Accidental Blogger
A general interest blog
Category: Educational, Cultural & Social Matters
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Ever since the twin towers crumbled in NYC on 9/11/2001 followed by the upheaval and bloodbath in the middle east, Iraq included, the believers in the Biblical prophecies about Armageddon have been all atwitter. The latest standoff between Israel and the Hezbollah and the systematic destruction of Lebanon have only added fuel to the religious…
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Power hungry, unethical bureaucrats, big and small, have been on my mind for quite some time, more so since the super secretive, scofflaw, vindictive Bush administration has had us on pins and needles for more than five years with its shenanigans. But it is not just those with overwhelming powers over others such as national…
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Guest blogger, Sachin is planning to join us here on A.B. from India. He was getting ready to prepare a story for posting pretty soon. I just received the following email from him. I guess this should qualify as his first blog post ! "I don’t believe this! http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/17/report_indian_gov_bl.html Initially I had thought that maybe…
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When a word enters the dictionary it is an honor of sorts, one would think. Not if the word is a commercial product with a trademark . When a commercial name enters the common parlance and is used as a generic noun or verb, the word loses its legal trademark protection. Which is why the…
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In the Indian epic Mahabharat (ought to be required reading for all warmongers), Yudhisthir, the protagonist known for his uncommon wisdom and integrity was asked to name the most confounding conundrum of human existence. He replied that it was the fact that humans, aware of their eventual, unavoidable death, spend their entire lives devising ways…
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Aside from my family, what I miss most about India as an adult living in the US, are my friends from childhood and college days. I have often wondered how much of that nostalgia for the youthful friendships pertains to the joyous recall of a time when I myself was young, brave and eagerly looking…
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When a major US magazine or newspaper features an article about German business, are the businessmen depicted wearing lederhosen and the women in long blond braids? Does a story about Japanese politics invariably show a geisha in full dress regalia? Or the Chinese in colorful silk trousers? What is it about India that lends itself…
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Vegetarianism is serious business in India. It is not a feel good, fashionable lifestyle choice. Thousands of years of ingrained cultural and religious considerations have given rise to the strict dietary practice. It is estimated that there are approximately 220 million vegetarians in India. If true, there should be around 780 million meat eating Indians.…
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Ethan Leib, Professor of Law, UC Hastings, who is partly responsible for introducing me to the joys of blogging, had an interesting editorial piece out in last Sunday’s Washington Post about the innovative and tantalizing possibility of voting by phone during political elections. One of Ethan’s specialties since grad school is "Participatory Democracy." He has…
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Parents with children of marriageable age go through the same song and dance – hoping that their kids will meet, marry and settle down with a "suitable" boy or girl. Asian parents tend to take matters in their own hands more energetically than others. Here is a version of the story in today’s NYT, told…
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Here is a topic that I have long considered blogging on. But procrastination and the lack of an immediate frame of reference kept me from writing. The always wonderful and ever resourceful Amardeep Singh recently posted a thoughtful piece on this very topic. Those of us born in antique lands with long and continuously evolving…
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Ruchira had sent me the following link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/3860135.html to Ellen Goodman’s article on chron.com about mommy wars and the endless back-and-forth that goes on as yet another study is put out or another book launched by guilt-ridden-or-not Mommies. For instance, today’s Yahoo news claims that work and motherhood are a healthy combination for women: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060514/hl_nm/women_dc_1.…
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No time for real blogging. Here are links to some interesting stories without the benefit of my wisdom – at least not the usual dose. A Painful Aural Memory: Author Nadeem Aslam recalls growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim family in Pakistan where learning the Quran in Arabic was accompanied by beatings and scoldings -resulting…
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When I was in ninth grade, a couple of new physics and chemistry books were introduced in our school – for a very short time. They were published in the USSR and the government of India wanted a few selected high schools to evaluate them for possible future use in Indian classrooms. From a scientific…
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If indeed "the era of political demonstration is back," then the march tomorrow, Saturday, April 29 2006, strikes me as a hugely significant demonstration. Jessica Wilson has the details. In New York City, people will be marching for peace, justice, and democracy. At stake is the upcoming use of military force against Iran, quite possibly…
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