misogynist attitudes that feed on tribal values and male chauvaunistic tendencies.
A woman is always at the heart of it all. Camilia , then Abir, and probably to be followed by many other unfortunate souls who are denied their rights to choose their lives, their destinies-- and of course , above all, fall in love.
The story always goes like that: a woman, whatever her religion, defies the socio-cultural norms and makes a husband, brother or father angry. It is usually the story of a woman seeking freedom from a shattered marriage; or a young girl looking for love in the arms of someone who happened to be from a different religion.
The angered opposed male figure starts to rally for his cause Matters then escalate into a frenzy.
Men are especially prone to going insane over anything that remotely touches on the hackeneyed concept of "sharaf" or honor-- which is coincidentally also our PM's last name. Their 'honor', naturally, is to keep their women nicely tucked away with halos of virtue and chastity , real or imaginary, hovering over their head.
Egyptians... Please grow up before Egypt burns to the ground!
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
Children of the Egyptian Revolution
This piece first appeared on the Imperfect Parent,
titled Tahrir Square Presents Children of the Egyptian Revolution
“Mommy! Don’t ‘Oust’ me! I am not an evil president.” Said my six year old as a reply to my “Allez! Oust! Au lit!” which is French for C’mon and get to bed right away. She associated the interjection ‘oust’ with the English verb she heard so many times from me, as well as on Television where news of attempts to ‘oust’ Mubarak, the evil Egyptian president, was all over. She said that to me in English then switched to Arabic to ask me if I can take her to Tahrir Square tomorrow.
The way she pronounced ‘Tahrir’ square made it clear, beyond any doubt, that she was truly Egyptian. The way she formed the “h” of Tahrir, the letter we represent phonetically as ‘7’ in our Arabic text messages, was impeccable. “Tahrir means Liberation in Arabic, is that why we chose this square mommy?” It was, in fact, just a coincidence--a very befitting one indeed. Liberation square witnessed the largest protests in Egyptian history. Protests which lead to the putting an end to the thirty-year reign of the dictator Hosni Mubarak and has set the country on a path for political reform.
Tuesday January 25th was the date it all started. My daughter woke up and sat next to me as I was watching live feed showing the protests. I explained to her that people are demonstrating because they want the president to leave because he is not a very fair person and he had done many things that are very wrong. She heard me talking on the phone to friends heading towards Tahrir and that was the first time she heard the word dictator-- or a deektaatoor as we would pronounce it in Arabic. She giggled because a ‘toor’ is a bull in Arabic, so to her, that was a funny way to insult someone. After I was off the phone she said to me, “I know why you call him a ‘tor’. It’s cuz he’s a bully right?” Her eyes sparkled and I did not want to burst her bubble. She spoke the whole sentence in Arabic except for the English word “bully.” She had made an interesting association between the word bully and ‘toor’ which in her mind meant bull. I though this quite amusing and wondered whether I should correct her at all.
“No honey, a ‘deektaatoor’ is called a dictator in English and has nothing to do with bulls. A dictator is someone who likes to hog power and authority all for himself, and he uses them to control people.”
“Aha! He IS a bully then! Told ya mommy.” This exchange was again in English, and then we went on a discussion, in French, of the differences between ruling a country and being Mayor of ‘Toy Village’--her own imaginary make-belief play land. She did not think there was that much of a difference and so she firmly believed she can be an excellent choice for the next Egyptian president, like Cleopatra. The fact that Cleopatra was not a president did not matter too much to her. A person who rules a country, whether elected or not, should be just and fair. You can hardly argue with that.
Our trilingual conversation is just an example of the multiculturalism that exists in Egypt. We have French, Canadian, British, and American family members in our extended family. In fact, almost every family in Egypt has. And they all have backed up and supported our revolution.
This February, all the children of Egypt, like my daughter, are learning important lessons about freedom, courage and standing up for their rights--values which were only whispers prior to January 25th,2011.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Speechless in Tahrir Square
Blog about it Amira... write about it.
Well sometimes, the fact is, you are just speechless and utterly at a loss for words.
When history is being written, and we are there, we live it. I could not write about it while it was happening, I was too shaken--and too bitter at all those trying to abort the revolution.
When Mubarak stepped down, I wrote about it on Blogcritics.
And now there is so much to do--and so much to write about.
So let the journey begin....
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Thursday, December 9, 2010
Egypt Shark Attacks: So long Diversity!
Shark attacks tourist in Sharm El Sheikh. Egypt attacks shark.
First the pig slaughter in the name of swine flu, and now the shark crackdown for the sake of catching “the killers.”
I should note that I am not at all suggesting that being environmentally friendly is letting your local sharks feed on humans. I am merely pointing out the ludicrous manner in which the Egyptian authorities deal with any animal-related threat whether real or exaggerated, as in the case of the swine flu. If a species is suspected of causing any trouble, they are just simply wiped out of the country by whatever ministry that fancies getting the credit of making people feel safe.
Actually, somehow I suspect that the officials in Egypt would just love to do the same to a certain subset of the Egyptian population *wink wink.* The motto in Egypt is --if it bothers you, finish it off!
Now that the investigation is being held in Sharm el sheikh, many of theories proposed suggest that humans messing up the environment was most likely the underlying cause of this aberrant shark attacks.
Someone was either drawing them to shore with churned-up fish. Or, as pointed out by dailymail, a cargo ship dumped a load of animal carcasses in the sea instigating the hungry sharks to gather. This brings us to another point--hungry sharks. Guess who made them hungry? Humans you say? Yep, absolutely! The depletion of the marine life ecosystem leaves larger predators starving.
But while we are kissing biodiversity goodbye, we should keep in mind that some of these species could hold the key to curing our ailments.
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Language Learning (Part Two)
In part 1, I talked about language fluency as a product of incorporating the new language in your life, not just learning the language mechanics and application of grammatical concepts.
Now, in the second part of the series, we will look at the first of many practical tips and suggestions every language learner should embrace--not just because I say so--but because they are tried and true. They are also the concepts behind all language learning programs out there.
Immerse yourself in the Language.
You want to learn English?
Then read English. Listen to English.
Speak English, and above all, write English.
The rest of this post will tell give you a list of No-No’s, what to steer clear from when trying out this language immersion approach.
Do NOT read Junk.
When I advise you to read for language acquisition purposes, I will urge you to only read material written by native speakers--or writers at a near-native level. Refrain from reading awkwardly composed fiction or non-fiction written by someone who is merely translating their thoughts from their mother tongue into English. As a rule of thumb, you should stick with material published by renowned publishing houses.
Do not zpeak Inglish Wiz Your Cousins (unless your cousins are cool Americans or funky Brits).
This one has always baffled me. People ‘practicing’ a language by speaking to their immediate family members or friends who are no better than them. The sight of mamas in malls instructing their kids to “bleaze go get ze rice” makes me cringe. Why don’t you just tell the poor kid to fetch you a bag of rice in Arabic? Do you really think this enlightening conversation will turn the kids into a Hemmingway?
Do Not Bother Reading something that bores you.
You should choose a topic that genuinely interests you. Don’t just pick up any generic language learning book and start reading it. These usually are workbooks. It’s true that they have ‘comprehension’ passages, but that is not what I want you to use for reading material. Choose a topic you’re passionate about: a hobby, a certain genre of fiction you like, or even politics. Your interest in the topic will make it more likely that you continue reading, and you will find out that you retain better the sentence structure and syntax. You will begin to ‘echo’ your favorite writers unconsciously as you begin to absorb how to build sentences and use words precisely where they belong.
Read Thoroughly.
Read thoroughly and read well. Don’t skim over the material. Highlight sentences which strike you as pretty. Underline words that are new to you. And, oh, by the way, the dictionary IS your best friend. You have to look up words as they cross your path. If you find yourself not reaching for the dictionary at all during your reading session then maybe the material you’ve chosen is too easy for you. Get out of your comfort zone and look for more challenge!
If you are looking for specific reading suggestions, email me with your general interests and I’ll give you a few examples of reliable material you can use.
Next time we will talk about the listening and speaking components of the language immersion program.
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Will Be Right Back
I haven't forgotten about part two, or the rest of the 'fluently' series that I promised.
I am just ultra-busy with my grad school work, and will be back --hopefully-- on December 8th.
Meanwhile, as one of many assignments for my HPM600 class, I started another blog where I will be commenting on a book by the Pultizer prize winning author Paul Starr.
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Sunday, October 24, 2010
How Can You Learn Any Language Effortlessly
Effortlessly? Did I say effortlessly? Well, almost effortlessly anyway. Contrary to what many believe, language learning does not have to be a boring, tedious, complicated task.
