Perpetually Perplexed

This book by Somerset Maughm is one book I completed in recent times before returning back to the library. The story revolves around Elliot Templeton and his family. His false prestige, shallowness and need to be always in high society are amusing. His niece is Isabel a good looking girl who is in in love with and engaged to Larry against the wish of family and friends who oppose the alliance as they think he does not have any future. He has returned from army, but does not want to go back to college. Nor does he want to work with stock broker who is father of his friend. He reads voraciously, and is in search of meaning of life. Unable to convince him to settle down, Isabel breaks her engagement to Larry and marries a rich boy Gray who is the son of stock broker and is immensely rich and adores her. The great depression starts and the broker and his son will lose all their wealth. Father dies and Isabel's husband falls sick. Isabel with her husband and children comes to stay wi

I almost forgot to write about this. Narendra Modi has put Gujarat on world map: Mukesh Ambani - Today's news. But he has done it much earlier - 9 years earlier - he has put in world map in a category of Nazi Germany, Jalianwalabagh etc.  

Since globalization, our country has progressed a lot. Common man's economic condition has improved considerably. This has contributed to betterment of Indian women too. The Indian woman today is more educated, better employed in many cases and hence is more assertive. But what has happened to Indian man? Is he accepting the changed status of women? I don't think so. The Indian man still expects his wife to be "karyeshu dasi,...". He is still over protective about the women of his family. And worse of all, he still thinks, if any woman in his family, puts a blot in the family name, (according to his view at least), he goes to any length to punish her for such her crime! Today's Times of India carried a story of a 22 year old woman from Pavagada taluk of Tumkur. She is separated from her husband. And because he is having an affair with another youth, her sister's husband, took her to field, stripped her , slashed her throat and doused her with petrol and set

ऐ मेरे प्यारे वतन ऐ मेरे बिचड़े चमन तुझपे दिल कुर्बान तू ही मेरी आरजू तू ही मेरी आबरू तू ही मेरी जान तेरी दामन से जो आये उन हवावो को सलाम  चूम लू मै उस जुबान को जिसपे आये तेरे नाम सबसे प्यारी सुबह तेरी सबसे रंगीन तेरी शाम  तुझसे दिल कुर्बान तू ही मेरी आरजू .... Listen to this song from Hindi film Kabuliwala   in MusicIndia here  This longing for the home land, I have briefly experienced. But now we are here, should I say I am disillusioned.  But look at the song. Isn't it so beautiful? Atleast our vatan is great for producing such great lyricists.  And please forgive my Hindi. 

We are but slaves to our emotions. From afternoon, I was lying on the couch watching something mindless on TV, getting up only to bring the next item to eat. (This is not how a mom is supposed to behave no matter how depressed she may be, right? OK, My son had gone to tution. ) Then suddenly I started dancing (according to me and moving my limbs in haphazard way for others if at all they could see me). Why the depressions and why the sudden elation? The depression was due to broadband internet connection being down and being told that the server is down after complaining. And, you guessed it right, the elation is when the poor BSNL guy called up to ask if the internet connection is working. Should I change the word emotion in the first sentence to internet? No, no the actual reason, I forgot the bhulakkad I am. The actual happy news was, my app download count crossed 500. (For those of you who do not know yet, I write android apps and publish them in android market. Full two of

When Modiji supposedly kept quiet during 2002 riots, we were criticized. Now when he is fasting for communal harmony and sadbhavana , we are being criticized. This is so unfair. Why don't people have any sadbhavana for Modiji? -Shahnawaz

When i was stumbling, not literally, but using stumble upon to show me random pages of my liking, I came across a site which showed many pie charts. So here is my own pie chart about my computer usage How I spend my time using net

I read the scroll that Modi is fasting for 3 days. I assumed that to be a penance. But 3 days fast? Is that sufficient penance for hundreds of people killed in Gujarat violence post Godhra? ( I am in no way saying that he killed them. But as a chief minister it was his duty to ensure protection of the citizens. ) As  Macbeth says " Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood  Clean from my hand?" Entire Arabian sea water is insufficient to wash the blood off his hands.  Then again we are already talking about him being the next PM. Something must be seriously wrong with Indian psyche. How can we accept him for prime minister's post? If in his reign, there is a communal violence and some hindus die, there may start a carnage all over India. Are we accepting this possibility of genocide? And we will be responsible for this genocide as we would have elected him to the post.  My personal feelings are any other politician is better than Modi for PM post. Even Lalu,

