rantlust

Posted by tafkap on August 23rd 2009 in India, Mythology, Religion
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Dear Radha,

You couldn’t possibly remember me.
I was four and your brother’s best friend.
Four is too young to have a crush on your friend’s didi, isn’t it?

You were beautiful.
You had to be.
You had sweet multicolored saunf to offer me - every time I knocked on your door.
The saunf could not have been sweeter than the palms that held them.
How come your bangles always matched the colors of the saunf?
Those bangles couldn’t have been more delicate than the wrists that wore them.

I hope you found the man of your dreams.
I pray that your children are as beautiful as you were.
I wish you all the happiness that you gave me and more.

But dear Radha, sometimes I can’t help but wonder.
Are you sad? Now?
If the waves ever carry this message in a bottle to you …
I hope you never forget that you are Radha, beloved of the Lord Krishna.
And that this four year old still thinks that you must be
The most beautiful girl in the world.

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Posted by papi on June 16th 2009 in Animation, Art, India, Movies, Raves, Religion
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A lovely interpretation of the Ramayana.

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Posted by riyer on December 08th 2008 in Developing Nations, Disasters, Government, India, USA
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The Bush administration is about to acknowledge that the $10bln it has spent in aid to Pakistan since 9/11 has been “wasted”. This aid was specifically meant to help the US fight terrorism on the Afghanistan border. The report will further state that Pakistan has used all of that money to “build up its army against India” instead of fighting the Taliban and the terrorists on the Afghan border. Of all the mismanaged projects that is the hallmark of the Bush presidency, this has perhaps the gravest impact in terms of global security. Ridiculous as this may sound, it can be argued that the Bush administration has indirectly (if inadvertently) funded the Mumbai attacks.

After all, a part of the Pakistan Military strategy to build its war machine against India is to fund organizations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) - that is critical for Pakistan to keep the insurgency in Pakistan occupied Kashmir - PoK, going. President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent editorial not withstanding, it is well documented that the LeT is actively supported by the Pakistan military and most notably the ISI. It is well known that the LeT actively recruits in the PoK. The chief of the LeT, Hafiz Saeed, in a speech in Karachi, said “There can’t be any peace while India remains intact. Cut them, cut them — cut them so much that they kneel before you and ask for mercy.” So - funding for the Pakistani military has indirectly supported the LeT operations which has funded the Mumbai attacks.

Most responsible parents will tell you that they supervise what their kids spend their $20 allowance on. How come the Bush administration doesn’t bother to watch over $10bln in aid money. Let us hope the Obama administration does a better job managing our tax dollars and global security.

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Posted by riyer on November 23rd 2008 in India, Rants, Society, USA
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The NYT has a very well written piece titled “India Calling“.

Story covers the growing trend of ABCDs (children born to Indian immigrants) returning to India - for good. It introduces the term ‘brain circulation’ instead of ‘brain drain’.

I have argued that the IT boom in India and the leg-up that India has in globalization can be directly attributed to those who came to the MBA schools in the 70s and the IT consulting (aka IT body-shops) in the 80s (I was one of them).

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Posted by Suman on November 19th 2008 in Africa, Crime, India, Military, News, Raves
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With all the negative press the U.S. military gets (most of it undeserved, frankly), it’s nice to see the military of at least one other country (especially one I have a connection to) in the news for unleashing righteous violence on those who deserve it!

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Posted by papi on June 11th 2008 in Crime, India, Rants
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Saw this story related to one of our own today. Some bloggers were surprised to see their content ripped off and posted on another site without their permission. When confronted about it, the site - which claims to be THE premier destination for Kerala tourism online - responded in true Mal (now there’s an appropriate bi-lingual pun) fashion with a torrent of misogynistic abuse. Read on and weep.

http://myinjimanga.blogspot.com/2008/06/stealing-threat-cyber-stalking-abuse.html

The funniest thing is that these same buffoons run a matrimonial site. With such a criminal mindset among its highest executives (the Shiva guy quoted extensively in the link above is their director of operations), who can bet against matrimonial pictures being used on their porn sites? I’m sure these guys have some director of Photoshop operations as well. Methinks this is a promotion just waiting for some sharp cyber-crime sleuth. Tourism, misogyny, matrimony, and porn - all in a day’s work for the fine people at Kerals.com. Buyer beware.

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Posted by riyer on May 22nd 2008 in Humor, India, News, Politics, Travel
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I figured that this story deserved a spoof - Here is my version of the same story.

American, Cutting Back, Plans $15 Pants Fee

Published: May 22, 2008
There’s an old saying about the best way to travel: bring half the clothes and twice the money.

Now may be the time to take that advice to heart and you had better not be Indian or Chinese.