In fact, the more fun you, or your kids, have while learning a new language, the more successful you will ultimately be. I stare, in awe, at howling mothers sitting in the club on gorgeous Saturday mornings wasting their time forcing their children to etch in wretched notebooks line after line of smothering sentences : " Good morning Hassan. My name is Khalil and I like bananas." Pffff! This is , supposedly, an attempt to teach kids English in Kindergarten/first primary. Then comes of course the endless hours of grammar, whether it be English 'if sentences' or French conjugaison.
After years and years of that in traditional school systems, how many students became fluent speakers of the second languages they were taught? Not enough I would say!
So what IS the secret of language fluency ?
It is as simple as this: to speak a language fluently you must process your thoughts in that language and not perform a literal word for word translation from your mother tongue into that language.
Yes, it is true, believe me. To speak a language well, you have to think in it.
Why? You may ask.
The virtues are too many to count but most importantly you tend to speak faster, hesitate less, and always find the right words. Choice of words, in the context of a conversation especially, is not easy when you try to translate from another language.
I'll give you a simple example. You are a native Arabic speaker. You met an American friend and you started chit chatting with him. He asks you a question and you would like to reply mish a'wee or nos nos*, but can't exactly find the right words, so you hesitate and stop to think. If the friend was asking you how you did on an exam for example, and you weren't too happy with how you did, you could reply : "I did OK, wish I could've done better though." This is a much more eloquent answer than the awkward translation many Egyptians use: "so and so." Or even the Ridiculously literal " half and half," evidently because nos literally means half.
In part two of this series, I will indulge you in fun and relatively easy ways you can start to think in the language of your choice.
*mish a'wee/ nos nos are Egyptian slang terms used to indicate that things aren't going too well, but not too bad either.
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Friday, October 1, 2010
I Write Like
So I was surfing the web, not out of lack of things to do --just quite the opposite actually, where I came across this " I Write Like " gadget.
The idea is simple and quite appealing to someone looking for pointless self-inflating fun.
You insert a snippet of your writing and it gives you a badge telling you who you supposedly mimic in your pathetic attempts of being a writer.
So, I reluctantly chose a piece, cut and paste it, press enter and wait the results:
DAN BROWN
hah! I thought. So my sentences are choppy, my syntax is rudimentary, and my story line is horrendously spiraling!!
But unlike Mr. Brown, I am not about to diss the Church, or the mosque, or the synagogue for that matter in my novel. So I think that my chances of turning my book into a world wide phenomenon are , ahem, well , next to nil!
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previously known as Cairote Women and Other Stories
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Blog
About
Hello newcomers and old friends,
If you were a regular visitor to my blog, you may be puzzled by the name change.
Don't be... this is merely a step forward.
I have changed and therefore a change in my blog followed.
I became an author. I wrote the Novel I always wanted to write. In fact, I planned out a whole series.
This blog started out as my voice to the world... Cairotes Women &Other stories.
I will still write about Cairo, and the women, but there are many more stories to talk about now.
Stories that are worthy of their own domain name.
Stories that make up the Battle for Ma'at.
Monday, May 23, 2011
When the Armed Reign Supreme
My friends and family from all over the world ask me: “how fares the Egyptian revolution?”
And in all honesty, I choke on the answer. I usually gulp down some coffee and stare into the empty space ahead and shake my head.
For those of you who don’t know, Egypt is now run by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF). Does the name sound scary enough? Sounds pretty scary to me!
I’ve always been wary of those who are armed, especially if they reign supreme.
The Egyptian people, however, has a completely different view. Army tanks deployed on the streets of Tahrir square back in the Mubarak-days were greeted with loving chants. Army officers were being hugged by people from all walks of life. Tears of joys were in the eyes of many of the protestors who had once chanted “wahid, itnayn, el gayesh el masry fayn” which roughly translates to “ one … two … our army where are you?” The truly believed in the Egyptian Army as their savior and deliverer from the hellish grip of the brutal police.
“What the hell is wrong with these people,” I had asked .
“What do you mean what’s wrong with them? Nothing is wrong with them, they’re welcoming our Army.” He said looking at me as if I had just landed from a different planet. “Our army. The army that has sworn to defend and protect us. The army that stands guard to keep Egypt safe.”
I still failed to understand the true reasons behind the love affair between Egyptians and the Army. Not because I had anything against them, but because I knew all too well that the disciplined army soldiers, who live and die by a sacred hierarchical structure, have no taste for democracy--or rights.
Mubarak stepped down, or rather was forced to step down by a yet-to-be-identified entity. And SCAF stepped up.
I immediately did not like this. Armed forces are trained to fight, not rule. It is just a simple as that. They undergo rigorous training that encourages blind obedience, suppresses individuality, fosters patriarchal world views, and teaches blindness to the rights of the one when it conflicts with the good of the many. And herein lies the rub!
SCAF’s current version of the good of the many involves keeping ex-president Mubarak in 5-star suite in a private Sharm El Sheikh hospital.
SCAF are just extending some courtesy to their ex-leader Mubarak, you say? You want us to let it go? Well, Mubarak has ordered the police to gun down protestors which resulted in the death and maiming of thousands of Egyptians, most of them young and still had a full life ahead of them. Mubarak lies in a 5-star hospital bed while the dead lie in their graves. Does that sound fair to you?
Egypt is spiraling down a very dark tunnel while our future is not revealed to us by the powers that be. Lack of transparency, camouflage-clothing inspired perhaps, is baffling us. When EXACTLY are the elections? Dates… numbers? No one knows for sure. Who’s voting? Rumor after rumor followed by a denial here and a confirmation there.
Civilians undergo military trials. While Mubarak, once the high commander of the Armed Forces, is being investigated by the Attorney General. Justice? I think not.
We seek justice for those who were wronged and we seek our long-lost freedom. That’s how I know we are on the side of righteousness.
May 27th is when we attempt to right the wrongs and walk-down the paths of Tahrir Square again. If you cannot join us, I beseech you, remember us in your prayers.
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Novel Coming Right Up
Did you notice that awesome new mysterious background I have?
Have I been doin' something behind your back? ;p
Yes, 'tis true boys and gals, I've been up to something ...
I have been hiding out writing a novel.
It will be coming out in the beginning of June 2011 *fingers crossed.*
Want a sneak peak?
Here's the cover...
rated 5.0 by 2 people [?]
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Egypt's Sectarian Clashes : Same Misogynists Different Shit
It is with a heavy heart that I write today about the God-forsaken events that shook Egypt in Imbaba , a poor Cairo district. Two churchs were attacked and lives were lost. Egyptian precious lives.
Here I beg to argue that the root of all evils in Egyptian Sectarian tension is partiarchial misogynist attitudes that feed on tribal values and male chauvaunistic tendencies.
A woman is always at the heart of it all. Camilia , then Abir, and probably to be followed by many other unfortunate souls who are denied their rights to choose their lives, their destinies-- and of course , above all, fall in love.
The story always goes like that: a woman, whatever her religion, defies the socio-cultural norms and makes a husband, brother or father angry. It is usually the story of a woman seeking freedom from a shattered marriage; or a young girl looking for love in the arms of someone who happened to be from a different religion.
The angered opposed male figure starts to rally for his cause Matters then escalate into a frenzy.
Men are especially prone to going insane over anything that remotely touches on the hackeneyed concept of "sharaf" or honor-- which is coincidentally also our PM's last name. Their 'honor', naturally, is to keep their women nicely tucked away with halos of virtue and chastity , real or imaginary, hovering over their head.
Egyptians... Please grow up before Egypt burns to the ground!
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
Children of the Egyptian Revolution
This piece first appeared on the Imperfect Parent,
titled Tahrir Square Presents Children of the Egyptian Revolution
“Mommy! Don’t ‘Oust’ me! I am not an evil president.” Said my six year old as a reply to my “Allez! Oust! Au lit!” which is French for C’mon and get to bed right away. She associated the interjection ‘oust’ with the English verb she heard so many times from me, as well as on Television where news of attempts to ‘oust’ Mubarak, the evil Egyptian president, was all over. She said that to me in English then switched to Arabic to ask me if I can take her to Tahrir Square tomorrow.
The way she pronounced ‘Tahrir’ square made it clear, beyond any doubt, that she was truly Egyptian. The way she formed the “h” of Tahrir, the letter we represent phonetically as ‘7’ in our Arabic text messages, was impeccable. “Tahrir means Liberation in Arabic, is that why we chose this square mommy?” It was, in fact, just a coincidence--a very befitting one indeed. Liberation square witnessed the largest protests in Egyptian history. Protests which lead to the putting an end to the thirty-year reign of the dictator Hosni Mubarak and has set the country on a path for political reform.