ನಿನ್ನೆ ಜನಶ್ರೀ ಚಾನೆಲ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರು ಸೇರಿ ನಾರಾಯಣ ಮೂರ್ತಿಯವರನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು ಐ ಟಿ ಉದ್ಯಮವನ್ನು ಬಯ್ಯುತ್ತ ಇದ್ರು. ನನಗೆ ಬಹಳ ಕೆಡುಕೆನಿಸಿತು. ಸಾಫ್ಟ್ ವೇರ್ ನವರು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಏನು ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರೆ? ಬರಿ ಹಣದ ಹಿಂದೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂದೆಲ್ಲ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾ ಇದ್ರು.  ಸಾಫ್ಟ್ ವೇರ್ ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸುವ ಮೊದಲು ಹೇಗಿತ್ತು ನಮ್ಮಕರ್ನಾಟಕ? ಜನರ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಹೇಗಿತ್ತು? ಇದೆಲ್ಲ ನಿಮಗೆಲ್ಲ ಗೊತ್ತು. ಈ ಉದ್ದಿಮೆಯಿಂದ ಬಹು ಪಾಲು ಕುಟುಂಬಗಳು ಸುಧಾರಿಸಿವೆ. ಎಲ್ಲ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಸಿರಿವನ್ತರಾಗದಿದ್ದರೂ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಮಂದಿ ಬಡತನದಿಂದ ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ನಿನ್ನೆಯ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರೈತಸಂಘದ ಒಬ್ಬರು ಹೇಳಿದರು. ಇವರು ನಮ್ಮಜಮೀನನ್ನು ಕೊಂಡುಕೊಂಡು ನಮಗೆ ವಾಚ್ ಮ್ಯಾನ್ ಕೆಲಸ ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ನಿಮಗೆ ವಾಚ್ ಮ್ಯಾನ್ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೂ ತಕ್ಕ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಳ ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನೀವು ಈಗ ನಿರುದ್ಯೋಗಿಗಳಲ್ಲ. ಅಥವಾ ಮಳೆ ಬರದಿದ್ದರೆ ಗುಳೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ವಾಚ್ ಮ್ಯಾನ್ ಸಂಬಳದ ಆಧಾರದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಕಲಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದೀರಾ. ನಾಳೆ ಅವರನ್ನು ಸಾಧ್ಯ ಆದರೆ ಸಾಫ್ಟ್ ವೇರ್ ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೀರ.  ಅಲ್ಲ ಮಹಾನುಭಾವರೇ ಅವರಿವರನ್ನು ಬಯ್ಯುತ್ತೀರಲ್ಲ. ನೀವು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಏನು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೀರ? 

You see it in too many movies. Hero/heroine gets down from a cab, pays the driver saying " keep the change" and dashes off. Does this happen in real life? In real life we women get down from auto, pay the driver. We certainly do not say "keep the change". And even after he gives the change, we do not withdraw our stretched hands. We ask him "innond ruupay" (another rupee), knowing too well he will not pay. After some haggling, we reconcile to the fact that innod rupay does not come and walk away slowly. But what about men? Do they say "keep the change". No chance. Instead you can hear "illige hundred rupees hegri agatte? nimma meter sari illa. Naan yavaglu kodod tombat rupay. Iglu ashte kodteeni." Driver will argue, man will argue. They will stop short of fist fight and man will walk away grumbling. 

If you are not aware yet, here is the background. There is a well known kannada actor called Darshan. His wife gave a complaint to Police saying he abused her, hit her, kicked her and showed gun to her. Police took him to custody.  It is a different matter that she tried taking back the complaint saying she got hurt when she fell in bathroom. But Police did not let her take back the complaint. Now listen to the next part of the story. The reason for the fight between the couple is said to be the actor's closeness to another actor called Nikita. Now kannada film association has imposed a ban on Nikita for 3 years. Isn't it typical Indian justice? Man can thrash his wife. The woh in his life gets punished. Why did she have to pull him into extra-marital affair? She is at fault. Darshan does not get any ban. He might be offered more manly roles - machchu swinging, villain thrashing and wife bashing roles. Manu smriti : Is a set of Laws in Hindu religion to be followed by dif

you thought you would rule the world you forgot you are not ruler just ruler's wife someone ruler has acquired as many other possessions you are not spared just because you are wedded to him you obey him like any other argue and your fate will be no different than traitor's you are permitted to smile, not to laugh to nod, not to talk to give, not to take gracefully accept what god and husband have given you DO NOT COMPLAIN

Yesterday I did dingtika again. Well dingtika is a famous song (must be famous- even I know it) which goes something like "bara mahino me , bara tarike se.." . I remember bsy dancing to the tunes of this and do dingtika. You knew Sushmaji did a dance, but you did not know yeddi did too? In fact he did not dance. When he was dethroned, in some tv channel they had shown a parody of that song with him as dingtiker. Not that I like that song too much. Nor am I fan of bsy or bhajapa. But somehow when I feel happy I do this dance. What made me happy? I published my second app in android market. That is I published in the internet a mobile application for android mobiles. So how much money I will be getting for this second app? Same as first app. Which is zilch. Now don't start telling in condescending tones that that's okay, I can do better third time. Nobody - no programmer from India gets to publish paid program in Android market. So if I don't get any money, why a

Well, today I am really out of ideas. What am I supposed to write? All I can think of are rice, dosa, chutni, kitchen sink, bathroom. Hey, how does one remain creative when surrounded by household chores from morning to night? I remember this story. Once Lord Vishnu was praising some human saying that he is the best bhakta of Vishnu. Narada got angry. He complained to Vishnu. "I pray to you always. I keep chanting your name entire day. Still you select some human as your best bhakta. And this is unfair". Vishnu smiles and gives a bowl filled with oil to Narada and tells him "You go around the world holding this bowl in your hand and come back to me. But be careful, you should not spill a single drop of oil. " Narada goes around the world, carefully protecting the bowl of oil and comes back. Tells Vishnu triumphantly " See I did not spill a single drop of oil". Vishnu asks him " How many times did you chant my name?". So now do you people realiz

Day before yesterday being Ganesha chaturthi, I normally prepare 5 sweets for Ganesha, not that he comes from Kailasa and eats them. Well, back in our place, this festival is celebrated in a large way. So this one festival, I will know when it comes, and I do prepare these sweets for puja. Panchakajjaya which is powder of roasted bengal grams, desiccated coconut and sugar, well known chakkali, kadubu, modaka and sesame seeds unde. So I prepared kadubu or karjikai and was not happy with its appearance. Karjikai is prepared by boiling together cocounut , jaggery, sesame seeds for 10-15 minutes and then adding powdered poha to make it thicker and then stuffing it in thin sheet rolled from dough and cutting it in the semi-circle and frying it. So I know the basics to some extent. But somehow after frying the karjikai is having small boils all over and that is not how mom's karjikai turn out. So I decided to try them next day and kept some stuffing aside. Yesterday, I prepared dough f