Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
Assam's hour of shame.....
The New Year has brought in a lot of bloodshed in its wake. Beginning with the startling revelations of the serial killers in the village of Nithari, Noida to the orgy of violence carried out by the outlawed ULFA in Assam. The recent massacres of the migrant workers from Bihar in Upper Assam are an act of cowardice of the ULFA in the face of its rejection from the popular masses. The People’s Consultative Group (comprising of a bunch of sycophants), who have been acting as mediators between the Government of India and the ULFA, have not raised their voice against these heartless killings. No longer do cries of human rights violations rent the air. Innocent migrant labourers do not seem to have “human rights” like the more privileged rebels in the state.
In their (ULFA’s) method in madness, a calculative strategy can be delineated. With the National Games in the offing as well as their sinking popularity, this act of terror seems to have been well thought out and pre-mediated. The Government is still waiting for additional security personnel. Why the presence of an already large police and paramilitary force in the state could not prevent the escalation of violence on successive days, is not known. Why couldn’t they contain it? How could the violence spread to other districts?
It is truly Assam’s hour of shame……
In their (ULFA’s) method in madness, a calculative strategy can be delineated. With the National Games in the offing as well as their sinking popularity, this act of terror seems to have been well thought out and pre-mediated. The Government is still waiting for additional security personnel. Why the presence of an already large police and paramilitary force in the state could not prevent the escalation of violence on successive days, is not known. Why couldn’t they contain it? How could the violence spread to other districts?
It is truly Assam’s hour of shame……
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Finally home.....
So....I am finally back home. The journey back was smooth except for a tiny instance at the airport in Alexandria, where they mistook my metal bracelet for bullets!!!! Can you believe that...no less than bullets huh? I was asked to open my suitcase....which I had painstakingly shut ...... what with bulging shawls and clothes and a whole lot of books!!! I opened it and they inspected the bracelet....and I was finally let off!!! From then on....the journey was smooth.
When the plane was airborne , I looked down at the twinkling lights below. In the evening light, Alexandria looked neat and pretty. There was a tinge of sadness....it was not just the place that I was leaving behind....but the people I had stayed with.....the bonds that I had come to share. I made some wonderful friends. It was simply amazing to live with people from all over the world day in and day out....and experience life in a strange place together.
Now that I am finally home....it seems so strange. As I made my way to meet my colleagues at work yesterday, the trip to Egypt seemed so distant and surreal.....like it was all a dream! I am glad that i got the opportunity to visit the place and interact with a wide range of people. When I am asked about my trip, all I can say is that it was no less than an adventure!!! I may have cribbed about it when I was there, but I would have it no other way. ....life was fun. We shared some pretty crazy times together...on the street and otherwise.....to the calls of "samarra...samarra", "misriya?", "you spik arabik?"...
On the whole...an unforgettable experience.....
When the plane was airborne , I looked down at the twinkling lights below. In the evening light, Alexandria looked neat and pretty. There was a tinge of sadness....it was not just the place that I was leaving behind....but the people I had stayed with.....the bonds that I had come to share. I made some wonderful friends. It was simply amazing to live with people from all over the world day in and day out....and experience life in a strange place together.
Now that I am finally home....it seems so strange. As I made my way to meet my colleagues at work yesterday, the trip to Egypt seemed so distant and surreal.....like it was all a dream! I am glad that i got the opportunity to visit the place and interact with a wide range of people. When I am asked about my trip, all I can say is that it was no less than an adventure!!! I may have cribbed about it when I was there, but I would have it no other way. ....life was fun. We shared some pretty crazy times together...on the street and otherwise.....to the calls of "samarra...samarra", "misriya?", "you spik arabik?"...
On the whole...an unforgettable experience.....
Monday, December 04, 2006
Experiences in Egypt: Part I
One liners and questions posed to us during our stay in Egypt:
1) Will you marry me?
2) My name is…? (When they are actually asking us our names :) )
3) Give me back my scarabs…(irritating camel owner in Giza)
4) Hind…hind…?? I know Amitabh Bachchan ….good very good..
5) You married?
6) You Muslim? Christian? (that's all they know….)
7) What is your age?
8) Where do you stay?
9) How many children do you want to have? (Officer handling my residence permit in the Security Department!)
10) Lady….do you want a horse…..10 pounds….okie okie…just 5 pounds…( at Giza)
11) You spik Arabik?
12) Takiwiy? (this is how they exactly pronounce it …and just about anyone in our resident café knows it)
13) Will you be my Brown Sugar? (our friends from Jamaica, Nigeria and Cameroon were subjected to such derogatory statements)
14) Chocolata..
15) Africa???
