People power

Like all revolutions, the people’s movement in Darjeeling is ringing in tremendous change. But first, a little on an ironical situation the leftists find themselves in.

The state is the capitalist, wringing dry the wealth of Darjeeling, to be distributed amongst the elite in Kolkata. The people have been subjected to subtle, yet effective hostility for years now. They have been systematically deprived of higher education, of access to potable water and municipal infrastructure. Yet, crores of riches continue to flow as the might teesta, straight into the heart of Bengal.

Darjeeling is communist. Don’t get me wrong, but communism is an ideology, not a political party. A people’s movement is where all revolutions lie. And most revolutions have been forced by the common citizenry. But to be successful, they need great leaders, who are smart, astute, and bold.

Which leads us to the irony, Darjeeling is run by the will of the people. The state is run by the will of the rich and the powerful. It’s a shame to even call it a communist party of india. It’s an insult to revolutionaries like marx, lenin, trotsky and countless heroes.

Ghising was only a mobilizer of men. He never could be a leader. Plus, his agenda was money, and haphazard ideas, some of which are comical, if they weren’t tragic. The temple pond at senchel was concretised on a whim, only to find that it was the habitat of the endangered salamander. They were simply killed as Ghising feared the water would get poisoned. By some accounts, the mindless massacre numbered in the hundreds. However about his infamous, ill-gotten wealth, we all can only speculate.

That’s in the past. Now, it’s an exciting time to be in Darjeeling. The fear psychosis created by Ghising is a distant memory. The bold and the courageous are giving up everything they have for this cause. They people are honest, united and wiser.

Getting a state won’t be a cakewalk, nor will it happen immediately. But it won’t be too far away either.

Inshallah! You gotta hide your dogs away!

Bad news for dogs. For that matter pets. The house of Saud has banned pets. All for a noble cause - it was a pretext for boys to talk to girls. So that ruse is now compromised.

The moral police (actually, called the religious police) must be wagging their tails with glee. More people to catch, more hands chop, more eyes to gouge out.

In this day and time, the Arabs have truly descended into the middle ages and sliding still. But then, it's a moot point that they were ever civilised in the first place.

Once you've stayed in the gulf, you find out they ape the west for everything. Hey! maybe, just maybe, they are apes after all.

Evolution stopped the day they went from riding camels, to riding Cadillacs.

life, the universe and pointlessness

A useless life is an early death.
well said, goethe.

Seems like i've died many times over. In fact I've been so useless, I've died thousands and thousands of times.

And that gets me ever closer to achieving mukti, nirvana, moksha... You get the drift.

Hindus believe one needs to be reborn some 88000 times to set the soul free. Sooner if you are a good, obedient and god-fearing one, which obviously i am not.

So i'm trying to die as much as i can, when i am still alive. Say adios, ciao, tata to reincarnation - I mean who wants me to be born into something else. A dog is good, a cat is better, but why take chances. One might be reborn a cockroach, or worse, a high priest. Now that's one truly useless being.

the curious case of the firang sherpa

Firangs. They have come over for fat, fat pickings. You see them everywhere, in the markets, cafes, and homes. Of course, we earlier saw them either in drug dens or aboard the retirees royal rajasthan tour – in tracksuits, no less.

Most goras in India, are wont to eulogize their brethren. In matters such as governance, law and these days, environment. Morality, corruption and oh, the guys shitting on the roadside. Sure it shouldn’t happen, sure there should be better sanitation: we’re getting there, after all we’ve just had half a century of practice. We’ve come a long way baby. So much so, the world is already running scared. And we don’t even have proper toilets!

It’s easy to forget, pestilence is an English word. And it probably originated during the dirt and the filth of the plagues! Not to mention throwing the baby out with the bath water. Apparently, baths were taken according to seniority, and by the time the grandchild was dunked, the water got real murky for the mother to see. Duh!

The less said about immorality the better. Popes who decreed that a few gold pieces betrothed to god bought paradise. Another who exhumed his predecessor to stand for trial for his reign. Jesus help you if you are a non-believer, if you know what it means. Believe in me, else I’ll personally see that you go the hell! And then, Osama scares the world with his vengeance. Wait a minute, he comes from Abraham, so do the Israelites. Heck! Get real folks, it’s your way of life.

One has to visit elephanta island to see what the Portuguese wreaked. Apparently, it was Satan’s inheritance. So all statues, except the trimurti, were disfigured, some smashed and some ground to dust.

That was centuries ago. Then they got wiser. Steal the damn thing, they said. Off went the Parthenon marbles, off went oriental treasures. They are still stealing. But it’s jobs, these days. Overpriced designations, overpowdered wigs.

Lose the job.

No confidence on the vote

Sad, isn’t it? When brazen buying of votes raises big, big questions. The rot is set in so deep that ordinary people aren’t perplexed a bit about crores sloshing around. 25 crores they said. Are we out of our minds.

Shame on us for having politicians like Shibu Soren. Shame on the congress for acquiescing to absurd requests, clearly akin to a bribe. For all his enthusiasm to run the coal ministry, is he even qualified? But crores have to be made. Jharkhand coal mines, the shortest route.

Then come jailed, goonda politicians. They should be locked up forever. If they are to be let out, it should be for community service. To let them out to decide something as sacred as a vote, is plain ridiculous.

Of course, politicians are no saints. But some take it too far. They break the rules too often. They get caught. The good thing is that they now get jail. the bad news is that they don't get hanged.

As of now however, they get to decide on the future course of action for India. When asked about the motion, one clueless Member of Parliament candidly replied – hey, I don’t know ****!

Live with it!

once there was tibet

the events of the past few days in tibet, reminds us that there are other nations, peoples and cultures, who are fatbottommed by china, and squeezed by india. so for a brief, but hopelessly fruitless time, tibet out her existence, and it is a cry of anguish.

the western leaders have all come out of their chummy closets, albeit briefly, and showed they really care. hey, but they are thinking, thank goodness for the respite from all the other shit happening in the world. like darfur. when all the while, cowered down by the financial, military, geopolitical dominance of the land of the dragon, they supplicate and take a share. the asian nations? they rather not embarrass big momma.

the tibetan diaspora wakes up and prays that it wields power to change the way their world is. protests and marches, organised from various parts on nothern india, sikkim, and nepal, aim to enter tibet.
protests were marked at major cities in the world. well-meaning, white activists tried their best to disrupt an old greek olympic ritual, ( which, i find farcical - women in dresses the greeks long shed, lighting torches we've long discarded, chanting verses to gods that have no worshippers) .

so, will lamaism descend into a farce, or has it already? suddenly, violent outbursts are are becoming a part of the tibetan nationalist struggle. gone are the days of peaceful marches and porcelain smash fests. buddhist monks are as vociferous as career rabble rousers. but then, religion breeds fanaticism.

in india, the police lost a man, with scores of others injured in micro riots and clashes. so the mob killed an indian policeman: it's not as if they cared a to much

it seems india doesn't too. but tibetans have an assured life in india, with government jobs from the scheduled tribe quota, education grants and de-facto indian citizenships.

this brings to mind the border marches: would tibetans leave india, even if they achieved any autonomy of sorts, the freedom to practice your faith; of equality, liberty and fraternity? the answer has to be a resounding no.

tibet is doomed to disappear. when people leave their homelands, their culture disappears into oblivion. soon, only the scholars will remember.

the death knell has sounded. the reign of the yellow hat sect is over. china will ruthlessly cut down tibet to size. gulag it, if needed.