Allah ke naam pe de de baba

The sign of any city growing up is the corporatization of all the sectors in the city. Big cities like Mumbai and New York are known to have a well organised underworld and mafia organisations.

I am not too sure about Bangalore's underworld but the begging scene in Bangalore is witnessing a radical change. The beggars have gotten a lot more organised. They are well dispersed at the traffic signal and try not to interfere in each others business (And obviously, the huge traffice jams at these signals help their cause). They choose their clients a lot more carefully and a lot more study. They pick their victim's weakness a lot better. If you are well dressed they start touching you because most of these people don't like it.

There has been a drastic improvement in the presentation aspect of it, too. There are shows put up (acrobatics), there is costume and colour (kids dressed as Hanuman). The beggars are a lot more persuasive nowadays. They don't let go of their clients that easily.

Ironically, begging seems have to become a capitalist venture. And like a lot of other capitalistis ventures, they are getting ugly too. The kids doing the acrobatics are surely beaten up when they are "trained". Infants are given on rent for a day to gather that extra sympathy. And the way these corporatized beggars hound you, the unorganized sector of the beggars definitely loose out. Its like your grocer round the corner shutting down because of the super market on the main road.

All out ... all lost

"I can tell you that before this match I was asked to step down as captain," Ganguly told reporters. "So it was an extra determination that I found."

Yeah right!!!! A 100 against a second string Zimbabwean side ( like they were not bad enough already) on a batsmen friendly track in 263 balls... do you really need determination for this esp. if you are a batsmen with 5000 runs in test cricket. I mean come on... what is the dude thinking or is he thinking at all. Get over that goddamn ego of yours and move on. The team and the sport is bigger than you.

I had the utmost respect for Ganguly, the things he has done for this team is unbelievable. We have gone from a team who would just bend over to a better opponent to going out there and showing them what we got. But things change and people got to move on. Mark Taylor did and so did Steve Waugh.

Chappell ... hats off to you dude. You said something this cricket-crazy nation has been dying to hear. And all the veterans backing Ganguly - go shove it. First Ganguly doesn't perform... then he makes a private discussion public ( I think to gather sympathy) . God it sickens me.

And don't even get me started about the board. What happened to the good old days, when cricket was about the sport and not cheap politics. How many times and these going to raise objsections ... get stay orders.... its pitiful.

Give the people what they want.

Hope lies in the proles.

Freak a what???!!!!

Read this book called "Freakanomics". Its basically 2 economists gone crazy. They investigate absolutely anything under the sun. They play with numbers like it were child's play and make"conventional wisdom" look like Ganguly playing a short ball ( for the lesser mortals that was a metaphor for FOOLISH).

Their research is brilliant. The chapter comparing school teachers and sumo wrestlers is very interesting. They go on to compare McDonalds and drug runners, how both of them have a similar corporate structure. The most intereseting is how they compare the birth of nylon and crack cocaine.

Its a quick read, very interesting and quite funny. For idiots like me who thought economics and economists were boring the book is a definite eye opener. I wanted to become an economist after I read the book. Not quite actually.

Anyway, you could check out the author's blog at http://www.freakonomics.com/blog.php



Time's website had this top 100 sites some time back. I stumbled upon this blog by Heather Armstrong.... too funny man. Check it out at http://dooce.com/

IS "Kiss my ass" CON !!!!!!

Every year on my dad's birthday we go to ISCKON (yes yes!!! the Krishna conciousness shit). Each year that I go there I hate the place all the more. By the way, let me clear my stand before I continue- I do believe in God.

What is my idea of God? God is an abstract idea of hope. He/She is a different kind of hope of everyone for some its about the hope for money, for some about health, for some about knowledge and so on and so forth. Thats probably why we Indians have so many Gods - a different personification for a different hope.

What is my idea of a temple? The idea of a temple is basically a haven for spiritualism. Its a place where like minded can open up their minds and discuss life, love, God and the other life's wonderous things that mystify them. Do you see this in any temple??? Now its just some place where you keep freakin idols and break coconuts.I mean people since the 13th century have been saying that this was f***** up and these dumasses still don't get it. Tragically for me, I feel like I'm in a temple only when I am in a bar/pub when I'm blown out of my mind and a random comment by one of my friends sparks off debates and discussions. I know it sounds pathetic, the whole sanctity of a temple and spirituality are lost but.....

Why do I hate ISCKON? First, the damn place does not encompass my idea of a temple.... actually it doesn't even come close. Its just a corrupt place out to propogate its fucked up ideas and fleece all the fools who are willing to pay up. I don't get how a temple can segregate "devotees" based on how much donation they pay. And I am not saying this because I didn't get to see the freakin idol. My family always get to stand on the first row and get a beautiful view of the freak show those guys put on for us. Secondly, I don't get the propaganda that these guys are always putting up. For me, propoganda is only for wannabes and celebrities... someone who is insecure. Thirdly, I don't get the principle of their freakin cult. After thousands of years of stories and mythology being passed on for generations, this dude comes along and turns the whole thing around. And the worst of all, people go crazy about it. Pissin off man.