1)
An interesting discussion in NYTimes on Wireless On-board.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/the-in-flight-menace-wireless-chatter/
----
2)
Mumbai municipal corporation has just earned Rs. 26 Crore for scientific handling of garbage dumpyard. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Mumbai-dump-gets-Rs-26cr-in-carbon/articleshow/5048215.cms
I am witness to this change because I lived in that suburb. We used to hate going near the creek because of the smelly garbage pile that could be seen and smelt from a kilometer away. This summer I went to Gorai Island and actually did not smell the stink. When I checked ( that is turned my head in the direction of dumpyard), the pile was transformed into a smooth surfaced hillock. It was obvious something was done about the thing but I did not know at the time that this was the work that was going on. Something to be proud about.
---
3)
Swapan Dasgupta's article "Bust the myth of Good over Evil" in this Sunday's Times of India left me baffled.
What exactly is the point of this article? That we stop believing in the values we built? Or stop believing that, ideally, there should be law and order...and that if it breaks down there is a judicial process?
Mr. Dasgupta, who is generally articulate and logical, is all over the place with this article. Speaks about 80's movie endings, then about Ravan's virtue, then Kumbhakarna's moral dilemma. But what is the whole thing about?
After a certain age we all understand the reality and flaws of a system that prevent the world from becoming perfect. But does that mean that we abandon praying for the victory of good?
More than anything else, the social value of occasions such as Ramleela / Durga Puja is reason enough to keep the tradition going.
2 comments:
i actually quite liked the toi blog article... and i can certainly get what Dasgupta is trying to tell here..
we have for ages demonised certain characters from mythology showing them as Black and White.. but in real life we often find people with grey shades..
there is no absolute good or absolute evil... its just depends on which side you are on. for lankan population under Ravan,Ram would have been evil who attacked their state and killed thousands,destroyed everything in lanka to get back his wife....
@Breeze - Thanks for your comment. I agree with your perspective on who views an event and how? Yet do you see any point on debating over whether there should be Ramleela (or any festival)? That would be weird. I myself have mentioned that after a certain age most of us know that things are not perfect. But does it mean we stop pursuing good values?
Post a Comment