Long years ago I thought a ‘Tryst with Destiny‘ meant hooking up with a stripper.
Long years ago Vinod thought ‘desi‘ was followed by ‘Arnaz.’
Long years ago Anna thought Karsh Kale was a kind of cabbage.
Long years ago Abhi thought Kalpana Chawla was a variety of rice.
Long years ago Sajit thought the Dum Dum Project was an insane asylum.
Long years ago Ennis sprang full-grown from his mother’s forehead quoting Gayatri Spivak. Well, shit, he’s freakishly bright and messes up the curve like that.
In the last year, our scary-smart readers have corrected all those misconceptions and are poised to correct a million more. Once, S/He Who Must Not Be Named confided to me that s/he wanted more comments for his/her posts. ‘Comments?’ says I. ‘You want comments? Post something that’s flat-out wrong. You’ll have 47 comments correcting the error, 47 calling you a commie and 47 calling you a fascist by the time the post button springs back into position.’
So on this first anniversary of the Mutiny, I’d like to confess our little scam. You thought we were writing for your edification (and masturbatory coffee breaks — we know how you use the WiFi.) Suckas! In reality, y’all have been educating us.
Collectively, you guys are some smart mofos. Can I just say? You rock.
I’ve also taken the liberty of penning my hopes and dreams for Sepia Mutiny’s impact on second-gen culturistas. It’s a weighty political manifesto, so be sure and sit down while you read. Here it is:
back at you, Midnight’s Child Manish, and all of the SM founders. You have brought some really fascinating posts and incited some great discussions.
I’d suggest a group hug, but I think Abhi might pickpocket me.
And therefore your education shall continue:
One cannot vouch for A Tryst with Destiny Long years ago but that on that fateful night at the stroke of midnight, were imbed the seeds India’s Tryst with a Dynasty.
Inspite of the pledges made and pledges forgotten, a path taken into unknown frontiers has atlast led to the sight of green pastures.
A fitting analogy indeed.
cheers for the manifesto! It’s about time someone fights the true fight!!
Congrats, Sepia. You’ve created a sort of home for all us nerds with nothing better to do on a Saturday night 😉
Happy birthday/anniversary!
[fervently] Amen to that, Manish-da, amen to that! [/fervor for now].
47 being our lucky number, eh?
Congratulations and thanks for all the hard work, guys. Looking forward to meeting all of you.
And hey, we should get together sometime and make some movies. Who’s in?
I used to think that American Indians were exotic – now I know you are just as plain and ordinary and beautiful and stupid and wise and clueless and genius and sexy as we are – Sepia Mutiny – Britain Salutes You!
Who are Richard Grenier and Velu Annanmalal?
Both of them have been used in posts on Sepia Mutiny as historians/ real critics on Gandhi and their views have been used in main posts in less than a year.
1) Richard Grenier was a film critic, not a historian. He is quoted in Sepia Mutiny twice (August 3, 2005 and October 3, 2004) – once only using his phrase “caveat emptor” (http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/000472.html). Ralph Reed, a powerful evangelist from Christian Right plagiarized him for the same article on Gandhi when he was a student at University of Georgia and was subsequently fired. Richard Grenier analysis is fraught with out right lies, second hand, and third hand analysis twisted out of context. If you do a google search on Richard Grenier on Gandhi, you find him quoted on websites which are highly irresponsible.
2) Apparently, nobody knows the academic credentials of Velu Annanmalal. In one of the links though Sepia Mutiny, he wants Gandhi to be tried as a Nazi war criminal (http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/gandhi.html) which Sepia Mutiny writer described as disturbing on the post (http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/000472.html). Therefore, I went to Michigan State University online library (http://www.lib.msu.edu/limb/a-z/az_bg5.html) and African National Congress Website (http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/people/gandhi/). They have 10 articles by African National Congress (ANC) on Gandhi, including two by Nelson Mandela and other reputed people. They all speak very highly of Gandhi and James Hunt from Shaw University talks of his son, ManilalÂ’s lead role in 1952 Great Defiance Campaign in South Africa.
