Hey :)
Happy Diwali, Happy No Gaddafi and Happy IndiabeatEngland5-0andsendthemhome week! Interestingly enough, you'll find that today's post revolves on all of these things but in a not-so-happy way. Enough said, lets take a look at the white, black and yellow.
It's Diwali week which means all of us have been exposed to a lot of light, a lot of sound and that picture of India as seen from space on Diwali that's become quite a sensation. Diwali's always been one of India's favourite festivals and hence it's no surprise that the 'Happy Diwali' broadcast / forward has been filling our screens so much that we want to explode (seewhatididthere), but there's something that I've noticed that's pretty interesting about this particular year. I was on my way back home close to midnight on the 25th of this month after a particularly interesting and fun day involving PlayDoh and as the little digital clock on my phone struck twelve, the Diwali messages began coming in. That whole little pleasant and patriotic feeling had taken over for just about a minute before it was replaced by a very unfamiliar feeling. Since when are Diwali wishes sent at midnight? Surely, midnight wishes were reserved for birthdays only, right? And then my mind strayed to a Bollywood scene of a young, pretty actress sweetly talking into a phone, minutes before her birthday and my mind flashed a 'this scene does not exist' sign. Bringing something in has never been a part of Indian popular culture, ever. The only time the whole 'wishing someone at midnight' scene has appeared in a Hindi movie is after a gaudy New Year party. That occurrence has always been a part of tradition, but it's fascinating and pretty unnerving to see how that tradition, predominantly Western, has become a part of Indian customs and cultures. When exactly did this happen anyway? Hmm.
Diwali signifies the victory of good over evil and how light can pretty much kick darkness's ass and this is embodied in India's victory over England. Psych, just kidding, I come to that part later. Libya and Gaddafi is what we come to next, and for once, I choose not to take sides here. I've obviously heard the United States's side of the story as to why Gaddafi was bad and hence deserved to die; this is pretty much India's stance as well, which comes as no surprise. I've also read the message which 'warns' us of America's ambition and true gain in the scheme of things. Again, not surprisingly, it includes power and oil, which as we know are two things Americans cannot seem to get enough of. Call me diplomatic, but if the people of Libya are happy, so am I. It's their country and I would be the last person to endorse dictatorship anyway, so good on them for being able to revolt, and best of luck on forming a new, independent (in more senses than one) Government. However, what I do have a problem with is the non stop footage of a bloody corpse being mutilated playing on my TV screen, with messages that flash 'Victory for Humanity'. Hey news channels, I don't know what kind of freaky stuff you're into, but as a human and hence 'part of humanity', I do not consider this a personal victory by any stretch of imagination. Also, 'humanity' means kindness and empathy and this is certainly not that for sure. Try again next time.
So, India beat England. Yeah, 5 - 0. Yeah. *shouts loudly and runs around with hands in the air*. I'm going to be completely objective here because this is another point that I'm trying to make. And yes, there is a completely objective point to be made here. It's very amusing to see the English Press reports on the whole series. I was under the impression that only the Indian media went absolutely insane when the National cricket team lost a series. Well done, England, you make a close second. Seems like we can beat you without Gandhi's help after all. Okay, maybe I can't be all that objective.
Before looking at the white, black and yellow from the past few days, special credit to the lovely girl known as spaz for the new design of the blog. Thank you. :)
We now look at the white, black and yellow:
White: The happy, pleasant vibe that festivals seem to impart to the entire nation. According to me, that's the real reason festivals are still around. Also the fact that Diwali this year has been more light, less sound. Also, this little video called 'Who's your daddy, SIRI?' that stands for whatever was written about Steve Jobs in my blog last week. Check it out.
Black: The number of dead Gadaffi pictures I have seen over the past week. I get that you're happy for Libya, but this seems to be overdoing it a little.
Yellow: Literally, the diyas and lamps that this time of year is associated with. On a not so literal note, the media's coverage of Team Hazare's decline and fall from grace. Much reading to be done on that note.
