Violence in Bangalore. 3 buses torched. 2 shops destroyed. Angry Mobs. Tear-gas shells. 400 people detained by the police. 'Breaking News' for the day....rather the past few days. When folks took a break from Shilpa Shetty, and the Racism furore, that is.
Take a bunch of hot-headed, cocky, foolish young 'guns', who decide to wake up one day and protest the manner in which Saddam Hussein was treated. Rather late in the day, and all that, but what the hey. So what they do is slap a 'This is Bush' label on an effigy and have themselves a little bonfire party. Add to this a passing rally by a religious group. Laws of Nature: a bonfire...flags...*whoooooosh*.
You have yourself the beginnings of a 'politically-instigated communal situation'. One in which politics be damned, the innocent bystander be attacked, the media has a field day and everyone with an axe to grind 'speaks for the people'.
As if there weren't enough people, out there, with debatably real reasons for protests, strikes, violence and assault. Now we are chasing after will o' the wisps with burning brands and hateful slogans.
*sigh* ... wake me up after the Apocalypse.
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P.S: In case you're worrying, said violence has been restricted to sections of Ulsoor and Shivajinagar. The rest of Bangalore, thankfully, remains sane.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Taz the Weird
See, this is what happens when love-lorn gorilla tags you, and then forgets to tell you about it....it's left to your random browsing to unearth the tag...sheesh! Axe...sloppy!
Yenivays, gorillas notwithstanding, it looks like her Tazness is about to join the ranks of the weird (those of you who already know me...can the sniggers!). So, what makes me weird? Let me count the ways...
1. I cannot bear to enter a dark room, or be the last one leave a room after switching off the lights. This primordial urge usually has me hollering, and racing up the stairs, before Faz hits the lights. It also makes sure I leave lots, and lots, of low-watt lights burning all over the place...just in case I get the urge to wake up and wander in the middle of the night.
2. I don't look too closely at dark windows...every horror book I ever read, movie I ever watched, is waiting to jump out at me. **Shudder** ! And, yet, I cannot help but turn on 'Buffy'....sheesh....masochist.
3. You've heard of marching to one's own drummer? Yeah, well, I kind of have my own orchestra...all the time, in my head, music playing, urging me to dance. As a result, you will see me doing a shoulder-shimmy, while waiting at a traffic light, or wiggling in the lift. And yeah, am told that visual is as weird as it sounds...complete with hand movements and all!
4. I tune out of the 'real' world, completely, when reading. Which same means you could be having a life-altering discussion with me, and I would be too far gone to notice. I hear nothing, see nothing apart from what I am reading, and don't feel much pain. Faz is yet to tire of this, but for now he just grins when I surface, some time in the future, with a dazed look going 'huh, did you say something?'. I also have to read before I go to sleep...even if just a paragraph!
5. I can't eat anything sweet without wanting to top it off with something savory...I don't like sweets that taste 'sweet'! Which usually means that I can only eat obbattu with mango pickle, and will always leave a morsel of something spicy for my last bite. This also extends to not eating sweets before drinking tea or coffee.
6. I have to wash my feet in order to feel really fresh and clean...this includes after waking up, coming home after having been out, and just before I climb into bed. Not only do I have to wash 'em, I have to moisturize. Which same leaves me with feet better looked after than most people's faces (hey, not made up, my doc says so!)
Now, having just come off being really sick, am not in the mood to be contagious. So am not tagging onwards. Of course, I won't stop you if you feel like joining the ranks of the Weird....there's more of us than you know ;o)
Yenivays, gorillas notwithstanding, it looks like her Tazness is about to join the ranks of the weird (those of you who already know me...can the sniggers!). So, what makes me weird? Let me count the ways...
1. I cannot bear to enter a dark room, or be the last one leave a room after switching off the lights. This primordial urge usually has me hollering, and racing up the stairs, before Faz hits the lights. It also makes sure I leave lots, and lots, of low-watt lights burning all over the place...just in case I get the urge to wake up and wander in the middle of the night.
2. I don't look too closely at dark windows...every horror book I ever read, movie I ever watched, is waiting to jump out at me. **Shudder** ! And, yet, I cannot help but turn on 'Buffy'....sheesh....masochist.
3. You've heard of marching to one's own drummer? Yeah, well, I kind of have my own orchestra...all the time, in my head, music playing, urging me to dance. As a result, you will see me doing a shoulder-shimmy, while waiting at a traffic light, or wiggling in the lift. And yeah, am told that visual is as weird as it sounds...complete with hand movements and all!
4. I tune out of the 'real' world, completely, when reading. Which same means you could be having a life-altering discussion with me, and I would be too far gone to notice. I hear nothing, see nothing apart from what I am reading, and don't feel much pain. Faz is yet to tire of this, but for now he just grins when I surface, some time in the future, with a dazed look going 'huh, did you say something?'. I also have to read before I go to sleep...even if just a paragraph!
5. I can't eat anything sweet without wanting to top it off with something savory...I don't like sweets that taste 'sweet'! Which usually means that I can only eat obbattu with mango pickle, and will always leave a morsel of something spicy for my last bite. This also extends to not eating sweets before drinking tea or coffee.
6. I have to wash my feet in order to feel really fresh and clean...this includes after waking up, coming home after having been out, and just before I climb into bed. Not only do I have to wash 'em, I have to moisturize. Which same leaves me with feet better looked after than most people's faces (hey, not made up, my doc says so!)
Now, having just come off being really sick, am not in the mood to be contagious. So am not tagging onwards. Of course, I won't stop you if you feel like joining the ranks of the Weird....there's more of us than you know ;o)
Sunday, January 14, 2007
A brief trip to hell
It was supposed to be a quick zip into the hills and back...sort of a quick-n-dirty 'there, and back again'(though, with no hobbits in tow). It was supposed to be the filler 'twixt an early breakfast and and a late lunch.
A small matter of leaky pipes, up at the cottage, had Faz, Dad and me piling into the car for a quick looksie. A couple hours onwards, a couple back, and a couple in between...like a nice little dance set.
'Twas nothing of the sort....our quick sojourn upto Ooty, and back, turned into a rattling, bone-jarring, dusty crawl up one hill and down another. It is usually a nice, meandering, drive through forest reserve and up winding roads, with the cozy prospect of cool breeze, pines and homemade chocolate awaiting you.
Except, this time around, there were no roads. Literally. Just stones, gravel, sand, ruts and roots. The roads had packed up and gone South for the Winter, it looked like, and had no intention of returning in a hurry. What little was left kept us alert, and cursing, at a steady 15kmph.
As a result, what should have been a six hour trip, turned into an eleven-and-a-half hour trial, with aching muscles and screaming tail bones...no wonder Mom was pissed :o(
A small matter of leaky pipes, up at the cottage, had Faz, Dad and me piling into the car for a quick looksie. A couple hours onwards, a couple back, and a couple in between...like a nice little dance set.
'Twas nothing of the sort....our quick sojourn upto Ooty, and back, turned into a rattling, bone-jarring, dusty crawl up one hill and down another. It is usually a nice, meandering, drive through forest reserve and up winding roads, with the cozy prospect of cool breeze, pines and homemade chocolate awaiting you.
Except, this time around, there were no roads. Literally. Just stones, gravel, sand, ruts and roots. The roads had packed up and gone South for the Winter, it looked like, and had no intention of returning in a hurry. What little was left kept us alert, and cursing, at a steady 15kmph.
As a result, what should have been a six hour trip, turned into an eleven-and-a-half hour trial, with aching muscles and screaming tail bones...no wonder Mom was pissed :o(
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