Dumb Idiot Violent Box

In Bangalore whenever I sit infront of the TV June comes and switches it off. On a recent trip to Kolkata I watched the television after a gap of 1 month.

First it was Zee Sa Re Ga Ma. For half an hour I was witness to the two finalists coming back to their hometown before the final showdown. We were being taken to the contestants' bedroom to peek at their very public and enacted display of private emotions. Through the one hour I still could not hear them sing. But I did hear Pooja Bhatt with her cavity ridden teeth and come-hither voice titilating the contestants with her encouragements.

Next in line, the sports editors' current obsession. The headline screamed "Sourav dropped from test squad against England". The analysis was in full swing. Mr. More - the saviour of Indian cricket was explaining the nuances. Mighty Greg was consulted alright and so was the Oh-So-Nice and Oh-So-Politically correct captain of Sourav's Team India.

I jumped channel and landed into the lap of NDTV - a channel I used to admire at one point of time. No more now inspite of the sophistication of Mr. Roy. I was into Dial 100 - the crime program of NDTV India - Hindi. Sample their first 4 reports.

Place: Ujjain
Crime: Murder by stabbing in front of a school gate in broad daylight
Victim: 16 year School student
Accused: 2 friends of the student studying in the same school

The accused were on camera describing how they stabbed their friend to death and made their escape. These teenagers did not have the slightest trace of fear or uncertainty on their face.

Place: Kanpur
Crime: Kidnapping & Subsequent Murder
Victim: A school studentAccused: 4 classmates of the student

They abducted their friend for the lure of lucre. Unfortunately things did not fall in place and they had to kill. Problem amongst the 4 friends resulted in their landing in the jail.The accused were again shown on camera talking about their act. Only 1 of the 4 accused was feeling uncomfortable appearing on air.

Place: Nasik
Crime: Rape & Murder
Victim: A 4 year girl
Accused: Unknown

The victims body was found on field in a completely mutilated state like so many more that are found scattered and distributed around the country.

Place: Lucknow
Crime: Not Clear
Victim: A 5 year old deadbody
Accused: unknown

A man was jailed in 1945 for murder. 5 years into the trial the accused was declared mentally ill. He was admitted to the jail hospital. Nothing came of his trial and he was not charged. But neither was he released. His physical death occured in 1999. His body was sent to the Lucknow Medical College hospital for post mortem. Due to some "procedural" issues that too got stalled. His body is now in no man's zone. The Medical college is medicating the body and cannot let it rot. Through the faded out pictures that were being aired one could see a skeleton like remain not more the 4 and half feet in length. The police is not willing to claim it back. The once upon a time man was still being kept alive in his death. The TV for a moment looked like a coffin.

I switched it off. Thanks to June I do not have to suffer it when I am in Bangalore.

Funny but true. My last post on romance was interestingly my 69th. In these days of consumerism romance is all about 69. Each sucks at the others interests. Its the age of jing bang and then drop dead.

Long live the moneyed valentines.

Romance

Picture courtesy www.corriere.it

I tried searching by "Calcutta" on Google Images. This is the second image that comes up. Moves are afoot to make this mode of transportation extinct. Any body who has stayed in Calcutta for a decent period of time will verify that this is the only viable transport during rains. And the most romantic.

Anybody remmember a similar trip down a wet memory lane?

I will never forget the anglo indian school girl in a similar situation. She was in her school whites. Her rickshaw did not have the protection this one has. She was wet and appeared vulnerable. I vouch I saw her for some 30 odd seconds. But how did I know she was anglo indian? I did not know at that point of time. But after I heard Mr. Dutta. I was convinced it must have been another Mary Ann.

The wet coy Mary Anns are extinct long back. It will be the rickshaws next.

Today is Valentines Day but where is the romance?

Kolkata Rising? Who Cares

Times of India, Kolkata has a weekly supplement called Kolkata Rising. It glorifies the new Kolkata and tries to bring in the advertisers. Good for the city but who cares. My hometown is still the lovely city of rolling trams, wet egg rolls, tinned public buses, greasy taxis and crooked autodrivers.

It was nice to come in and out of ITC Center. Move around book fair. Parse the books at Oxford. And listen at the audio posts in Music world. I made sure I availed all modes of public transport. All these years I used to crane my head inside jampacked public bus waiting for the moment of freedom. This time I was loving it. The taxi driver was taking me for a royal ride circumventing the actual route. But I was loving it. The walls declared Mamata's attempt to topple the Red Bastion. Inspite of my deep rooted dislike for either parties I was loving it. My car negotiated umpteen potholes on Eastern Bypass. But I was loving it.

I realized I was out of all it. My perspective had changed. I was no more the suffering denizen but the tourist soaking each moment. I have stopped judging it. I have stopped expecting things from it. So the malls, the multiplexes, the new software companies or even the Rajarhat developments are not exciting me.

Each city has its own uniqueness. I am comfortable that unlike others Kolkata will never stop being unique inspite of its "rising".

Blogger Block

Opu was wrong!

Am going through my worst blog phase. Its almost like losing my urge. My pen is flaccid and words refuse to flow.

Inspiration! Come ho!

Air Dhakkan & King Class

I was waiting for this for long. On 2nd Feb when I walked into Dumdum airport it was a revelation. The strike call by the AAI employees finally evened things out. You couldnt tell whether you were in Sealdah station or Dumdum airport. It was noisy, peopled and ofcourse dirty. There were still the airline kinds who were trying to stand out of the crowd. But they were dwarfed out as islands of snobbery.

The airports always had a bourgeosis feel about them. Everything looked new, smooth, sanitised and cold. A suffocating atmosphere when I started flying. The look-down stares. The "do not belong here" looks. Air travel was a class thing because of the sheer cost. It was 2-3 years of extensive flying that finally helped me to get it out of my system. Finally I dont get conscious.

After all its just another mode of transportation - nothing more, nothing less.

Ever since Air Deccan prised open the Indian skies its not the same anymore. The only time when I flew them I felt I was on a long distance bus. Gone was the uppernosiness. Even the Volvo service between Pune and Mumbai would appear more sophisticated. Inside Air Deccan I was squirming trying to judge each moves of the air hostess. But June and Mun were enjoying their ride. So what the heck, wasnt I getting into the same loop? A loop that used to tie me knots and make me so much more conscious about my place in the sky.

However when I flew Kingfisher for the first time I was impressed. Amidst all the "budget" talks I really flew "King Class". But this kind of service would be difficult to sustain for long. However Mr. Mallya has deep pockets. Afterall we need our Kingfishers to keep pushing the Jets. And amidst all this the government behemoth is still chugging along. The good thing about flying Indian is that it doesnt have a come-on approach, that usually gets instrusive.

After telecommunication this is the next big thing in India. Distances are reducing and India is becoming smaller. Its much easier to reach the sky.

And finally flying is becoming just another mode of transportation.