Tuesday January 25th was the date it all started. My daughter woke up and sat next to me as I was watching live feed showing the protests. I explained to her that people are demonstrating because they want the president to leave because he is not a very fair person and he had done many things that are very wrong. She heard me talking on the phone to friends heading towards Tahrir and that was the first time she heard the word dictator-- or a deektaatoor as we would pronounce it in Arabic. She giggled because a ‘toor’ is a bull in Arabic, so to her, that was a funny way to insult someone. After I was off the phone she said to me, “I know why you call him a ‘tor’. It’s cuz he’s a bully right?” Her eyes sparkled and I did not want to burst her bubble. She spoke the whole sentence in Arabic except for the English word “bully.” She had made an interesting association between the word bully and ‘toor’ which in her mind meant bull. I though this quite amusing and wondered whether I should correct her at all.
“No honey, a ‘deektaatoor’ is called a dictator in English and has nothing to do with bulls. A dictator is someone who likes to hog power and authority all for himself, and he uses them to control people.”
“Aha! He IS a bully then! Told ya mommy.” This exchange was again in English, and then we went on a discussion, in French, of the differences between ruling a country and being Mayor of ‘Toy Village’--her own imaginary make-belief play land. She did not think there was that much of a difference and so she firmly believed she can be an excellent choice for the next Egyptian president, like Cleopatra. The fact that Cleopatra was not a president did not matter too much to her. A person who rules a country, whether elected or not, should be just and fair. You can hardly argue with that.
Our trilingual conversation is just an example of the multiculturalism that exists in Egypt. We have French, Canadian, British, and American family members in our extended family. In fact, almost every family in Egypt has. And they all have backed up and supported our revolution.
This February, all the children of Egypt, like my daughter, are learning important lessons about freedom, courage and standing up for their rights--values which were only whispers prior to January 25th,2011.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Speechless in Tahrir Square
Blog about it Amira... write about it.
Well sometimes, the fact is, you are just speechless and utterly at a loss for words.
When history is being written, and we are there, we live it. I could not write about it while it was happening, I was too shaken--and too bitter at all those trying to abort the revolution.
When Mubarak stepped down, I wrote about it on Blogcritics.
And now there is so much to do--and so much to write about.
So let the journey begin....
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Thursday, December 9, 2010
Egypt Shark Attacks: So long Diversity!
Shark attacks tourist in Sharm El Sheikh. Egypt attacks shark.
First the pig slaughter in the name of swine flu, and now the shark crackdown for the sake of catching “the killers.”
I should note that I am not at all suggesting that being environmentally friendly is letting your local sharks feed on humans. I am merely pointing out the ludicrous manner in which the Egyptian authorities deal with any animal-related threat whether real or exaggerated, as in the case of the swine flu. If a species is suspected of causing any trouble, they are just simply wiped out of the country by whatever ministry that fancies getting the credit of making people feel safe.
Actually, somehow I suspect that the officials in Egypt would just love to do the same to a certain subset of the Egyptian population *wink wink.* The motto in Egypt is --if it bothers you, finish it off!
Now that the investigation is being held in Sharm el sheikh, many of theories proposed suggest that humans messing up the environment was most likely the underlying cause of this aberrant shark attacks.
Someone was either drawing them to shore with churned-up fish. Or, as pointed out by dailymail, a cargo ship dumped a load of animal carcasses in the sea instigating the hungry sharks to gather. This brings us to another point--hungry sharks. Guess who made them hungry? Humans you say? Yep, absolutely! The depletion of the marine life ecosystem leaves larger predators starving.
But while we are kissing biodiversity goodbye, we should keep in mind that some of these species could hold the key to curing our ailments.
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Language Learning (Part Two)
In part 1, I talked about language fluency as a product of incorporating the new language in your life, not just learning the language mechanics and application of grammatical concepts.
Now, in the second part of the series, we will look at the first of many practical tips and suggestions every language learner should embrace--not just because I say so--but because they are tried and true. They are also the concepts behind all language learning programs out there.
Immerse yourself in the Language.
You want to learn English?
Then read English. Listen to English.
Speak English, and above all, write English.
The rest of this post will tell give you a list of No-No’s, what to steer clear from when trying out this language immersion approach.
Do NOT read Junk.
When I advise you to read for language acquisition purposes, I will urge you to only read material written by native speakers--or writers at a near-native level. Refrain from reading awkwardly composed fiction or non-fiction written by someone who is merely translating their thoughts from their mother tongue into English. As a rule of thumb, you should stick with material published by renowned publishing houses.
Do not zpeak Inglish Wiz Your Cousins (unless your cousins are cool Americans or funky Brits).
This one has always baffled me. People ‘practicing’ a language by speaking to their immediate family members or friends who are no better than them. The sight of mamas in malls instructing their kids to “bleaze go get ze rice” makes me cringe. Why don’t you just tell the poor kid to fetch you a bag of rice in Arabic? Do you really think this enlightening conversation will turn the kids into a Hemmingway?
Do Not Bother Reading something that bores you.
You should choose a topic that genuinely interests you. Don’t just pick up any generic language learning book and start reading it. These usually are workbooks. It’s true that they have ‘comprehension’ passages, but that is not what I want you to use for reading material. Choose a topic you’re passionate about: a hobby, a certain genre of fiction you like, or even politics. Your interest in the topic will make it more likely that you continue reading, and you will find out that you retain better the sentence structure and syntax. You will begin to ‘echo’ your favorite writers unconsciously as you begin to absorb how to build sentences and use words precisely where they belong.
Read Thoroughly.
Read thoroughly and read well. Don’t skim over the material. Highlight sentences which strike you as pretty. Underline words that are new to you. And, oh, by the way, the dictionary IS your best friend. You have to look up words as they cross your path. If you find yourself not reaching for the dictionary at all during your reading session then maybe the material you’ve chosen is too easy for you. Get out of your comfort zone and look for more challenge!
If you are looking for specific reading suggestions, email me with your general interests and I’ll give you a few examples of reliable material you can use.
Next time we will talk about the listening and speaking components of the language immersion program.
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Will Be Right Back
I haven't forgotten about part two, or the rest of the 'fluently' series that I promised.
I am just ultra-busy with my grad school work, and will be back --hopefully-- on December 8th.
Meanwhile, as one of many assignments for my HPM600 class, I started another blog where I will be commenting on a book by the Pultizer prize winning author Paul Starr.
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Sunday, October 24, 2010
How Can You Learn Any Language Effortlessly
Effortlessly? Did I say effortlessly? Well, almost effortlessly anyway. Contrary to what many believe, language learning does not have to be a boring, tedious, complicated task.
In fact, the more fun you, or your kids, have while learning a new language, the more successful you will ultimately be. I stare, in awe, at howling mothers sitting in the club on gorgeous Saturday mornings wasting their time forcing their children to etch in wretched notebooks line after line of smothering sentences : " Good morning Hassan. My name is Khalil and I like bananas." Pffff! This is , supposedly, an attempt to teach kids English in Kindergarten/first primary. Then comes of course the endless hours of grammar, whether it be English 'if sentences' or French conjugaison.
After years and years of that in traditional school systems, how many students became fluent speakers of the second languages they were taught? Not enough I would say!
So what IS the secret of language fluency ?
It is as simple as this: to speak a language fluently you must process your thoughts in that language and not perform a literal word for word translation from your mother tongue into that language.
Yes, it is true, believe me. To speak a language well, you have to think in it.
Why? You may ask.
The virtues are too many to count but most importantly you tend to speak faster, hesitate less, and always find the right words. Choice of words, in the context of a conversation especially, is not easy when you try to translate from another language.
I'll give you a simple example. You are a native Arabic speaker. You met an American friend and you started chit chatting with him. He asks you a question and you would like to reply mish a'wee or nos nos*, but can't exactly find the right words, so you hesitate and stop to think. If the friend was asking you how you did on an exam for example, and you weren't too happy with how you did, you could reply : "I did OK, wish I could've done better though." This is a much more eloquent answer than the awkward translation many Egyptians use: "so and so." Or even the Ridiculously literal " half and half," evidently because nos literally means half.
In part two of this series, I will indulge you in fun and relatively easy ways you can start to think in the language of your choice.
*mish a'wee/ nos nos are Egyptian slang terms used to indicate that things aren't going too well, but not too bad either.
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Friday, October 1, 2010
I Write Like
So I was surfing the web, not out of lack of things to do --just quite the opposite actually, where I came across this " I Write Like " gadget.
The idea is simple and quite appealing to someone looking for pointless self-inflating fun.
You insert a snippet of your writing and it gives you a badge telling you who you supposedly mimic in your pathetic attempts of being a writer.
So, I reluctantly chose a piece, cut and paste it, press enter and wait the results:
DAN BROWN
hah! I thought. So my sentences are choppy, my syntax is rudimentary, and my story line is horrendously spiraling!!
But unlike Mr. Brown, I am not about to diss the Church, or the mosque, or the synagogue for that matter in my novel. So I think that my chances of turning my book into a world wide phenomenon are , ahem, well , next to nil!
