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What happened at Godhra

The man made pyre Once upon a time in the dark days of February..... The evening mist has just settled. A middle aged man wrapped in a grey shawl waits in the station. Beside him is a cup of tea, long since cold. On his right is a Gujarati newspapers loosely folded. On the paper is a big Motorola cellphone. Just about a hundred meters away a couple of house are filled with strangers. Numbering about 30, they remain in silence waiting for a call from a Motorola wireless transmitter. A couple of days ago, news came in that women and children were coming in from kar seva. On route to home, they would have to pass through a small station in rural Gujarat. The group were to take part in a small 'welcoming'. As the middle aged man looked at his watch, the station signboard glistened at the passing lights of some nearby car. It read - Godhra. Substantial preparations were already made for the party. The photographers among them were highly trained and equipped w...

My Trip To Home

Coming home is always a special affair and rightly so. Everytime I come home, I feel great. This time I chose a slightly different route than the one that I usually take. Actually it was my Dad's idea. He said that instead of spending a lot on moving from Bangalore to Kolkata directly by air, I can move to Chennai by train and take a flight from there. It actually saved me around Rs. 6000! After somehow doing my work at office I left for the railway station - the Bangalore City Junction. After a sleepy ride to the station in a crowded AC bus I reached the Majectic Bus Stand. From there I got some help from a fellow passenger to identify the road to the railway station. The station was great. Though initially I was scared that I might not make it in time, I was relieved to find out that I was about a couple of hours before time! So I had a sandwich that sucked. Then after sometime I went to a eatery and had Veg Biriyani. They served it on a banana leaf! That was great. Rest ...

The National Scapegoat?

Our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has faced a lot of flak in his tenure. What is worse is that he always deserved more. But in any case, in the recent times the entire political scenario in India is changing in strange ways. For example the PM's decision is rubbished by Rahul Gandhi - the powerhouse of the same party that our PM belongs to! Political compulsions can be understood. But this aggressive turn of events had pitched Rahul Gandhi face to face with Mr. Singh. One represents the party, while the other represents ...well - God knows what. The situation is tricky because the decision to allow criminals to run for politics was taken by the party. The same party that Rahul (practically) leads. Following the lines the Government decided to act. The Supreme Court play spoilsport by declaring it unconstitutional. But Congress was determined to let criminals be political masters. So they decided to go for the temporary but valid Ordinance route. PM Singh and his Cabinet sh...

September 6

Today is 6th September. In 1965 Indian tanks halted on the Ichogil Canal of Lahore, just short of the main city. The ceasefire came into effect in a couple of days. This 'brilliant feat' of defense by Pakistan Army is considered a matter of pride for them. It is for them and also for many Indians that I am posting some pictures. Pakistani Patton Tanks in Patton Nagar Sherman - Pakistan Army - Ichogil, Outskirts of Lahore Gorkha Regiment celebrating Sialkot Sector - Captured Pakistani Tanks Pakistan's 1st Armored Division in Indian hands Pakistan Patton Tank in ditch Pak Chafee Tanks in wheat field, Punjab Pak M24 Chafee Tank taken to cantonments as war trophee M24 Chafee stuck Indian PM Lal Bahadur Shastri posing over captured Pakistani Patton Tank Indian Officers pose in front of captured Pakistani Sherman - Chawinda Pak Tanks Captured - Chawinda Patton Tank loaded into ...

If your Life is Boring

Ok. I get it. True, sometimes Life is boring. When you have to do the same things on the same days in same ways, meet the same people in the same places, listen to the same music, watch the same shows, sleep with the same partner(!) Life does sometimes feel low. In such situations you have two broad choices. One is to quit and go back to your comfort zone(whatever may that be) or to get things arranged and start something to spice up life itself. When Life gets boring, you need to remind yourself that it's much more than a word of four letters! - Useless Quote Start Blogging - You can do this. It is simple and a very rewarding experience . Apart from money (not much) it gives you self satisfaction. Blogger , Typepad and Wordpress are some common blogging platforms where you can start for free. Draw stuff - Remember the days when you would draw stupid things on the walls of your home and get spanked by your parents? Do something like that. No, I don't mean to tell yo...

The Stigma of Being an Indian Male

" I am an Indian. An Indian male. I love to rape. I look out for girls, especially young girls and rape them - without worrying about the moral and social implications. Because raping is my obsession. If I don't rape, I won't be able to sleep properly. " No. None of the above is true. Except the first two sentences. But as an Indian male I am ashamed. Ashamed because so many gruesome rapes have come to light in recent days. Cases of groping, molestation and indecent behavior is more common among us than I could ever imagine. No amount of pleading for forgiveness is going to suffice. Some recent cases that needs to be highlighted are here. Yes. That is the only reason. Admit it. TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER GODDAMMIT! Previously I wrote about the infamous Delhi gangrape. Ok, since multiple gangrapes may have occured, let me specify - the one where the girl was literally killed with an iron rod inserted into her body. Oh yes, I don't wish to spare your sensibil...

Dear Afghanistan - Go back to Hell

The message is clear. USA will leave Afghanistan. So will all NATO forces. It is nice to see that American intentions are laid bare. Once the job is done, they are content to go. The Afghans can kill themselves, thrash their women to death, stone people, indulge in terror attacks in the neighborhood, blow up babies, pour acid or shoot women and so on. All is fine as long as USA is not again attacked. Fine job, gentlemen. If they would have said we are coming to get Osama, I would have had some respect for them. But all those talks of 'bringing democracy' sounds just so hollow. USA does not care. It never did. Afghanistan is a hell hole. There is no doubt about it. It was a shit hole and a hell hole before the Americans arrived. If you walk the streets of the country, you may feel transported to the 9th century or earlier. Brutality reigns supreme and whatever compassion is there is enshrined in tribal codes and does not usually come out of compassion. With the NATO presence ...