16) Samarra…
17) Pssst pssst …..(This is how they catch your attention. It is soooo slimy. Not just the vendors in the market. Everyone…even in the library…you can see them calling each other….ewwww…disgusting!!! )
18) Misriya? China? Japan? ( At Khan Khalili…trying to figure out what our nationality is)
19) Welcome in Egypt (not to Egypt)!!! (that's about the only good thing they say…almost everyone )
20) Zi bus has come (the lady guard informing us of the bus in the morning)
21) You haram (taxi driver, who was unable to literally "take us for a ride" in cairo)!
1) Will you marry me?
2) My name is…? (When they are actually asking us our names :) )
3) Give me back my scarabs…(irritating camel owner in Giza)
4) Hind…hind…?? I know Amitabh Bachchan ….good very good..
5) You married?
6) You Muslim? Christian? (that's all they know….)
7) What is your age?
8) Where do you stay?
9) How many children do you want to have? (Officer handling my residence permit in the Security Department!)
10) Lady….do you want a horse…..10 pounds….okie okie…just 5 pounds…( at Giza)
11) You spik Arabik?
12) Takiwiy? (this is how they exactly pronounce it …and just about anyone in our resident café knows it)
13) Will you be my Brown Sugar? (our friends from Jamaica, Nigeria and Cameroon were subjected to such derogatory statements)
14) Chocolata..
15) Africa???
16) Samarra…
17) Pssst pssst …..(This is how they catch your attention. It is soooo slimy. Not just the vendors in the market. Everyone…even in the library…you can see them calling each other….ewwww…disgusting!!! )
18) Misriya? China? Japan? ( At Khan Khalili…trying to figure out what our nationality is)
19) Welcome in Egypt (not to Egypt)!!! (that's about the only good thing they say…almost everyone )
20) Zi bus has come (the lady guard informing us of the bus in the morning)
21) You haram (taxi driver, who was unable to literally "take us for a ride" in cairo)!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Visit to the Catacombs and Pompey's Pillar, Alexandria..and reality shows..
Visited the Pompey's Pillar and the Catacombs yesterday. Pompey's Pillar and Catacombs are remnants of ancient Alexandria....from the Greco-Roman period. The Catacombs are in fact burial grounds...several levels beneath the ground....and were discovered in 1900 when a donkey accidently fell in a pit. Photography was not allowed in the Catacombs.Its dark and very eerie. It consists of three levels underground....the last level is not accessible as it is flooded with water. There are huge holes cut in the walls which held the bodies...sometimes...some areas held up to 300 bodies!!!! There are also detailings on the walls...either carved or painted...most of the paint is now gone. The detailings show a fusion of Greek-Roman-Egyptian influences. One finds Anobis (the wolf like creature guarding the dead), Medusa and other Egyptian influences in the detailings. There are paintings showing the process of mummification as well.
The site of Pompey's Pillar also has a few Sphinxes , originally from Helipolis. But there weren't any inscriptions...so no details are available regarding them. There are also a series of Underground tunnels at Pompey's Pillar and the site once housed an Ancient library, which is now no longer visible!!! Pompey's Pillar as well as the site housing the Catacombs are bang in the middle of a very congested area of Alexandria and its hard to imagine that such historical sites can exist in such a congested locality!!!
On the whole, it was a good experience. But I wish, the authorities had done more to keep the sites in a better condition , with more signs and details about the scupltures and paintings!!!
******
A proliferation of Reality shows (US and UK based) on the channels here. Most of them are downright silly...
*"I know what you ate last summer"!! ( A show about obese children trying to shed weight).
* "Supernanny" ( A nanny who disciplines disordered homes/children).
* "Bachelor" (Where one fellow has to choose a lady from several wannabes).
* " Who wants to be a princess!" ( or something like that )
* Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen"
* Also some show on two women who clean up dirty homes !!!
Whew.....they sure can't get more imaginative than that.....
The site of Pompey's Pillar also has a few Sphinxes , originally from Helipolis. But there weren't any inscriptions...so no details are available regarding them. There are also a series of Underground tunnels at Pompey's Pillar and the site once housed an Ancient library, which is now no longer visible!!! Pompey's Pillar as well as the site housing the Catacombs are bang in the middle of a very congested area of Alexandria and its hard to imagine that such historical sites can exist in such a congested locality!!!
On the whole, it was a good experience. But I wish, the authorities had done more to keep the sites in a better condition , with more signs and details about the scupltures and paintings!!!
******
A proliferation of Reality shows (US and UK based) on the channels here. Most of them are downright silly...
*"I know what you ate last summer"!! ( A show about obese children trying to shed weight).
* "Supernanny" ( A nanny who disciplines disordered homes/children).
* "Bachelor" (Where one fellow has to choose a lady from several wannabes).
* " Who wants to be a princess!" ( or something like that )
* Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen"
* Also some show on two women who clean up dirty homes !!!
Whew.....they sure can't get more imaginative than that.....
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
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