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Behind The Blue Wall: [UK] Court didn't believe Judge Allen's wife Melan...
Behind The Blue Wall: [UK] Court didn't believe Judge Allen's wife Melan...: "A judge's career was in tatters tonight - after being found guilty of battering his wife because she was late with his tea... During the cas..."
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The ephemera blog of the Institute of Official CheerWorried about the Rapture? Relax: it's a typo
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Although some in the Pentagon thought this might actually boost recruitment.
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This must have moved a lot of copies off the newsstand.
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America's favorite sexless grain sprites wish you a floral May.
Download this gallery (ZIP, null KB)
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1949 ad. Get the exorcist, and tell him to bring a clip to put on his nose.
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Dreaming of disaster in the year of the crash.
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I say, let's go back in time and vaporize terrified hominids, shall we? It's grand sport!
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Bill Whalen
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
· 2 hours ago
President Obama went home today -- "home", in this instance, being the little Irish town of Moneygall, population an estimated 300.
According to locals, who believe the President's great-great-great grandfather was baptized at a nearby church, Obama can claim 5% Irish heritage.
I won't bother asking if you think O'Bama is "Irish".
But I am curious as to what you consider to be his genuine "home" -- not a mailing address or what he files on his tax returns, mind you, but his true "old sod".
Is it the White House, which at best is eight years of temporary lodging?
Is it the house back in Chicago that he and the family seem to rarely visit (something I find curious, given he has two daughters who were removed from their friends and neighbors).
Now that we've put the birther controversy to rest, is Hawaii the President's real home?
Or is "home" the one place, anywhere in the world, where this President seems most at home -- and that's sately nestled behind a TelePrompter. ...
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Comment (7), Edit, UnfollowFollow (1) EmailDiane Ellis, Ed.
Seattle Considers Banning Paper Cups
· 3 hours ago
I, for one, can't think of Seattle without thinking of Starbucks, which first opened its doors in the city in March of 1971. And what is Starbucks without coffee? (I should confess that I really like their oatmeal, but Starbucks pastries are another story altogether.) And what is coffee without, well, a cup out of which to enjoy that piping hot grande latte for which you forked over a month's worth of a Ricochet Membership?
Answer: a major inconvenience. An inconvenience so big, that you, and I, and everyone we know would make far fewer stops at Starbucks.
But that's no skin off Karin de Weille's back. This weekend, the enviro-statist launched a campaign to push Seattle to eliminate its use of paper cups.
"I think Seattle can push the frontier," [Ms. de Weille] said at Green Festival, the two-day celebration of eco-friendliness where the effort got its official start.
Harmless enough if it's just one raving hippie calling for the encroachment of other peoples' freedom. Less harmless if the City Council President is on board with this egregious assault on liberty. ...
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Comment (27), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailAndrew Klavan
Charles Krauthammer Slapdown
· 4 hours ago
There's a reason Charles Krauthammer has a name like a Norse god... Charles, Hammer of the Krauts... it's because he can strike you down like lightning. He was on Inside Washington, broadcast on government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS stations, when government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS commentator Mark Shields began to do the typical lefty routine of warning Republicans not to nominate a conservative presidential candidate or it could be "a problem." Krauthammer's wonderful response: "See, what Mark wants is a Republican nominee who is a squish and then he’ll vote against him anyway." Bingo. Here's the video.
Every candidate has weaknesses and sure, I can see problems with conservative candidates like Palin or Bachmann or Rick Perry - but the problems have nothing to do with their policies... which I don't think would be a problem at all.
H/T to the excellent Noel Sheppard at the likewise excellent Newsbusters.
Comment (12), Edit, UnfollowFollow (6) EmailRob Long
The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
· 5 hours ago
Sometimes, the logistics of printing a magazine get you into trouble. This month, the Washingtonian magazine has a glowing, laudatory profile of Dominique Strauss Kahn.
You've heard of him, right?
In between sending the issue to the printers and getting it to newsstands and subscribers, there was a little incident at the Sofitel in Manhattan.
The piece was quickly amended online, but it's worth reading the whole thing. It smacks -- in light of recent events, and especially in light of his past history -- of the kind of puff-piece, sucking-up pseudo journalism that a lot of leftist, bien pensant world figures get treated to. The profile was meant, in the editor's words:
...to introduce Strauss-Kahn’s neighbors here in Washington to a man considered one of Europe’s leading politicians—a man, as we say in the article, who might well be standing next to you in line at Whole Foods.
Sometimes bad timing tells you more than good timing.
Comment (18), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailEmily Esfahani Smith
Would You Wish This Lifestyle on Anyone?
· 5 hours ago
The lifestyle of a freelance writer, that is:
Freelancing means walking from the West Village to the Upper East Side and back because you don't have enough money for the subway. Freelancing means being so poor and so hungry for so long that you "eat" a bowl of soup that's just hot water, crushed-up multivitamins and half your spice rack (mostly garlic salt).
Even though he was getting published in the New York Times, Playboy, and the Wall Street Journal, this is how Richard Morgan, a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, lived for seven years. He details his years as a freelance writer here:
There was just one day in all these seven years that I had an actual job, at Gawker; I quit after the first day, an event that ended up becoming good anecdote for someone else's story in the Sunday Times. I get invited back to my journalism school to speak to the class about "how to be a successful freelancer" and "the art of freelancing."
I once got paid $100 a word. ...
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Comment (9), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailDiane Ellis, Ed.
Calling All Truckers
· 5 hours ago
Our friends Marco Beghetto and Peter Carter (who sport the most delightful Canadian brogues I've ever heard) over at Today's Trucking have introduced a new podcast called Dispatches about all things trucking. The latest episode (beginning at minute 17) features an interview with our own Dave Carter. In his interview, you'll discover what possessed Dave to become a trucker, how he got involved with Ricochet, and why you should never, ever try to smuggle a can of Beanie-Weenies across the border.
Comment (5), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailRob Long
Thank God for the USMC
· 6 hours ago
It's not a slow news day, of course, but before I post something meaty I thought I'd post something cheerful.
Justice served, USMC-style. From a local paper in Georgia, and I wish I had a link:
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Joined
May '10EJHill
T-Paw's Video Launch
· 7 hours ago
Somebody needs to learn to mix music with video, but not a bad start. Better than the book video.
Comment (11), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
World Still Ending, Environmentalists Warn
· 8 hours ago
IowaHawk tweets this morning:
We now return you to our regularly scheduled apocalypse. Remember to buy carbon credits if you want to be with Gaia on Judgment Day!
Followed by:
Diff between Harold Camping and enviromentalists: 1. He pays for his own apocalyptic fantasies. 2. Camping doesn't get do-overs.
Seriously, if you read some environmentalist predictions about global warming, it makes Harold Camping sound downright sober. But there's another difference between Camping and "climate change" alarmists: one is supported by the government, media and Hollywood. The other, not so much.
In related news Chicago, the New York Times reports, is dramatically altering the city and its plants to "adapt" to "climate change" predictions for 100 years from now.
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Joined
Jul '10Kenneth
Greatest Athlete of All Time?
· 8 hours ago
I've noted here before that I'm no fan of team sports. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate athleticism.
Here's my nomination for greatest athlete of all time. Anyone care to argue?
Comment (64), Edit, UnfollowFollow (5) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
Giving Comfort To The Enemy
· 9 hours ago
CNN reports that former six-term U.S. congresswoman Cynthia McKinney "slammed U.S. policy on Libyan state TV late Saturday and stressed the 'last thing we need to do is spend money on death, destruction and war.'"
You remember McKinney. She's the one who assaulted a Capitol police officer about five years ago. She ran for president on the Green Party ticket. She's won many awards from the left, including one "because she was willing to challenge the Bush administration and called for an investigation into 9-11 when few others dared to air their criticism and questions." She attempted to run a blockade in 2009 to deliver supplies to Gaza.
So she goes on a Libyan station that is fiercely loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and her interview was spliced with pro-Gadhafi propoganda. She also denounced President Obama and his economic policies.
I know that going on an enemy television show and denouncing the U.S. is probably what she does every Saturday, but I'm curious about the U.S. reaction to such stunts -- and whether it's changed over time. ...
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Comment (9), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailJudith Levy
All Right, Let's Get This Obama-Israel Thing Sorted Out
· 11 hours ago
I confess to having felt a pang of sympathy for President Obama this morning when I read that Hamas had attacked him (verbally, I hasten to add; their rockets don't reach that far) for clarifying his position on Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations to AIPAC. Every time he opens his mouth on the subject, somebody clobbers him. Guy can't catch a break.
