Monday, January 26, 2009

Solar Eclipse = Govt Sponsored Pooja

There is a partial solar eclipse today afternoon and in India it will be visible in Southern India, the eastern coast, north-east, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadeep. Guess what the Karnataka government is doing to "ward off evil influences of the eclipse"? It has asked temples to perform special pooja after the eclipse.

That sure is a very proactive government, no? And what exactly is a government-run temple as mentioned in the TOI report?

Saturday, January 24, 2009

First they came...

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

- Martin Niemöller

This simple and haunting poem is amongst the most popular translated version of the German original written in the 1940s by anti-Nazi pastor Martin Niemöller.