A very happy Diwali and that's all for this week. Stay tuned. :)
Happy Diwali, Happy No Gaddafi and Happy IndiabeatEngland5-0andsendthemhome week! Interestingly enough, you'll find that today's post revolves on all of these things but in a not-so-happy way. Enough said, lets take a look at the white, black and yellow.
It's Diwali week which means all of us have been exposed to a lot of light, a lot of sound and that picture of India as seen from space on Diwali that's become quite a sensation. Diwali's always been one of India's favourite festivals and hence it's no surprise that the 'Happy Diwali' broadcast / forward has been filling our screens so much that we want to explode (seewhatididthere), but there's something that I've noticed that's pretty interesting about this particular year. I was on my way back home close to midnight on the 25th of this month after a particularly interesting and fun day involving PlayDoh and as the little digital clock on my phone struck twelve, the Diwali messages began coming in. That whole little pleasant and patriotic feeling had taken over for just about a minute before it was replaced by a very unfamiliar feeling. Since when are Diwali wishes sent at midnight? Surely, midnight wishes were reserved for birthdays only, right? And then my mind strayed to a Bollywood scene of a young, pretty actress sweetly talking into a phone, minutes before her birthday and my mind flashed a 'this scene does not exist' sign. Bringing something in has never been a part of Indian popular culture, ever. The only time the whole 'wishing someone at midnight' scene has appeared in a Hindi movie is after a gaudy New Year party. That occurrence has always been a part of tradition, but it's fascinating and pretty unnerving to see how that tradition, predominantly Western, has become a part of Indian customs and cultures. When exactly did this happen anyway? Hmm.
Diwali signifies the victory of good over evil and how light can pretty much kick darkness's ass and this is embodied in India's victory over England. Psych, just kidding, I come to that part later. Libya and Gaddafi is what we come to next, and for once, I choose not to take sides here. I've obviously heard the United States's side of the story as to why Gaddafi was bad and hence deserved to die; this is pretty much India's stance as well, which comes as no surprise. I've also read the message which 'warns' us of America's ambition and true gain in the scheme of things. Again, not surprisingly, it includes power and oil, which as we know are two things Americans cannot seem to get enough of. Call me diplomatic, but if the people of Libya are happy, so am I. It's their country and I would be the last person to endorse dictatorship anyway, so good on them for being able to revolt, and best of luck on forming a new, independent (in more senses than one) Government. However, what I do have a problem with is the non stop footage of a bloody corpse being mutilated playing on my TV screen, with messages that flash 'Victory for Humanity'. Hey news channels, I don't know what kind of freaky stuff you're into, but as a human and hence 'part of humanity', I do not consider this a personal victory by any stretch of imagination. Also, 'humanity' means kindness and empathy and this is certainly not that for sure. Try again next time.
So, India beat England. Yeah, 5 - 0. Yeah. *shouts loudly and runs around with hands in the air*. I'm going to be completely objective here because this is another point that I'm trying to make. And yes, there is a completely objective point to be made here. It's very amusing to see the English Press reports on the whole series. I was under the impression that only the Indian media went absolutely insane when the National cricket team lost a series. Well done, England, you make a close second. Seems like we can beat you without Gandhi's help after all. Okay, maybe I can't be all that objective.
Before looking at the white, black and yellow from the past few days, special credit to the lovely girl known as spaz for the new design of the blog. Thank you. :)
We now look at the white, black and yellow:
White: The happy, pleasant vibe that festivals seem to impart to the entire nation. According to me, that's the real reason festivals are still around. Also the fact that Diwali this year has been more light, less sound. Also, this little video called 'Who's your daddy, SIRI?' that stands for whatever was written about Steve Jobs in my blog last week. Check it out.
Black: The number of dead Gadaffi pictures I have seen over the past week. I get that you're happy for Libya, but this seems to be overdoing it a little.
Yellow: Literally, the diyas and lamps that this time of year is associated with. On a not so literal note, the media's coverage of Team Hazare's decline and fall from grace. Much reading to be done on that note.
A very happy Diwali and that's all for this week. Stay tuned. :)
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