Author Archives: A N N A

The Keystone Cops of Connaught Place

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stooges.jpg Raju Sharma, a money changer in New Delhi, left his office around half-past eight last night carrying a bag filled with around Rs. 14 lakhs. On his way to the car, interception!

four young men on two motorcycles intercepted him and tried to snatch the bag. At this, Mr. Sharma put a stiff resistance and raised an alarm. [linky]

I “put a stiff resistance” whenever I’m approached by four young men, too. 😉

No heroes in all of ND?

However, since one of the robbers was brandishing a revolver, no one came forward. Though he fought with the robbers for about 10 minutes, in the end the culprits managed to snatch the bag as he lost hold of it on being hit on the head with the butt of the revolver.[linky]

That’s gonna leave a mark.

Subsequently, the culprits fled from the spot. Mr. Sharma in the meantime continued to cry for help, which caught the attention of a policeman who was passing by. The duo then gave a chase to the robbers in an auto-rickshaw.[linky]

Continue reading →

We are not the enemy.

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Well, ain’t this some fabulous reporting from the New York Post (Thanks, Nina):

If you were in Manhattan yesterday, you might have thought an enemy force had taken over the island and severed the East Side from the West.
The invaders were not al Qaeda, but the Pakistani Parade and Festival, which stormed Madison Avenue from 23rd to 41st streets; the Daytop Village Street Festival on Madison from 42nd to 57th; and the Church of the Good Shepherd street fair on Third Avenue from 23rd to 34th.
The occupying armies ate up 45 blocks in the city’s heart from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., plus time before and after to set up and take down.

LittleGirl.jpgI’m consumed by a wrath which makes me want to kick something. An enemy force? A festival which STORMED Madison Ave? Are you kidding me?

This little bit of ignorant commentary is all yours thanks to a Real Estate/Opinion writer named Steve Cuozzo. The title he chose for his piece is awesome:

SLEAZY, STINKY, CHINTZY STREET FESTS ARE MORE FOUL THAN ‘FAIR’

Granted, Cuozzo was referring to three different events while frothing-at-the-ass, but to mindlessly lump in another culture’s Independence Day with a mere street festival wasn’t very bright, considering the purpose of the lumping. Celebrating Pakistani Independence is sleazy, stinky and chintzy? Foul? I’ll tell you what’s foul: sloppy writing, ignorant thinking and pure disrespect. Continue reading →

Are you paying attention? :)

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Since flawless scores on the SAT are no biggie ‘round this blog— btw, you all make me sick with your disgusting perfection– I thought I’d give you a REAL test to tussle with…

How MUTINOUS are YOU?

Erstwhile guest blogger Amardeep once crafted something similar to have us all put up or shut up regarding our mastery of brown music. I had a blast with the good Professor’s exam, so much so that fellow Mutineer Manish accused me of cheating. Hater. 😉

No need to cheat on my little timesuck; obviously all of your Reading Comp skills are stellar if you made 800s back in high school. This quiz covers information from posts written in the last week. Have at it, SM-heads. And if you like it, I might do it to you again. 😀 Continue reading →

To Forgive is Divine

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Almost two weeks ago, fellow Mutineer Abhi wrote

Really, what kind of a soulless bastard do you have to be to kill someone while they are praying?

when he posted about the tragic murder of Houston-resident Akhil Chopra, which took place on August 11.

What kind of a bastard? Perhaps, this kind? (Thanks, RC.)killer.jpg

This is Howard Dale Bellamy, aka “Peanut”. As in, it takes testicles the size of peanuts to murder a man who is peacefully communing with nature, with his eyes closed. Chopra meditated daily during his lunch break in the park where he was gunned down.

True to his stellar character, Bellamy is not cooperating with authorities. “Peanut”‘s luck ran out when someone else who was using Chopra’s purloined credit card was caught; that person promptly snitched while being interrogated. Six other people who are linked to the robbery-turned-murder are also in custody, under fraud charges.