I've heard tell that Obama was urged before his Thursday night speech (the first one, the one that referenced the 1967 borders) to for God's sake keep his mouth shut about Israel and the Palestinians and stick to the promoting-change-in-the-Arab-world-hearkening-to-the-voices-of-the-people-as-they-defy-tyranny playbook, but that he insisted on wedging his oar in. Conversely, there's chatter that he didn't want to touch Israel with a ten-foot pole (to which his photo ops with Bibi would attest) but was strong-armed into doing so by Hillary Clinton, the video of which one hopes will show up one day on YouTube.
The response to the speech runs the gamut from "take it easy folks, nothing new here, move along" (the Berlinski view) to "Obama is Arafat incarnate" (the Danon view). So which is it, Ricochet readers? Who's right? ...
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Comment (23), Edit, UnfollowFollow (4) EmailPaul A. Rahe
The Last Man Standing
· 12 hours ago
I learned something the other day. I learned it while reading a post on Ricochet and the attendant comments, and I was appalled. Apparently, back in 2010, when I was not adequately paying attention, the Republican National Committee quietly changed the delegate-selection rules in imitation of Barack Obama’s Democrats. In the past, at least in the primaries, the arrangement was winner-take-all. Now, if I have this right, the delegates will be allocated in proportion to the percentage of votes received in the primaries and caucuses. What this means is that the distribution will be fragmented and that the final decision will be delayed (perhaps until the national convention) – which gives Barack Obama, who has the Democratic nomination sewed up, a tremendous advantage. He is already raising money; he will not have to spend it on the caucuses and primaries of his party; and he can go after the Republicans late next Spring and in the early summer with everything that he has got, softening them up for the kill while they pummel one another.
That is one problem. There is another, and it may be worse. ...
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Comment (89), Edit, UnfollowFollow (6) EmailClaire Berlinski, Ed.
This Just In: Spanish Socialists Join Generallissimo Francisco Franco
· 12 hours ago
The only thing I love more than seeing socialists clobbered at the polls is thinking about how much it must hurt over there at the Guardian to have to report the details:
Spain's ruling Socialists have suffered stinging losses in local and regional elections and now face a balancing act between voter anger over high unemployment and investor demands for strict austerity measures.
A week of protests by Spaniards fed up with the stagnant economy and the EU's highest jobless rate preceded Sunday's elections, which left the Socialists out of power in most of the country's cities and almost all the 17 autonomous regions.
They were wiped out. It was their worst showing since Franco died. They lost everything--Seville, Barcelona, even Catalonia. The headlines are reading "trounced," "thrashed," "obliterated."
Zapatero was, obviously, gloomy. "Today, without doubt, they expressed their discontent," he said.
So, let's all recall how we got here, shall we? ...
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Comment (6), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailDiane Ellis, Ed.
Welcome Joshua Treviño
· 17 hours ago
Please join me in welcoming Joshua Treviño, this week's Guest Contributor. Hailing from Austin, Texas, Joshua is the Vice President for Communications at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Preceding his work at the Foundation, Joshua founded Treviño Strategies and Media, co-founded RedState, was a speechwriter in the Administration of George W. Bush, and served in the United States Army. You can follow Josh on Twitter here.
Comment (7), Edit, UnfollowFollow (1) EmailClaire Berlinski, Ed.
Darkness at Noon
· 20 hours ago
I first read Arthur Koestler's masterpiece, Darkness at Noon, when I was too young fully to understand it. I was perhaps fourteen, and how can a fourteen-year-old grasp what such a book really means?
I picked up a copy of of the book at a flea market long ago; it had been on my shelf, unread, for ages. Yesterday, rushing out to embark on a long boat ride, I grabbed it off the shelf. I began reading in the taxi, and quickly became so absorbed that I barely noticed the boat ride, barely looked up at the sea and the glowing Bosphorus skyline.
I see now what I didn't see as a teenager: This is an unrivaled masterpiece; as a novel it is more accomplished than 1984. Rubashov is immensely more complicated and interesting a character than Winston Smith. It's the work of a complete master of the novelistic form, someone who uses to great effect every device and technique the novel permits. It's flawless. It is also deeply troubling.
It would be good for it to be translated into Turkish: It might succeed, when reason fails, in suggesting that the Ergenekon prosecutions have a distinct historic precedent.
Comment (24), Edit, UnfollowFollow (4) EmailBill McGurn
The Down Side of More Than One Wife
· 21 hours ago
Maybe having every woman you want isn't all it's cracked up to be. If this is true, the late Mr. Bin Laden better hope he has better luck with the 72 virgins:
THE three widows of Osama bin Laden are turning on each other in custody, with two older Saudi women blaming a much younger Yemeni wife for leading American intelligence to their hideout....
Although the compound where bin Laden hid for five years was large, the three wives were all cooped up in the same house. The older two lived on the second floor and the youngest one on the top. Their husband alternated between them. Pakistani officials who have been debriefing the women portray life in the compound as an Islamic version of Desperate Housewives.
"It's a well-known fact that when you have two older wives and then this young one comes along half their age, they don't like it," said one.
The wives even dispute who tried to protect their husband in the raid. The youngest was reported to have attempted to save him, sustaining a bullet wound to her calf. But the older wives say they were the ones who rushed to shield him.
Comment (10), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
Nick Kristof Proof Texts The Bible
· 22 hours ago
Proof texting is when you cite a particular verse of the Bible without keeping in mind the context of the passage or how it relates to the entirety of Scripture. It's generally frowned upon as very poor scholarship.
Nick Kristof has one of those columns in the New York Times today where he proof texts his way to arguing that the Bible loves nothing more than gay sex and killing unborn children (or something).
He does this in the form of a quiz so Biblically illiterate that Harold Camping is shaking his head at him in embarrassment. Take the first question:
1. The Bible’s position on abortion is:
a. Never mentioned.
b. To forbid it along with all forms of artificial birth control.
c. Condemnatory, except to save the life of the mother.
The answer, according to noted theologian Nick Kristoff? A, of course. Gosh, if abortion is never mentioned, isn't it odd that so many Christians worked so hard to stop it 2,000 years ago? Continuing on until today? Why would they do it if abortion is "never mentioned"? ...
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Comment (20), Edit, UnfollowFollow (4) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
The Interviewer Gets Interviewed
· 23 hours ago
As a reporter, I have to admit that there's a lot of safety in being one. When you're asking the questions, you're in control. But perhaps the best thing any reporter can have happen is to be the subject of an interview every now and then. It reminds you how difficult it is to answer a question the way you want to and how easy it is to misspeak or forget an important detail.
The tables were turned on me this week when a local reporter profiled me for the Washington Examiner's "Credo" page, where they ask locals about their religious views. Thankfully, reporter Leah Fabel was a total pro and asked great questions, which made the whole process easier to handle. In any case, if you're interested, here's the write-up. We discuss what it's like to be religious and a reporter as well as a bit about Lutheran teachings.
Comment (2), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailBrian Bolduc
John Adams, Lovable Grouch
· May. 22 at 1:30pm
My recommended biography for our second president will come as no surprise to many of our readers: David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize–winning volume, John Adams.
With his simple, direct prose, McCullough portrays the Founding Father brilliantly. Consider his description of the 40-year-old Adams:
Dismounted, he stood five feet seven or eight inches tall—about “middle size” in that day—and though verging on portly, he had a straight-up, square-shouldered stance and was, in fact, surprisingly fit and solid. His hands were the hands of a man accustomed to pruning his own trees, cutting his own hay, and splitting his own firewood.
In such bitter cold of winter, the pink of his round, clean-shaved, very English face would all but glow, and if he were hatless or without a wig, his high forehead, and thinning hairline made the whole of the face look rounder still. The hair, light brown in color, was full about the ears. The chin was firm, the nose sharp, almost birdlike. But it was the dark, perfectly arched brows and keen blue eyes that gave the face its vitality. ...
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→ show James Lileks's comment (#)
Re: Seattle Considers Banning Paper Cups
James Lileks Please, by all means, push the frontier. By which I mean, topple into the ocean.
# ·May 23 at 4:33pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
Paul A. Rahe Now I know why there isn't a Whole Foods in Hillsdale, Michigan.
# ·May 23 at 3:14pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Dan IV
Paul A. Rahe
Dan IV
Pawlenty's a pretty good candidate, but people still don't really know who he is yet. The longer the primaries drag on, the more time Pawlenty has to establish himself. ...
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# ·May 23 at 2:28pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Bill Whalen
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
· 2 hours ago
President Obama went home today -- "home", in this instance, being the little Irish town of Moneygall, population an estimated 300.
According to locals, who believe the President's great-great-great grandfather was baptized at a nearby church, Obama can claim 5% Irish heritage. ...
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Dan IV
Paul A. Rahe
m
I'm going to have to disagree with you here. The only nationally known figures in the primaries right now are Romney, Gingrich, and - to a lesser extent - Paul. ...
