OK, this sounds a bit silly, but it’s not. According to this article titled It Died for Us more and more people are demanding gentle treatment for animals destined for the menus. I see nothing wrong with this approach, as I always consume non-vegetarian food (4 or 5 times a year) with a twinge of guilt. You may say how does it matter if eventually the animal is going to be fried or butchered? What about us then? Don’t we all die one day? Then why all the time we seek secure and comfortable lives? I think life, as long as it exists, should be free of pain and trauma. It doesn’t happen though, and it definitely doesn’t happen in the natural world where death comes in all forms of brutal flavors, but that’s what makes us human.
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I had an extremely negative friend a few years ago and fortunately we parted ways. Even on the blogsphere we keep coming across people who are big energy drainers because they incessantly ooze out tons of miasmic negativity. Instead of contributing positively to a thought or idea, they try their best to sabotage whatever little good is happening around. In this article titled How to Help Negative People the writer explains how important it is not to fall into the trap and ending up being negative yourself.
Here’s a good portion:
Negative people are a danger not only to themselves but also to those around them. Consequently, it’s important to preserve your own state of mind while trying to help them. You won’t help a drowning victim by jumping in the water, flailing your arms, and screaming right beside him. Yet some people use this highly ineffective strategy when trying to help negative friends out of depression. Joining a negative person in a whining session only reinforces his negativity and makes you feel worse about your own life, even though it can temporarily make someone feel better to know he doesn’t have to drown alone. Negative people have an endless supply of pity party invitations. If you receive one, don’t RSVP.
There’s an interesting collection of links at Amit Verma’s blog comparing India’s industrial progress to that of China’s. While going through various links I chanced upon this interesting paper (it’s a PDF file) citing various reasons why Indian and Chinese economies are where they are.
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Of late I’ve been censoring this guy Zhivago’s comments due their out-of-contextness and also their objectionable content (objectionable because they’re personal judgements and have got nothing to do with what I write on this blog). It’s a prime example what sleeze lurks on the Internet just because anybody can write anything from anywhere. He seems to be a sick person trying to create a rift between my sister and my wife. Although he hasn’t been able to create even an iota of a dent in our relationships, he spreads around garbage that later on I have to clean. But I think by censoring his comments I’m needlessly attaching importance to his frustrated vagories. Besides, when people read his comments, they get a glimpse into the hollowness of his thoughts, and I’m sure soon he’ll sound too boring to deserve any attention. See how twisted his thinking his. He’s just one of those psychopaths we see in American movies.
What my sister writes on her blog is non of his business, non of anybody’s business unless she insults anybody. I find nothing outlandishly offending on her blog. This Zhivago guy took some of her lines out of context, he took some of my lines out of context, and launched his personal agenda to moralize us. He seems like a loaner who doesn’t have anything he can call even a wee bit exciting.
So does he deserve a post dedicated to him? I think yes. Not for him, but for the people he’s trying to slander on my blog. And for those who had begun to write me what was all this fuss about removing comments? So be prepared for a roller coaster ride of sleaze and slander because from now on I won’t be editing or removing his comments.
Despite all the inane rhetoric one of Alka’s earlier posts generated it all culminated into something really fantastic, as more and more people are coming forward to help that kid. She talked to the kid’s father yesterday on phone, and he was really overwhelmed by the response. As I always say, and will keep on saying, the world goes on because of selected few people, the rest live off their efforts, tanding by the sideway, either cheering or jeering, or doing noting. Here’s what she’s posted on her blog:
I had posted about a couple, writing to the Indian President seeking mercy killing for their son, Vijay Kumar. Their son has been diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia.
Doctors at CMC Vellore and Tata Motors Hospital, where Vijay is admitted, have prescribed a bone marrow transplant - the cost of which is around Rs 12 lakh, way beyond Ashok’s means.
I am pleasantly surprised that so many of you have expressed concern and want to help this child.
Shivam Vij, Mridula, Satya and Rahul Shukla helped me finding necessary information.And with their help I tracked down NDTV’s Kolkata correspondent Monideepa Banerjie’s mail, who had broken this story. She replied to my mail pretty soon. And with her help, I found out the necessary information:
Vijay’s father Ashok Kumar’s cell no. - 9334629441
If you want, you can send the cheque or draft at any of the three given addresses.