Houston police, which had earlier announced a award of $10,000 (about Rs 4.5 lakhs) for tip offs leading to Bellamy’s arrest, would soon initiate trial against him for capital murder. If convicted, he might get a death penalty as Texas has provision for this. [link]

Continue reading →

Wanted: Wedding Crashers…Will Pay

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shaadi.jpg Michael H. of Chocolate and Gold Coins points us towards an interesting little blurb on Ananova about brown weddings; apparently, people in India and people in Amreeka have totally opposite problems. I mean, the last time I was at this popular venue for desi receptions, I was a mere speck among 800 other guests. The Mother of The Groom, a former classmate of my Mom’s, bemoaned the fact that she had to cut people from her invite list…to get it down to 800. Maybe she should’ve thrown her bash in INDIA:

An Indian firm which rents out wedding guests says business is booming.
The Best Guests Centre, at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, is looking to expand across the state.
The company caters for families who fear they will fall short of guests at weddings.

Fake guests can be attired in your choice of either desi or “smart” vestern clothes, they also dance and use the right salad fork. The most crucial bit of preparation is probably the briefing these employees receive on the story behind the wedding, so that they don’t botch the illusion of perfect guest-ness.

Why on earth is this even necessary?

He told The Statesman: “The breaking up of joint families and lack of affection among relatives also creates a demand for paid guests.
“Such families need to hire guests to make up for the fewer number of relatives available for attending the marriage.”

Are you kidding me? Problems getting desis to show up for free food and gossip fodder? This HAS to be a joke. Right? Continue reading →

No Plastic for You!

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flood.jpg When asked, “Paper or Plastic?” how do YOU answer?

Are you blissfully indifferent to the ramifications of your choice? Angst-ridden because neither option is perfect? Filled with guilt because you are an Alum from the University of California at Santa Cruz or Davis, and thus, you should know better?

While you’re sorting all that out, I’m filling my much-adored Boat and Tote, sans guilt, confusion or consternation. It turns out that if I ever visit Mumbai, I might have to schlep it THERE, too.

The government in the western Indian state of Maharashtra has banned the sale and use of plastic bags.
“Mumbai and various other areas have suffered from the misuse of plastic bags,” state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said in Mumbai. [BBC]

Perhaps you are asking yourself, “What misuse?” No, you pervs. Not that kind.

“These tend to choke the drainage and sewage systems.” [BBC]

Who’s brilliant enough to guess where I’m going with this?

Mr Deshmukh said plastic bags had added to the problems of the recent floods across the state, which claimed more than 1,000 lives. [BBC]

Exactly. w00t smart environmental choices! 😀 Continue reading →

80% of India’s Children Lead SUCKY Lives

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Plan, the ChildrenÂ’s aid organization, issued a report with the following sobering statistics (Thanks, Al Mujahid):

  • Nearly half of Asia’s 1.3bn children live in poverty, denied basic needs, says a new report.
  • India has the largest number of poor children in Asia, with 80% of its 400m young severely deprived, it says.
  • 600m Asian children under the age of 18 lack access to either food, safe drinking water, health or shelter.
  • Of those, 350m were described as "absolutely poor", meaning they do not have access to two or more of a child’s essential necessities.
    • [BBC]

Though Africa (especially lately) is the continent many of us associate with poverty and desperation, Asia has double the number of “severely deprived” children.  IÂ’m ashamed of my ignorance of this fact.  ItÂ’s so easy to focus on Bangalore and Gurgaon, on starbucks-esque “third places”, on “desirable” India.  I heard so much about IndiaÂ’s fabulous new middle class, I forgot that

Despite high growth rates in countries like India and China, millions of families were being left behind, according to the report.

Among the causes, the report said, were the pressure of rapid population growth on scarce resources, lack of access to education, health care, clean water or sanitation, caste discrimination, and weak governance and corruption.[BBC]

Around half of IndiaÂ’s children who are age five or younger are malnourished; additionally, India has more children working than any other country. Sixty percent of IndiaÂ’s youngest citizens are “absolutely poor”.  In contrast, only 13 million or ChinaÂ’s 380 million children are considered “deprived”.

China, the report said, had made "great strides in poverty reduction in recent years".[BBC]

WhatÂ’s being done?

Child aid organisation, Plan, author of the report, has pledged to spend $1bn on poverty reduction in 12 Asian countries over the next decade.

It also wants rich nations to reduce subsidies given to their own farmers and to cancel Third World debt. [BBC]

Sigh. Continue reading →

This Suitablegirl is suitably loyal.