This is as academic rigorous I (or anyone) can be in using less than an hour on the internet. All I did was I visited an online site for a North American University. I would trust the integrity of ANC and Nelson Mandela over Velu Annanmalal on any given day. I am pleading and coaxing the readers and writers of Sepia Mutiny to read these articles from Michigan State University online library and African National Congress and make up their own mind and clear themselves of any propaganda, the readers of Sepia Mutiny went through. Everything is presented to you loud and clear.
If Gandhi or for that matter any figure is to be criticized or evaluated, then it should be done with full academic integrity and rigor not with slander. I also believe historical figures including Gandhi need to be evaluated from time to time but with care. Sepia Mutiny is doing a great disservice to South Asian Diaspora and entire world as a blog, if they are becoming, willingly or unwillingly partner in lies and revisionalist history. I think Sepia Mutiny providing an echo chamber for “Gandhi a Nazi war criminal” without any academic vetting was irresponsible and immature.
I will request Sepia Mutiny writers (highly educated bloggers) to be very careful at the administrative level or just stick to harmless topics like Bollywood, and dating. We all understand that they have no control over comments section but they do have with the main write-ups. With 1,000,000 hits comes fame and also responsibility. These daysÂ’ blogs are read by more people than newspapers and books. We all know the power of blogs through Dan Rather and CBS case last year.
I want to congratulate you for 1 year anniversary but only after you all promise to all of us to be a little responsible in matters that can have a profound effect. It is not asking much.
Kush
Truer words were never spoken.
Naaah! Ignore that! Keep being partisan contentious and innacurate, its fun! And keep mixing serious stuff with the stupid and childish!
Although recently its all been serious what with facists blowing themselves up and racism and blah blah blah I wish we could just have a week of pure immature posts full of girls in bikinis and stupid comments about funny things!
And then write another post calling Gandhi a Nazi! Just for the hell of it! Because you can do what you like because you can!
Punjabi Boy – America salutes you!
I just started a blog
At the moment it looks like a dog
I will make it look smart though with a better template
At the moment I cannot be bothered – its Sunday morning and there is an injured sparrow outside my window – it is singing a sweet song of innocence and summer – I’m just going to go out and wring its neck
It will be a sexy blog
Full of Indian women in bikinis, news from the bhangra music scene, lots of anti-fascism and support for Tony Blair, general stuff.
It will be erotic and explosive – it will make you want to scream and blah blah blah
If you love me you will visit it whenever I update it.
If you hate me, you can visit somewhere else, I dont care.
let me guess, the splash page will be Amisha & Bipasha?
Great Job Mutineers! The addiction is now in its eighth month.
Great job Manish and others, all of you are superstars. Someone already thinks you are spiderman.
Desi Dancer
Yeah! When I get round to it.
I’m a newcomer here but I echo all the praise heaped upon you, O mutineers. Revel in the plentipotentiary hegemony of the weapon of mass distraction you have spawned as I inevitably fail finals due to time wasted pressing F5 on here.
And Manish, let me resoundingly endorse your manifesto; despite our spectacularly different views on Devdas, your sentiment is nothing but noble and one you have my recognisance to redeem.
Punjabi Boy…I’ll be keeping an eye on that Punjabi Bloyg.
Sepia Mutiny, may your aggrandisement continue.
a, a, e, m, s, v:
massive props! many happy returns! zindabad!
Yes Desi Dancer. Yes, I would.
Manish, I am glad you updated the post from “chawal” to rice since I didn’t know what “chawal” was. We gujus call it something different 🙂
a a e m s v…so close to being an anagram of ‘save me’. But actually just an anagram of ‘save Ma’.
That’s it, I’m asking Anna to become Enna or Abhi to become Ebhi immediately 😉
How about a list of.. most visited stories, “most commented on” stories, most trackbacks, etc?
Only 17 years to go till the age of consent!
And to paraphrase Larry Summers “keep the controversy alive”.