American Airlines said Wednesday that it would soon start charging passengers for the clothes and shoes that they wear. $10 for cotton pants ($15 for Jeans) and $5 for Shirts ($7 for full-sleeved shirts). Additionally, American will charge $5 per shoe ($10 if they are hiking shoes) - if they are flying on a discounted fare. Asked why they charge per shoe and not for a pair of shoes, an American spokesperson said that as per the Americans with Disabilities Act, such pricing would be discriminatory.

The airline’s new policy — to take effect July15 — comes only weeks after many major carriers, including American, began charging $15 each way for checked baggage,

The new fee is just the latest example of airlines adding charges on top of rising airfares, even at the risk of angering travelers further, to make up for the billions of dollars they are losing as fuel prices soar. In an effort to reduce the weight and consequent fuel consumption, airlines continue to explore ways to reduce the weight and the clothes we wear are the latest target.

“It’s only going to get worse and worse,” said Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents employees at American. “Flight attendants are not trained to distinguish between running shoes and hiking shoes, and what if passengers decide not to wear any clothes so as not to pay the fee” said Glading?

American Airlines executives said they had little choice but to impose such fees, given that the price of jet fuel is up more than 80 percent from a year ago.

Airline industry losses could top $7.2 billion in 2008, Jamie Baker, an analyst with JPMorgan Chase, estimated this week. Airline shares were battered Wednesday, as oil surged to a record $133.17 a barrel. Stock in American’s parent company fell 24.2 percent, to $6.22 a share.

In another development, several airlines are considering charging Indians and Chinese an extra fee - because India and China are being blamed for soaring oil prices. The rise in global oil and food prices are being blamed on demand from India and China. Last week President Geroge W. Bush blamed the demand for food with higher nutrition among Indians as the reason for 9% inflation in food prices in the US.

In a surprising move American announced that for every snack purchased by a non-Indian and non-Chinese passenger, Indian and Chinese passengers on board will be assessed an extra fee.”We are looking for every opportunity to change our cost-structure and even President George Bush has said that food prices are rising because of increased demand in India and China, so it is only appropriate that we pass the price of food consumed by average Americans to the average Indian or Chinese.

“Our company and industry simply cannot afford to sit by hoping for industry and market conditions to improve,” American’s chief executive, Gerard J. Arpey, said Wednesday at a shareholder meeting.

To cut costs, the company also said Wednesday that it would eliminate toilet paper and running water from toilets. “The weight of toilet paper and water adds several hundred pounds to the gross weight of an airplane - this move is expected to save $5000 per year and increase share holder value” said Mr Arpey.

American is also considering charging access fees to toilets for discount fare passengers. Robert Harrell, an industry consultant, estimated that as many as 40 million American passengers could be subject to the new toilet access fee. American carries about 98 million travelers a year. With an average of 100 toilet access per flight, at $1 per toilet access this move could potentially net upwards of $40 million per year. “Each passenger will get a cup of water and 3 sheets of toilet paper and 5 minutes of access to the toilet” said Mr Arpey

Asked whether the Toilet paper charge will be arbitrarily passed on to fellow Indian and Chinese passengers, Mr Arpey said “No. We understand that they don’t use toilet paper in India and China, so we can’t charge them for that”

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Posted by anupcs on January 25th 2008 in Celebrity, Entertainment, Fashion, French-Surrender, India, Music, Politics
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Earlier this week, the Indian government was having a tough time figuring out the correct protocol of dealing with a visiting head of state’s girlfriend. French president Nicolas Sarkozy was coming to town and the rumor had it that he was bringing his new found love, former supermodel, Carla Bruni. One moment she was coming, the next, not. And now apparently she is going but separately. This is less troublesome but still a spot of bother for the protocol keepers as the couple are planning to visit that old monument of love, the Taj Mahal.

The global media has been all over the Sarkozy-Bruni romance as it’s not often that we get to see heads of state in the same predicament as a Hilton or Spears (please, I beg you, let’s leave Bill Clinton out of this). Even the bastions of serious journalism, The New York Times, The BBC, and horror of horrors, The Wall Street Journal (Rupert Murdoch is already showing his true colors at the newspaper) had lengthy articles on the relationship.

Bruni is quite familiar with this sort of attention having dated a who’s who of bad boys (Eric Clapton, Sir Mick Jagger, Vincent Perez, and even Kevin Costner). She retired from a lucrative modeling career (apparently she appeared in around 250 magazine covers) at the age of 30 and is now trying her hand at singing when she’s not visiting ancient monuments with Sarkozy. Lovers of French cinema will probably know that Bruni is the sister of noted French actress, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi. Today, the Journal even compared her to Norah Jones. Curious, I dug up a video of the woman singing on youtube and I have to admit, I am impressed (see below). Too bad the Sarkozy tie might actually hurt her singing career. Though, let’s hope not.

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