Karnataka's Porngate - Some Thoughts

Just when you thought that politics can't get any bizarre than it had become in the recent run-up to polls and the quintessential mud-slinging associated with it, you get surprised and how. Yesterday's newspapers were filled with the news of 2 state ministers of BJP government were caught on TV cameras watching porn clippings on their phones while the assembly was in session. The clippings were apparently sent to them by a third minister.

As a person of liberal leanings, I feel that it is an individual's prerogative what he/she wants to watch. Moreover, watching porn privately is not illegal in India whereas its distribution is. This incident has triggered  an interesting series of questions. Below is my list, in no particular order:

• When one of the 2 ministers was asked why he was watching porn in assembly, he gave a lame excuse saying the discussion in assembly was about rave parties and he was seeing the video to educate himself about what happens in such parties. Did he really think we would buy that? Are our ministers that sincere to actually do homework for discussions? Would he have seen a related video if the discussion was on poor sanitation/drinking water/traffic problems? That they were even discussing about rave parties in the first place itself is such a waste of time
• When the 3rd minister was asked about him sending the clipping to these 2, he said " Have they gone mad or what?". This indeed was the most priceless sound byte for me :) . But legally, this third minister is committing  a crime by circulating a pornographic material whereas the other 2 are not by just watching. My 2 cents - isn't there a law against ministers wasting taxpayers' money by doing these inane acts in assembly instead of engaging in some constructive discussion?
• What's with the portfolios held by these ministers? One was Cooperation minister - what does he cooperate in? Another was Women and Child Development minister - the same person who had made a comment not so long ago that women can avoid sexual harassment if they dress modestly. No wonder we've had such phenomenal development of women and children.
• This being election time, the political circus that followed was anybody's guess. With both BJP and Congress giving the media details of each other's scandalous past, opposition asking for President's rule in the state, Legislative Assembly being adjourned sine die and so on. I am surprised that no one has blamed the opposition yet of planning this conspiracy to taint the party's image. Or have they done it already?
• Lastly, who is the loser at the end of it all - the citizens of the state who pay their hard earned money as taxes so that our elected leaders discuss matters that are more important than watching porn clippings on their phones?

Image courtesy: jaagruti.org

Crrrunch....

After months of not eating/making salads, I finally got back to making a delicious bowl today. It was a simple one with red cabbage, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, sprouts and cucumber dressed with a dash of balsamic vinegar and a sprig of mint leaves. I put it in the freezer for 5 minutes just before eating to make it crunchier.

I hope to get back to eating them more often. Isn't is surprising that not so long ago salads used to be my staple lunch for months?

Almost this day last year...

Yes, it has been a little over a year since I decided to take the plunge. In spite of S & me wanting to have a simple marriage, it turned out to be a not-so-simple wedding. I have also realized that one of the most dreaded things about marriage - the change it brings in one's life, is more of a myth. My life hasn't changed so much ... fortunately.

Before we knew it, it was already a year ...

Swearing before God

After my long absence from the blogosphere, I have written and discarded many pieces in the past few months. Probably I would have continued my break if this interesting article had not caught my eye. It is about the present and previous Chief Ministers of Karnataka taking 'truth test' before Lord Manjunatha at Dharmasthala to prove their innocence about a certain political matter. As kids when we all knew that when we were lying and someone made us swear, the easiest one used to be "God Promise!" - we knew God was indestructible and was also forgiving , so no harm done to anyone. How easy! So at least I know where these guys are coming from when are planning to swear on/before Gods and not anyone/anything else.

The other thing we all know is that all politicians are liars. So in all probability both of them would be lying in some way or the other before the Lord. What if this particular God is not as forgiving as we assumed the Gods to be. What if one or both of them suddenly light up in flames as wrath of God for lying (isn't this what happens in most of the mythological stories?). Wouldn't this be a much better solution than lie detectors, judicial/political debates? And since it will be God's judgement, no one will even be questioning it and the punishment will be immediate.