=============
His Bank: State Bank of India
Account No: 10590922630
Bank Address:
State Bank Of India
Telco Campus
Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
831004
====================
His Address
Mr. Ashok Kumar
Jemco Bus Stand
Mahanand Nagar
Telco Works
Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
831004
====================
You can contribute here too.
Donations to help Vijay can be made by way of a cheque or DD drawn in favour of the “District Collector, Jamshedpur”.
The cheque or DD, with a covering letter specifying that the donation is for Vijay, should be posted to the following address:
Dr N M Kulkarni,
District Collector,
East Singhbhum District,
Deputy Commissioner’s office,
Bishtupur, near Blood Bank,
Jamshedpur 831001
But remember, its not just money. You can spread the word by giving a little space at your blog for this boy.
I don’t read The Asian Age by choice. It’s the only newspaper that publishes supplements on literature and some of the columnists are really wonderful. I don’t take their news and socio-political analysis seriously because most of the time it is biased and also hovers around the fringes of distortion. For instance, in a recent photo caption, they had written Citizens caught in the crossfire between army and suspected militants. For them, they are always suspected militants, not militants or terrorists, even when they’ve hijacked a bus or made hostage an entire building. This is but a small example. For them the US is an outright villain in attacking a “sovereign” country like Iraq and Iran is a “victim” of international bullying. In the same vein, some non-Muslim religious activity is a cabalistic superstition and a Muslim religious activity is cultural richness. If you take their words at face value, all of a sudden religious despotism doesn’t exist in the world and Islam is the only saving grace. This post is not about bashing a religion or a newspaper; it’s about how words are used to form an opinion and why they should be taken seriously.
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I was unwittingly caught in the comments-cross-fire at this place and was shocked to read the phrase “Dogs and Indians not allowed.” It is outrageous. I mean, Indians do certain things that qualify them for such attitudes, but dogs? Why do people drag innocent dogs into their stupid arguments? I’m not bothered if certain Indians don’t get admitted into DPS (Delhi Public School) but every dog has a fundamental right to pursue scholarly goals in this esteemed institution.
I’ve been meaning to put this song here for a long time. It was sung by Rafi and carries a very beautiful, uplifting meaning. I cannot recall from which movie it is. So here it goes…the English translation follows.
?? ????????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?????????
?? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???????
?? ????????? ????? ??…
Translation: There sings a roaming gypsy and through his song he shows us the path to a fulfilling life.
?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??
?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????
?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??
?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????
??? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??
???? ?? ??? ????? ?????
??…??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????????
Translation: My fellow human beings, from the book of sadness (life, that is) find a tale of joy. Find a reason to laugh if you want to really carry on living. Make sure that even when a tear comes to your eyes, it should bear a smile.
?? ????????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?????????
?? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???????
?? ????????? ????? ??…
OK, the following part is my favorite in this song.
??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??
????? ???? ??????? ????
??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??
????? ???? ??????? ????
????? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ??
??? ?? ??????? ?????? ????
??…?????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ????????
Translation: Not everybody has a luck as bright as the star. The wise is the one who can blossom a garden even during fall. And the wise is the one who can make even flowers of paper smell sweet.
?? ????????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?????????
?? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???????
?? ????????? ????? ??…
Hmmm…I’m terrible at translating verses, but those who can read and understand Hindi will find this song great.
Due to a slew of external and internal protests I’ve “unpublished” this post, and I’ve also deleted the acerbic comments that it had triggered. It was humorous, but a tad irresponsible post and it was needlessly flaring up tampers. Irresponsible in the sense that just to sound funny I had attributed certain actions to certain people without they actually being directly involved in the whole thing. I didn’t realize it would incite a racist dimension. A long time back I had removed a post on South Indian heroes too, considering the kind of flamewar it was generating.
In the weekend I saw a movie called Hostel. It’s about these three young guys from America touring Europe as backpackers — Amsterdam, if I’m not forgetting — in search of erotic and generic fun. During one of their sexual pursuits someone tells them about this small town where, since almost all men have perished in war, there are lots of females left, and they are desperate for young men. Ecstatic, they head to the town, and amidst breathtaking European scenery unfolds a saga of torture and death.
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