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Over a decade ago, I walked up and down the aisles of the local Barnes and Noble because of an all-consuming curiosity which was ignited by some now-forgotten book review. (I would later work at that very BN during my senior year of college, in case you are unbelievably bored). I had picked up a torch for brown-ish fiction which burns just as brightly today as it did when I was a teenager. I found my quarry, picked it up very carefully and took it to the cash-wrap, where the clerk, on second thought, double-bagged it.

four pounds.jpg

I went home and didn’t emerge from my room for two days; I waved away meals, plugged my ears to my father’s indignant screams about how I was missing class, I think I forgot to bathe, who knows. I couldn’t leave this tome, whose protagonist shared MY nickname. Upon reflection, I think I understand why you Potter-heads do what you do…oh, wait. I don’t. 😉

Vikram Seth’s “Suitable Boy” changed my life. It altered my expectations for literature, my perceptions of my parents’ histories, my conception of myself and what I wanted out of my future. Suddenly, I had a thousand things to ask my delighted father, about newly-free India in the 1950s. I looked at my mother, a freedom baby who was born right after India gained her independence with a new affection and appreciation; if Aparna were alive, she’d be my Mother’s age. I regarded all the other books on my shelves with a supercilious disdain.

I’ve read SB three-and-a-half times. It never left my bedside table; it’s been there for over a decade. My most cherished ritual involved briefly immersing myself in it before falling asleep every night; as soon as I finished the entire tome, I’d gingerly turn the book over and start it again the next night. Suddenly, I’m sad that my treasured font of comfort is dusty and untouched. Continue reading →

Not so fast, Masud.

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A wee bit of good news:

Police in Bangladesh have arrested a prominent Islamic leader in connection with last week’s wave of bombings.
Moulana Fariduddin Masud, a senior member of the Jamaate Ulamaye Islam group, was detained at the main airport in the capital, Dhaka. [BBC]

Masud was on his way to Dubai when he was busted and dragged off his flight. Well, he probably wasn’t dragged, but you get the picture.

Last Wednesday’s mass-bombing stole two lives, including that of a little boy who was killed when he picked up one of the small, home-made explosives. Over 100 people were injured by the 400 bombs which went off around government buildings in Bangladesh last week.

More raids are happening to find others who may be responsible. One sought-after suspect is Abdur Rahman; he lead the banned fundamentalist group (Jamatul Mujahideen) that left leaflets around bombing sites, taking credit for the blasts. Unfortunately, authorities think Rahman may have succeeded where Masud failed– he has probably already fled Bangladesh. Interpol has been alerted.

Sigh. I’ll close by focusing on the positive, yes? At least they caught SOMEONE:

Moulana Masud was later taken into the custody of the elite anti-crime force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), for interrogation.
Little is known about him but police said he was among 20 people wanted in connection with the attacks. [BBC]

Interrogate away. I’m haunted by the horrifying possibility that last week was just a “dry run”. Continue reading →

“Amma is unharmed.”

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Mata Amritanandamayi, the world-famous “hugging saint” whose charitable trust runs schools and hospitals all over the world, is safe after being attacked yesterday by an unidentified assailant. The attempted stabbing occurred in the Kollam district of Kerala, where the spiritual leader is based.

Reports say her followers wrestled the attacker on to the ground before he could reach the stage where she was leading prayers for 18,000 people.[BBC]

Two of the disciples who rushed to protect their leader experienced minor injuries.

Mata Amritanandamayi, (“Mother of Absolute Bliss”) or “Amma” as she is sometimes called cautioned against revenge:

Ms Amritanandamayi said on Monday she wanted her followers to forgive the attacker.
“All those who are born will die one day. I am going ahead keeping this reality in mind,” she said.
“I will carry on. I will continue to give darshan to the devotees coming here to meet me. I don’t want my [followers] to create any problem for what had happened yesterday.”[BBC]

Hail Lucifer?

The Indian Express newspaper said the attacker may have been a follower who was expelled recently.[BBC]

The spiritual leader’s website had this statement:

August 21, 2005 – Latest News from Amritapuri
Amma is unharmed. She is giving Devi Bhava darshan now. Stranger with a hidden knife rushes to the stage during Amma’s bhajans. Devotees overpowered him and have handed him over to the police. None of today’s Devi Bhava programs were interrupted by this incident.

Continue reading →