Update 7/10/2011: Unfortunately, the drama in Dharmasthala did not unfold as was publicized and the current CM got a cold feet. What fun it would have been. Anyway, there's always a next time ...

Three Years

Today happens to be the day when I posted my first blog post in 2007. I had not thought at the time that I would manage to keep this blog alive even for a year, let alone three (given my short attention span for anything I dabble in J ). Although my blogging frequency has considerably reduced over the years, I still try to put together the thought that comes to my mind once in a while.

On a different note, it occurred to me yesterday that if a film about film is called metafilm and data about data is called metadata, should a blog about blog be called metablog? I looked up metablog in my trusted dictionary.com only to be rudely questioned – did you mean metabolic? Of course I didn’t! But google as always turned out to be quite helpful in letting me know that my useless thought wasn’t useless after all. And that the blog about blogs is indeed called a metablog!

The best way to treat Shopaholism..

.. is by making one go through wedding shopping twice in less than 1 year. Now that I have realized from experience - no wedding shopping lasts less than 2 months (I know of some which go on for 6 months or more). There are so many things to take care of that all your weekends turn out to be much more hectic than your work days. So much so that you wish for the work week to begin soon!

The other thing I have realized in the past few weeks is that there is no such thing as a simple wedding. All your resolve about having a simple wedding goes down the drain when things start happening to you mysteriously without you realizing that this is not what you wanted. And by the time you do realize, it is too late …

Image courtesy: http://www.mimifroufrou.com/

That Rainy Day...

It was a busy day at work. I had to leave earlier than usual in the evening to attend to something important. It was one of the days when I wasn't driving home myself. He was already on his way to pick me up. I was almost racing against time to wrap things up. So much so that I had to forgo my afternoon tea. He calls " I am ten minutes away from your office". "Gosh!", I swear under breath, I had not realized it was so late. "I'm on my way out", I gushed. The walk from my building to the gate takes over 10 mins!!

The sky was slightly overcast and there was a nice breeze when I left my building. I had walked only a few steps when it started raining ... not a light drizzle, but one with raindrops the size of ping-pong ball!! On a good day I absolutely love the rains, but not today. By the time I reached his car I was half-soaked in spite of the umbrella. His welcoming smile almost made be forget my misery. He started driving. I mumbled something like "I was so caught up today I didn't even get time for tea. I feel dead without it ". He gives one of his trademark smiles and says "Put your handbag in the backseat, there's something for you over there". I find a bag containing a flask of steaming hot tea, a coffee mug and a box of cookies!!

What I say out loud is "You are the best! I couldn't have asked for anything more" and I say to myself "I'm so lucky to have found him .. I'm glad he is the one .... "

Image courtesy: http://wiki.zope.org

Earth Hour 2010

This year's Earth Hour is just around the corner - Saturday 27th March 20:30 to 21:30 local time. I observed it last year and planning to do so this year too. Please spread the word about the event. All one needs to do is switch off all light switches and electrical appliances during this period, simple isn't it? But more importantly, all this will have a lasting impact only if we make some small changes in our lifestyle on a regular basis.

You can find some interesting stuff in the official earth hour website, especially the did you know section.

Yes, Still Alive!

This happens to be my first post of the year 2010!!

As Chithal rightly pointed out to me, Jan 2010 was the only month (since I started writing) when I did not write a single post. So just to ensure that Feb does not end up being the second such consecutive month, I am writing this post :). This is to let my readers (which I think happens to be at the most 5 people) know that I am still around, that I have not abandoned this blog and do plan to write more often than I am currently doing. There is a lot happening in my life right now which is taking most of my time .. but I am sure I will find a way to successfully juggle all of them and still manage to blog ... real soon :)

Dreams ..

For some reason this line from the film Luck by Chance has been playing in my head for the past few days - Sapne wo nahin hote hain so hum raat ko sote huey dekhte hain, sapne wo hote hain jo hamein raaton ko sone nahin dete ( dreams are not what we see while sleeping, but the ones which don't let us sleep).


... no wonder I am having sleepless nights these days ...