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# ·May 23 at 2:05pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Richard Young: I am not Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish or Muslim and would feel presumptuous trying to explain their religious beliefs. Particularly because there is a big difference between studying a religion and living it and the subtleties of understanding such living brings. ...
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# ·May 23 at 2:02pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Frozen Chosen
Paul A. Rahe
Frozen Chosen:
· May 23 at 11:28am
Communism was built on a house of cards to a certain extent. Socialism is much more entrenched in the world and in our very own federal government. ...
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# ·May 23 at 1:59pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Frozen Chosen
Paul A. Rahe
Frozen Chosen:
· May 23 at 11:28am
On that last point, you may well be right. ...
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# ·May 23 at 1:52pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Seattle Considers Banning Paper Cups
· 3 hours ago
I, for one, can't think of Seattle without thinking of Starbucks, which first opened its doors in the city in March of 1971. And what is Starbucks without coffee? (I should confess that I really like their oatmeal, but Starbucks pastries are another story altogether. ...
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→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Father B.: I wonder what your thoughts are on a point that I made earlier about our new Republican primary rules: The Democrats went through a long primary in 2008, yet it didn't really damage them in the general election. ...
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# ·May 23 at 12:21pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Rob Long's comment (#)
Re: The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
Rob Long AmishDude: I just wanted to comment on your deft use of bien pensant, Rob.
It's one of my favorite phrases in the last few years.
It really captures the Zeitgeist. · May 23 at 11:32am
I'm glad somebody noticed. Too often, my bon mots go unnoticed.
# ·May 23 at 12:19pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Andrew Klavan
Charles Krauthammer Slapdown
· 4 hours ago
There's a reason Charles Krauthammer has a name like a Norse god... Charles, Hammer of the Krauts... it's because he can strike you down like lightning. He was on Inside Washington, broadcast on government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS stations, when government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS commentator Mark Shields began to do the typical lefty routine of warning Republicans not to nominate a conservative presidential candidate or it could be "a problem." Krauthammer's wonderful response: "See, what Mark wants is a Republican nominee who is a squish and then he’ll vote against him anyway." Bingo. Here's the video.
Every candidate has weaknesses and sure, I can see problems with conservative candidates like Palin or Bachmann or Rick Perry - but the problems have nothing to do with their policies... which I don't think would be a problem at all.
H/T to the excellent Noel Sheppard at the likewise excellent Newsbusters.
Comment (12),Edit,UnfollowFollow (6)
→ show Denise Moss's comment (#)
Re: The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
Denise Moss What I really love about your quote, Rob, is the belief that standing in line at Whole Foods implies some sort of moral and intellectual superiority. Give me Trader Joe's any day.
# ·May 23 at 11:47am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Mollie Hemingway, Ed.'s comment (#)
Re: Would You Wish This Lifestyle on Anyone?
Mollie Hemingway, Ed. I made the move to complete freelancing after I had my first child. I think it helps if you keep a few regular gigs so you have stability and some basic expectation of your minimum income each month and then move to steadily increase your output and quality with the one-off pieces.
But yes, I think some of what he says is helpful and he makes an excellent case for why editors are so important for all of us!
# ·May 23 at 11:42am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Frozen Chosen:
You are also correct in stating that many Mormons support Romney because he's a Mormon - I include myself in this group but for reasons other than you offer. ...
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# ·May 23 at 11:36am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Rob Long
The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
· 5 hours ago
Sometimes, the logistics of printing a magazine get you into trouble. This month, the Washingtonian magazine has a glowing, laudatory profile of Dominique Strauss Kahn.
You've heard of him, right? ...
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Comment (18),Edit,UnfollowFollow (3)
→ show Rob Long's comment (#)
Re: Thank God for the USMC
Rob Long anon_academic: Actually, it looks like Rob (and by extension, those of us who commented already) are eligible for the Pat Sajak prize for believing fallacious material on the intertubes. See the Snopes. ...
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# ·May 23 at 10:59am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe David
Paul A. Rahe
David
If you can show me that I am wrong, I am prepared to eat my words. I have had to do so on occasion in the past. · May 23 at 8:34am
OK. ...
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# ·May 23 at 10:53am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Emily Esfahani Smith
Would You Wish This Lifestyle on Anyone?
· 5 hours ago
The lifestyle of a freelance writer, that is:
Freelancing means walking from the West Village to the Upper East Side and back because you don't have enough money for the subway. ...
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Comment (9),Edit,UnfollowFollow (2)
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Hang On: It's beyond me how you can belittle managerial capability the way that you do. While you certainly need strategic vision, it is simply worthless without managerial capability. ...
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# ·May 23 at 10:49am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Bill Whalen
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
· 2 hours ago
President Obama went home today -- "home", in this instance, being the little Irish town of Moneygall, population an estimated 300.
According to locals, who believe the President's great-great-great grandfather was baptized at a nearby church, Obama can claim 5% Irish heritage.
I won't bother asking if you think O'Bama is "Irish".
But I am curious as to what you consider to be his genuine "home" -- not a mailing address or what he files on his tax returns, mind you, but his true "old sod".
Is it the White House, which at best is eight years of temporary lodging?
Is it the house back in Chicago that he and the family seem to rarely visit (something I find curious, given he has two daughters who were removed from their friends and neighbors).
Now that we've put the birther controversy to rest, is Hawaii the President's real home?
Or is "home" the one place, anywhere in the world, where this President seems most at home -- and that's sately nestled behind a TelePrompter. ...
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Comment (7), Edit, UnfollowFollow (1) EmailDiane Ellis, Ed.
Seattle Considers Banning Paper Cups
· 3 hours ago
I, for one, can't think of Seattle without thinking of Starbucks, which first opened its doors in the city in March of 1971. And what is Starbucks without coffee? (I should confess that I really like their oatmeal, but Starbucks pastries are another story altogether.) And what is coffee without, well, a cup out of which to enjoy that piping hot grande latte for which you forked over a month's worth of a Ricochet Membership?
Answer: a major inconvenience. An inconvenience so big, that you, and I, and everyone we know would make far fewer stops at Starbucks.
But that's no skin off Karin de Weille's back. This weekend, the enviro-statist launched a campaign to push Seattle to eliminate its use of paper cups.
"I think Seattle can push the frontier," [Ms. de Weille] said at Green Festival, the two-day celebration of eco-friendliness where the effort got its official start.
Harmless enough if it's just one raving hippie calling for the encroachment of other peoples' freedom. Less harmless if the City Council President is on board with this egregious assault on liberty. ...
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Comment (27), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailAndrew Klavan
Charles Krauthammer Slapdown
· 4 hours ago
There's a reason Charles Krauthammer has a name like a Norse god... Charles, Hammer of the Krauts... it's because he can strike you down like lightning. He was on Inside Washington, broadcast on government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS stations, when government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS commentator Mark Shields began to do the typical lefty routine of warning Republicans not to nominate a conservative presidential candidate or it could be "a problem." Krauthammer's wonderful response: "See, what Mark wants is a Republican nominee who is a squish and then he’ll vote against him anyway." Bingo. Here's the video.
Every candidate has weaknesses and sure, I can see problems with conservative candidates like Palin or Bachmann or Rick Perry - but the problems have nothing to do with their policies... which I don't think would be a problem at all.
H/T to the excellent Noel Sheppard at the likewise excellent Newsbusters.
Comment (12), Edit, UnfollowFollow (6) EmailRob Long
The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
· 5 hours ago
Sometimes, the logistics of printing a magazine get you into trouble. This month, the Washingtonian magazine has a glowing, laudatory profile of Dominique Strauss Kahn.
You've heard of him, right?
In between sending the issue to the printers and getting it to newsstands and subscribers, there was a little incident at the Sofitel in Manhattan.
The piece was quickly amended online, but it's worth reading the whole thing. It smacks -- in light of recent events, and especially in light of his past history -- of the kind of puff-piece, sucking-up pseudo journalism that a lot of leftist, bien pensant world figures get treated to. The profile was meant, in the editor's words:
...to introduce Strauss-Kahn’s neighbors here in Washington to a man considered one of Europe’s leading politicians—a man, as we say in the article, who might well be standing next to you in line at Whole Foods.
Sometimes bad timing tells you more than good timing.
Comment (18), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailEmily Esfahani Smith
Would You Wish This Lifestyle on Anyone?
· 5 hours ago
The lifestyle of a freelance writer, that is:
Freelancing means walking from the West Village to the Upper East Side and back because you don't have enough money for the subway. Freelancing means being so poor and so hungry for so long that you "eat" a bowl of soup that's just hot water, crushed-up multivitamins and half your spice rack (mostly garlic salt).
