Where is Mahatma Gandhi?

Vidhan Soudha... the towering edifice of the Karnatka State Government. With the motto - 'Government work is God's work' emblazoned boldly across the main entrance.

In a curious mix of the cliche and not so cliche, there are 3 prominent statues that are placed in front of the Vidhan Soudha... Jawaharlal Nehru - India's first PM, B.R. Ambedkar - Father of the constitution and last and very suprisingly - Subhash Chandra Bose. The surprising bit is not the presence of Bose's statue... the surprising bit for me is the absence of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi's. After all he is the so called father of the nation etc. etc. I believe it was fortunate we were ruled by the British and not Hitler, else Gandhiji and co. would have been gassed to death.

In spite of my belief it is a bit of a surprise that Gandhiji's statue is missing. In this day and age, Ambedkar's and Gandhi's statue are the bare essentials considering India's politics. Why is Mahatma Gandhi not present at the Vidhan Soudha?

Wanted - Nair tea kadais in Bangalore

Its been awhile since my last post. Over the period of time, I have relocated to Bangalore from Chennai. After 2 months of the daily grind in Bangalore, I make my first post from Blore and my first sweeping judgement of the city - The tea shops in Bangalore suck! Chennai tea kadais rock!!!

You are starved for choices when it comes to tea here... and what makes matters worse is that there is not much of a choice in the biscuits and the cakes and the extra-curriculars that one can sip along while enjoying your cuppa. The biggest drawback is that the tea is more often than not pre-made and not made to order. So you dont really have a choice of strong, light, less sugar, more milk, no cream etc. etc. Only 2 choices - either u take it or u leave it!

Miss the tea stalls in Chennai. Those Nair Kadais, even if the tea maker was a Bihari it's always a Nair kada. A tea maker in Chennai worth his salt will be called master! In Chennai, the tea master was like an extended family member.

Kannan, the tea master in my college canteen could make a decent tea and he had decent memory. Always knew what I wanted and considering he would serve on an average nearly 1000 teacups a day, it's amazing he would give me strong tea with less sugar, as soon as I gave him the tea token.

Shekar, the tea master outside HDFC, Nungambakkam branch worked for 3 days a week most of the times. Always thought he must be a Pakistani spy or something but he had a super variety of snacks and short eats and he always had change on him.

Anderson is a chain of tea stalls in Chennai that was started in Anderson road, Egmore. So wherever the branch has been placed its called Anderson. The branch which I haunted lies at the end of Jegannathan street, Nungambakkam. Favourite haunt of the TV pros from Vijay TV. Its close proximity to the Bhai kada that served delightfully hot, crispy and sinfully oily Samosas, bajjis and vadas was a major plus.

The nice mallu tea kada in Besant Nagar, opposite the Vinayaka temple with a lovely sit out reminiscent of the ones in the Elysees road in Paris. Ok major exaggeration in the last statement, but the tea I am sure would have been just as good as the one they serve in gay Paris.

Maybe I should just quit my job and start a tea stall in Bangalore. I am sure to do well, considering the lack of competition.

History's loss

Went to watch 'Jodhaa-Akbar' the other day with a few of my friends. I felt, personally, that the movie was a disappointment.

While I was watching the movie, one of my friends made a bemusing observation. He wondered if Akbar had 6 fingers on one of his hands (I forget whether it was left or right). Hrithik's congenital defect was mistaken to be Akbar's.

Could the extra finger have changed the course of history? What if congenital defects like an extra finger were considered to be unbecoming of a king. What if Akbar would never have been made King due to this out of the ordinary growth. What if the real Jodha Bai (if she ever existed) had detested extra fingers.

Wont this then be a blatant distortion of history. No wonder everyone is protesting.

For Hinduism's sake...

How could Shriya have the audacity to wear that dress to a awards function? That too in a function where the CM of Tamil Nadu (a staunch atheist) was the guest of honour. How unholy! Complete blasphemy. I completely understand why Hindu Makkal Katchi protested against the dress. Its completely against our scriptures and against Hinduism.

I empathise with the HMK. The dress spites the Vedas, it insults the Gita, its against all Hindu traditions and spits on every value that Hinduism extols.

To get an idea of how a true, pious Hindu should dress please refer to the picture given below.

In their well being and prosperity alone....

The following post is a work of fiction and the thoughts it expresses are not meant to hurt the sentiments of any particular religion, race etc. etc. Its not meant to insult any particular individual, country, animal, car maufacturer or silicone implants. The thoughts expressed are those of the author whose bloody blog it is.

Every once in a while, in the midst of drunken stupour, an interesting conversation comes about. A conversation that provokes thoughts you never knew your brain could think about. Maybe its got to do with the alcohol or the food. But its primarily got to do with what the person next to you is talking about.

Religion and pseudo secularism is not the cheery sort of topics one generally indulges in when you are having fun. But talk you must and talk you will. For someone who detests, abhors and loathes the concept of religion, the statement that Islam is worse than other religions is the kind that evokes a response.

Statements and questions were put forth to me - "Muslims in India and other countries have better lives than individuals in Islam nations who dont practise Islam"..."Islam is violent and causes violent fanatics who refuse to think"..."Pluralism is absent in Islam"..."Why should individuals from foreign countries have to surrender their passports when taking up jobs in the U.A.E"...""Why is it that in a so colled progressive Islam nation, Malaysia, its against the law for a Muslim individual to convert to another religion"..."Why are all terrorists Muslim"

These questions were put forth to me when I questioned the existence of religion. The good friend I was having a conversation with was of the belief that all religions were bad, but Islam was more evil and violent than the rest. And he had the above reasons for his argument.

I had to confess my ignorance to most of the statements he made. I am ignorant about the work practises in the middle east and I dont know about the laws in Malaysia. I didnt have the wherewithals to come up with facts and figures to make an argument. All I had was friends.

Friends who had Muslim names and practised Islam. And these individuals were of varying nature. Some where gentle and calm. Some where passionate and fierce but they all had one common quality. They were all decent human beings. This qulaity was one of the factors that has always made me give importance to the character of the individual irrespective of what his ideology or belief is.

This conversation, like every other conversation, had to eventually end. The pseudo intellectual in me went for a brief walk and the real me made a concluding remark - "What difference does it make if one shit stinks more than the other... its still shit!"