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Chalk and Cheese !!

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The snow and the scarf

I am currently reading, rather very slowly, a book titled Snow authored by the Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk. Haven't read much of it - only the first hundred odd pages.

The book narrates the experience of a poet who goes to the distressed town of Kars, Turkey to report on the prevalent suicide epidemic among the young girls there. The primary reason being - the modernist and secular Turkish society bans the girls from wearing head scarves lest their names are struck off the roles. The head scarf has always been a symbol of the girl's dignity and her love for Islam. She considers the innocuous act of removing the head scarf demeaning to the Almighty. Stuck between the dilemma of being allowed to lead a normal life without her head scarf and being considered as a social outcast with her head scarf, most of them took the easy route of taking their lives themselves.

Given the uninteresting nature of our classes, it is always advised to carry some reading material to keep oneself occupied while the professors blabber away to glory. Snow has been my reading accompaniment for the last few days.

As I was walking the corridors of my college the other day with nothing but this book in my hand, I spot a beautiful petite female Muslim student strolling around dressed in a traditional salwar kameez with the head scarf on. For a moment, I was standing still wondering at the coincidence.

Pretty co-incidental and I am proud, albeit for a moment, about the liberalized education system that I reside in. Please for a moment, allow me to forget the Rajs and Nandus.

Napoleon and Einstein playing cricket

A man who responds to the name of two legends - Napoleon and Einstein - is currently donning the national colours for the U 19 Indian Cricket Team.
This has potential to make pretty interesting headlines which could be - "Napoleon disrupts the progress of the Barmy Army" or "Einstein relates his success to the quantum of the spin".

There have been some memorable names in cricket - perhaps none more so than Hogflesh - but there's one at the Under-19 World Cup that runs it close. Napoleon Einstein, an offspinner from Tamil Nadu, is part of the Indian squad.

"My grandfather was a scientist," says Einsten. "He wrote a letter to Albert Einstein and even got a reply from him. I've got no idea [what the letter was about] even though I've read it. My mother was a physics graduate and she teaches Physics in one of the schools. So I'm Einstein. Napoleon is my father's name.

"We don't believe in God. In our family, we're rationalists. Other people are named Krishna and Ram after Gods, so we were named Einstein and Napoleon after great people." Link

Seems it won't be long before cricket turns itself from a gentleman's game to a rationalist's sport

Sunlight - A toy?

Heart wrenching stuff about the toys kids play with. Read the full post here.

A few days ago, Puttachi spotted a spot of sunlight on the wall, and she was fascinated. She forgot everything else and played with the spot for more than fifteen minutes, and that is a lot to say for some one as restless as this kid is.

And then she goes on to lick that spot of sunlight trying to decipher the phenomenon. Cute pics here. Take a look.

A Cheap Tree

I met this female yesterday - at one of those huge family receptions - who was an acquaintance a few years back. I think she recognized me going by the furtive glance she threw my way. As I walked up to her and stretched my hand for a shake, she made my hand hang in the air just for that extra bit of time which makes you feel that you are not wanted here. And then!!

"You look cheap.", she said.

Still not able to grasp the meaning of those words - and also being amazed at how could she say this after we had met for the first time in a few years - I could do nothing but give her a blank stare.

She repeated, "You look cheap, you look like a tree".

Trying to retrieve the situation before it went to the point of no return, I managed to blabber out, "I-look-like-a-tree but I don't give fruit".


Thankfully, the dream ended just then and I woke up from my afternoon siesta. It was scary !!

P.S. This post is autobiographical in nature.

Race for the Ratna

This is the cartoon which appeared in The Hindu today. A perfect slap in the face for all the political parties which had been lobbying for their respective leaders to be accorded the title of Bharat Ratna.

Dr. Radhakrishnan (first recipient of the award) would be turning in his grave if he found out that National Congress Party (NCP) had asked for a Bharat Ratna for Sharad Pawar. Greedy bastards !!

Champion Vs. Another Champion

Even the mini victories (of a point) against the champion need to be savoured. Have a look at this point which Fabrice Santoro won against Roger at this year's Australian Open.

Sad that this is the last we are seeing of Santoro.