Even though he was getting published in the New York Times, Playboy, and the Wall Street Journal, this is how Richard Morgan, a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, lived for seven years. He details his years as a freelance writer here:
There was just one day in all these seven years that I had an actual job, at Gawker; I quit after the first day, an event that ended up becoming good anecdote for someone else's story in the Sunday Times. I get invited back to my journalism school to speak to the class about "how to be a successful freelancer" and "the art of freelancing."
I once got paid $100 a word. ...
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Comment (9), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailDiane Ellis, Ed.
Calling All Truckers
· 5 hours ago
Our friends Marco Beghetto and Peter Carter (who sport the most delightful Canadian brogues I've ever heard) over at Today's Trucking have introduced a new podcast called Dispatches about all things trucking. The latest episode (beginning at minute 17) features an interview with our own Dave Carter. In his interview, you'll discover what possessed Dave to become a trucker, how he got involved with Ricochet, and why you should never, ever try to smuggle a can of Beanie-Weenies across the border.
Comment (5), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailRob Long
Thank God for the USMC
· 6 hours ago
It's not a slow news day, of course, but before I post something meaty I thought I'd post something cheerful.
Justice served, USMC-style. From a local paper in Georgia, and I wish I had a link:
Comment (19), Edit, UnfollowFollow (5) Email
Joined
May '10EJHill
T-Paw's Video Launch
· 7 hours ago
Somebody needs to learn to mix music with video, but not a bad start. Better than the book video.
Comment (11), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
World Still Ending, Environmentalists Warn
· 8 hours ago
IowaHawk tweets this morning:
We now return you to our regularly scheduled apocalypse. Remember to buy carbon credits if you want to be with Gaia on Judgment Day!
Followed by:
Diff between Harold Camping and enviromentalists: 1. He pays for his own apocalyptic fantasies. 2. Camping doesn't get do-overs.
Seriously, if you read some environmentalist predictions about global warming, it makes Harold Camping sound downright sober. But there's another difference between Camping and "climate change" alarmists: one is supported by the government, media and Hollywood. The other, not so much.
In related news Chicago, the New York Times reports, is dramatically altering the city and its plants to "adapt" to "climate change" predictions for 100 years from now.
Comment (8), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) Email
Joined
Jul '10Kenneth
Greatest Athlete of All Time?
· 8 hours ago
I've noted here before that I'm no fan of team sports. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate athleticism.
Here's my nomination for greatest athlete of all time. Anyone care to argue?
Comment (64), Edit, UnfollowFollow (5) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
Giving Comfort To The Enemy
· 9 hours ago
CNN reports that former six-term U.S. congresswoman Cynthia McKinney "slammed U.S. policy on Libyan state TV late Saturday and stressed the 'last thing we need to do is spend money on death, destruction and war.'"
You remember McKinney. She's the one who assaulted a Capitol police officer about five years ago. She ran for president on the Green Party ticket. She's won many awards from the left, including one "because she was willing to challenge the Bush administration and called for an investigation into 9-11 when few others dared to air their criticism and questions." She attempted to run a blockade in 2009 to deliver supplies to Gaza.
So she goes on a Libyan station that is fiercely loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and her interview was spliced with pro-Gadhafi propoganda. She also denounced President Obama and his economic policies.
I know that going on an enemy television show and denouncing the U.S. is probably what she does every Saturday, but I'm curious about the U.S. reaction to such stunts -- and whether it's changed over time. ...
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Comment (9), Edit, UnfollowFollow (3) EmailJudith Levy
All Right, Let's Get This Obama-Israel Thing Sorted Out
· 11 hours ago
I confess to having felt a pang of sympathy for President Obama this morning when I read that Hamas had attacked him (verbally, I hasten to add; their rockets don't reach that far) for clarifying his position on Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations to AIPAC. Every time he opens his mouth on the subject, somebody clobbers him. Guy can't catch a break.
I've heard tell that Obama was urged before his Thursday night speech (the first one, the one that referenced the 1967 borders) to for God's sake keep his mouth shut about Israel and the Palestinians and stick to the promoting-change-in-the-Arab-world-hearkening-to-the-voices-of-the-people-as-they-defy-tyranny playbook, but that he insisted on wedging his oar in. Conversely, there's chatter that he didn't want to touch Israel with a ten-foot pole (to which his photo ops with Bibi would attest) but was strong-armed into doing so by Hillary Clinton, the video of which one hopes will show up one day on YouTube.
The response to the speech runs the gamut from "take it easy folks, nothing new here, move along" (the Berlinski view) to "Obama is Arafat incarnate" (the Danon view). So which is it, Ricochet readers? Who's right? ...
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Comment (23), Edit, UnfollowFollow (4) EmailPaul A. Rahe
The Last Man Standing
· 12 hours ago
I learned something the other day. I learned it while reading a post on Ricochet and the attendant comments, and I was appalled. Apparently, back in 2010, when I was not adequately paying attention, the Republican National Committee quietly changed the delegate-selection rules in imitation of Barack Obama’s Democrats. In the past, at least in the primaries, the arrangement was winner-take-all. Now, if I have this right, the delegates will be allocated in proportion to the percentage of votes received in the primaries and caucuses. What this means is that the distribution will be fragmented and that the final decision will be delayed (perhaps until the national convention) – which gives Barack Obama, who has the Democratic nomination sewed up, a tremendous advantage. He is already raising money; he will not have to spend it on the caucuses and primaries of his party; and he can go after the Republicans late next Spring and in the early summer with everything that he has got, softening them up for the kill while they pummel one another.
That is one problem. There is another, and it may be worse. ...
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Comment (89), Edit, UnfollowFollow (6) EmailClaire Berlinski, Ed.
This Just In: Spanish Socialists Join Generallissimo Francisco Franco
· 12 hours ago
The only thing I love more than seeing socialists clobbered at the polls is thinking about how much it must hurt over there at the Guardian to have to report the details:
Spain's ruling Socialists have suffered stinging losses in local and regional elections and now face a balancing act between voter anger over high unemployment and investor demands for strict austerity measures.
A week of protests by Spaniards fed up with the stagnant economy and the EU's highest jobless rate preceded Sunday's elections, which left the Socialists out of power in most of the country's cities and almost all the 17 autonomous regions.
They were wiped out. It was their worst showing since Franco died. They lost everything--Seville, Barcelona, even Catalonia. The headlines are reading "trounced," "thrashed," "obliterated."
Zapatero was, obviously, gloomy. "Today, without doubt, they expressed their discontent," he said.
So, let's all recall how we got here, shall we? ...
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Comment (6), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailDiane Ellis, Ed.
Welcome Joshua Treviño
· 17 hours ago
Please join me in welcoming Joshua Treviño, this week's Guest Contributor. Hailing from Austin, Texas, Joshua is the Vice President for Communications at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Preceding his work at the Foundation, Joshua founded Treviño Strategies and Media, co-founded RedState, was a speechwriter in the Administration of George W. Bush, and served in the United States Army. You can follow Josh on Twitter here.
Comment (7), Edit, UnfollowFollow (1) EmailClaire Berlinski, Ed.
Darkness at Noon
· 20 hours ago
I first read Arthur Koestler's masterpiece, Darkness at Noon, when I was too young fully to understand it. I was perhaps fourteen, and how can a fourteen-year-old grasp what such a book really means?
I picked up a copy of of the book at a flea market long ago; it had been on my shelf, unread, for ages. Yesterday, rushing out to embark on a long boat ride, I grabbed it off the shelf. I began reading in the taxi, and quickly became so absorbed that I barely noticed the boat ride, barely looked up at the sea and the glowing Bosphorus skyline.
I see now what I didn't see as a teenager: This is an unrivaled masterpiece; as a novel it is more accomplished than 1984. Rubashov is immensely more complicated and interesting a character than Winston Smith. It's the work of a complete master of the novelistic form, someone who uses to great effect every device and technique the novel permits. It's flawless. It is also deeply troubling.
It would be good for it to be translated into Turkish: It might succeed, when reason fails, in suggesting that the Ergenekon prosecutions have a distinct historic precedent.
Comment (24), Edit, UnfollowFollow (4) EmailBill McGurn
The Down Side of More Than One Wife
· 21 hours ago
Maybe having every woman you want isn't all it's cracked up to be. If this is true, the late Mr. Bin Laden better hope he has better luck with the 72 virgins:
THE three widows of Osama bin Laden are turning on each other in custody, with two older Saudi women blaming a much younger Yemeni wife for leading American intelligence to their hideout....
Although the compound where bin Laden hid for five years was large, the three wives were all cooped up in the same house. The older two lived on the second floor and the youngest one on the top. Their husband alternated between them. Pakistani officials who have been debriefing the women portray life in the compound as an Islamic version of Desperate Housewives.
"It's a well-known fact that when you have two older wives and then this young one comes along half their age, they don't like it," said one.
The wives even dispute who tried to protect their husband in the raid. The youngest was reported to have attempted to save him, sustaining a bullet wound to her calf. But the older wives say they were the ones who rushed to shield him.
Comment (10), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
Nick Kristof Proof Texts The Bible
· 22 hours ago
Proof texting is when you cite a particular verse of the Bible without keeping in mind the context of the passage or how it relates to the entirety of Scripture. It's generally frowned upon as very poor scholarship.
Nick Kristof has one of those columns in the New York Times today where he proof texts his way to arguing that the Bible loves nothing more than gay sex and killing unborn children (or something).
He does this in the form of a quiz so Biblically illiterate that Harold Camping is shaking his head at him in embarrassment. Take the first question:
1. The Bible’s position on abortion is:
a. Never mentioned.
b. To forbid it along with all forms of artificial birth control.
c. Condemnatory, except to save the life of the mother.
The answer, according to noted theologian Nick Kristoff? A, of course. Gosh, if abortion is never mentioned, isn't it odd that so many Christians worked so hard to stop it 2,000 years ago? Continuing on until today? Why would they do it if abortion is "never mentioned"? ...
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Comment (20), Edit, UnfollowFollow (4) EmailMollie Hemingway, Ed.
The Interviewer Gets Interviewed
· 23 hours ago
As a reporter, I have to admit that there's a lot of safety in being one. When you're asking the questions, you're in control. But perhaps the best thing any reporter can have happen is to be the subject of an interview every now and then. It reminds you how difficult it is to answer a question the way you want to and how easy it is to misspeak or forget an important detail.
The tables were turned on me this week when a local reporter profiled me for the Washington Examiner's "Credo" page, where they ask locals about their religious views. Thankfully, reporter Leah Fabel was a total pro and asked great questions, which made the whole process easier to handle. In any case, if you're interested, here's the write-up. We discuss what it's like to be religious and a reporter as well as a bit about Lutheran teachings.
Comment (2), Edit, UnfollowFollow (2) EmailBrian Bolduc
John Adams, Lovable Grouch
· May. 22 at 1:30pm
My recommended biography for our second president will come as no surprise to many of our readers: David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize–winning volume, John Adams.
With his simple, direct prose, McCullough portrays the Founding Father brilliantly. Consider his description of the 40-year-old Adams:
Dismounted, he stood five feet seven or eight inches tall—about “middle size” in that day—and though verging on portly, he had a straight-up, square-shouldered stance and was, in fact, surprisingly fit and solid. His hands were the hands of a man accustomed to pruning his own trees, cutting his own hay, and splitting his own firewood.
In such bitter cold of winter, the pink of his round, clean-shaved, very English face would all but glow, and if he were hatless or without a wig, his high forehead, and thinning hairline made the whole of the face look rounder still. The hair, light brown in color, was full about the ears. The chin was firm, the nose sharp, almost birdlike. But it was the dark, perfectly arched brows and keen blue eyes that gave the face its vitality. ...
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→ show James Lileks's comment (#)
Re: Seattle Considers Banning Paper Cups
James Lileks Please, by all means, push the frontier. By which I mean, topple into the ocean.
# ·May 23 at 4:33pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
Paul A. Rahe Now I know why there isn't a Whole Foods in Hillsdale, Michigan.
# ·May 23 at 3:14pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Dan IV
Paul A. Rahe
Dan IV
Pawlenty's a pretty good candidate, but people still don't really know who he is yet. The longer the primaries drag on, the more time Pawlenty has to establish himself. ...
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# ·May 23 at 2:28pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Bill Whalen
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
· 2 hours ago
President Obama went home today -- "home", in this instance, being the little Irish town of Moneygall, population an estimated 300.
According to locals, who believe the President's great-great-great grandfather was baptized at a nearby church, Obama can claim 5% Irish heritage. ...
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→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Dan IV
Paul A. Rahe
m
I'm going to have to disagree with you here. The only nationally known figures in the primaries right now are Romney, Gingrich, and - to a lesser extent - Paul. ...
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# ·May 23 at 2:05pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Richard Young: I am not Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish or Muslim and would feel presumptuous trying to explain their religious beliefs. Particularly because there is a big difference between studying a religion and living it and the subtleties of understanding such living brings. ...
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# ·May 23 at 2:02pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Frozen Chosen
Paul A. Rahe
Frozen Chosen:
· May 23 at 11:28am
Communism was built on a house of cards to a certain extent. Socialism is much more entrenched in the world and in our very own federal government. ...
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# ·May 23 at 1:59pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Frozen Chosen
Paul A. Rahe
Frozen Chosen:
· May 23 at 11:28am
On that last point, you may well be right. ...
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# ·May 23 at 1:52pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Seattle Considers Banning Paper Cups
· 3 hours ago
I, for one, can't think of Seattle without thinking of Starbucks, which first opened its doors in the city in March of 1971. And what is Starbucks without coffee? (I should confess that I really like their oatmeal, but Starbucks pastries are another story altogether. ...
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Comment (28),Edit,UnfollowFollow (3)
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Father B.: I wonder what your thoughts are on a point that I made earlier about our new Republican primary rules: The Democrats went through a long primary in 2008, yet it didn't really damage them in the general election. ...
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# ·May 23 at 12:21pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Rob Long's comment (#)
Re: The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
Rob Long AmishDude: I just wanted to comment on your deft use of bien pensant, Rob.
It's one of my favorite phrases in the last few years.
It really captures the Zeitgeist. · May 23 at 11:32am
I'm glad somebody noticed. Too often, my bon mots go unnoticed.
# ·May 23 at 12:19pm ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Andrew Klavan
Charles Krauthammer Slapdown
· 4 hours ago
There's a reason Charles Krauthammer has a name like a Norse god... Charles, Hammer of the Krauts... it's because he can strike you down like lightning. He was on Inside Washington, broadcast on government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS stations, when government-funded-and-thus-pro-expansive-government PBS commentator Mark Shields began to do the typical lefty routine of warning Republicans not to nominate a conservative presidential candidate or it could be "a problem." Krauthammer's wonderful response: "See, what Mark wants is a Republican nominee who is a squish and then he’ll vote against him anyway." Bingo. Here's the video.
Every candidate has weaknesses and sure, I can see problems with conservative candidates like Palin or Bachmann or Rick Perry - but the problems have nothing to do with their policies... which I don't think would be a problem at all.
H/T to the excellent Noel Sheppard at the likewise excellent Newsbusters.
Comment (12),Edit,UnfollowFollow (6)
→ show Denise Moss's comment (#)
Re: The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
Denise Moss What I really love about your quote, Rob, is the belief that standing in line at Whole Foods implies some sort of moral and intellectual superiority. Give me Trader Joe's any day.
# ·May 23 at 11:47am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Mollie Hemingway, Ed.'s comment (#)
Re: Would You Wish This Lifestyle on Anyone?
Mollie Hemingway, Ed. I made the move to complete freelancing after I had my first child. I think it helps if you keep a few regular gigs so you have stability and some basic expectation of your minimum income each month and then move to steadily increase your output and quality with the one-off pieces.
But yes, I think some of what he says is helpful and he makes an excellent case for why editors are so important for all of us!
# ·May 23 at 11:42am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Frozen Chosen:
You are also correct in stating that many Mormons support Romney because he's a Mormon - I include myself in this group but for reasons other than you offer. ...
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# ·May 23 at 11:36am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Rob Long
The Washingtonian's Bad, Bad Timing
· 5 hours ago
Sometimes, the logistics of printing a magazine get you into trouble. This month, the Washingtonian magazine has a glowing, laudatory profile of Dominique Strauss Kahn.
You've heard of him, right? ...
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Comment (18),Edit,UnfollowFollow (3)
→ show Rob Long's comment (#)
Re: Thank God for the USMC
Rob Long anon_academic: Actually, it looks like Rob (and by extension, those of us who commented already) are eligible for the Pat Sajak prize for believing fallacious material on the intertubes. See the Snopes. ...
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# ·May 23 at 10:59am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe David
Paul A. Rahe
David
If you can show me that I am wrong, I am prepared to eat my words. I have had to do so on occasion in the past. · May 23 at 8:34am
OK. ...
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# ·May 23 at 10:53am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
Emily Esfahani Smith
Would You Wish This Lifestyle on Anyone?
· 5 hours ago
The lifestyle of a freelance writer, that is:
Freelancing means walking from the West Village to the Upper East Side and back because you don't have enough money for the subway. ...
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Comment (9),Edit,UnfollowFollow (2)
→ show Paul A. Rahe's comment (#)
Re: The Last Man Standing
Paul A. Rahe Hang On: It's beyond me how you can belittle managerial capability the way that you do. While you certainly need strategic vision, it is simply worthless without managerial capability. ...
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# ·May 23 at 10:49am ·UnlikeLike (0), Like (0), Edit,Quote,Share (0),See in conversationPermalink
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