Omar Borkan Al Gala

You may have heard of this handsome man. If not, you're in for a surprise. This man has the distinction of being booted out of a cultural convention in Saudi Arabia apparently because he was too handsome! It was alleged that the Pure and Innocent Arab women went into a hormonal overdrive because of his smarming looks.

As meaty this piece of news may sound, it seriously calls into question the information that gets through the web. There has been no official story to corroborate the facts. There have been stray mentions, and of course the prime source is "insider information" and the Facebook page of Omar himself. We have unintentionally all become part of such deceptions & potentially harmful nexus of misinformed consumers. It is particularly disconcerting to know that if this piece of news is indeed false, it incorrectly superimposes the existing stereotypes about the Islamic countries.

Such kind of viral news do give material for badly punned social networking status and tweets, they may garner you enough likes or re-tweets, but do keep in mind that you are beginning a vicious circle of misinformation, or rather say unconfirmed speculation. Next time you come across such viral piece of shit, kindly do a little bit of digging to verify if it actually happened. Alas, if you are a teenage girl, you'd be portraying me as an Arab Sheikh belittling her impudent hero, go send him a friend request and see if he responds. He'd be getting a lot such requests lately. Here's his ID: https://www.facebook.com/omarborkanalgala

Benaras: The holy grail of India

Dev Deepawali

Experience everything that makes life worth living...

IPL: A testosterone soaked cluster

The IPL is heading towards a scintillating finale. But a week from its end, its in news for all the wrong reasons like spot-fixing. The players are apparently taking a cue from the government! But an entirely different reason, equally if not more shameful for the IPL this season has been the salacious display of women.

There are 2 kind of women involved with the IPL. The first kind is the respectable kind: team owners, wives/girl-friends of players' and their family members. The other kind are the playthings, occasional eye-candies for the tournament. They include the on-field and studio dancers,  the colored
(no racism intended) commentators who are obviously selected for their youthful appearance rather than their sport nous. The endless drivel has also been full of lechery and sometimes it is double entendre. The hosts and commentators visibly smarm their lady companions, with an occasional slo-mo shots of the ladies.

To describe it as a titillating form of entertainment merely indicates the stand of Pan-India pop-culture generation: somewhere between "can't say" and "don't care". At a time when India is in a roil about its treatment to women, a platform as powerful as IPL has chosen not only to disavow any support to the cause but to discover new lows for women- a level of lowest common denominator.

A special mention about our beloved MP of Amritsar. He sits in the studio spitting 500 words a minute drivel without a moment of concern about his other job. Perhaps, the IPL too is a manifestation of Sidhu's persona. So much has it been entrapped by its own narcissism, that it has forgotten its duty to the public. It chooses to be driven by profits alone, disinterested in cause for women. A shame really..

The inherent struggle for food

An amazing speech by an inspirational figure: Steve Jobs

A democratic triumph for Pakistan

Pakistan has come through a number of coups, near decade long military rule, a humiliating loss of sovereignty due to international superpowers waging a war on terror, high inflation, economic decline, flight of capital, rampant internal terrorism, rising radicalism, and a rarely contested description as Global Migraine.

Pakistani politics has long been a sort of internal affair for India. A record turnout at the polls, defying terrorist threats are indicative of the fact that the people of Pakistan, even the elite, are fighting to preserve the institution of democracy. And fittingly have they elected the man who has led a fightback for democracy, Mian Nawaz Sharif. They say democracy is a wonderful monster, you give it a little bit freedom, and it will spiral out of your control. And this is what has happened in Pakistan, a result of slight freedom given to democracy by Parvez Musharaf has led to the end of army rule in the country.

Nawaz Sharif is a befitting leader, he has been removed from power twice as a result of military coups, but he was never a sour loser. He suffered incarceration and exile during the Musharaf rule. But every time  he has comeback strongly, this time hopefully for the good. For full 5 years during the bumbling and waffling Zardari government, he never tried to pull them down, all owing to the fear that the institution of democracy could collapse. Now, he takes over after fair elections conducted by the applaud-able efforts of the election commission of Pakistan.

The 3A's of Pakistan: Allah, Army and America; control almost every aspect in Pakistan. However, the later two, the cliched arbiters of Pakistan's destiny fortunately didn't have any role to play in this election. Anti- terrorist views among the people seriously harmed Imran Khan's aspirations, as he was apparently the favored one of various terrorist outfits. He made a public blunder when he appealed for a respite period for smooth running of elections, only to be seen as a complicit of terrorist thugs, and he has paid dearly for it. May this government of Pakistan raise it from the deep pits its predecessors have left it in.

Silhouette art

Harsha Bhogle describes the spectacular arrival of fast-paced 20-20 cricket as it parallels the rise of modern India. Cricket fans will love this talk.

Coping with the past

India has become a romantically liberal society, especially the urban regions. But the thought process of marriage for an average Indian is still old-school. The myth that a person can love truly only once in a lifetime stands tall even in the metros. This myth explains a lot about the insecurities of people going into marriage.

In the modern age, when people are needlessly falling in the gamble of love, undergoing the bitter-sweet experiences beforehand have inadvertently  caused the pollution of an expression of love. The pre-marital peccadilloes have no adverse consequences if they are both sided, and well sidelined. However, if the ex continues to play a part in their life, or if there is only a single sinner, it often creates marital turbulence. The partner feels cheated at the expense of chastity, purity and lack of exclusivity of their sacred relationship. 

Gone is the time when the virility of the husband, his pre-marital amorous escapades went unnoticed while the wife was subjected to a test of purity. Now, if either of the partner jumps the gun, their seems to be an unannounced competition with the ex, a performance pressure, violating the nascent bond of intimacy.

People need to be adults about these issues. They need to treat marriage as an exalted relationship between 2 consenting adults of committed monogamy by building a loving, intimate, trusting and respectful relationship. However it would be prudent only if the ex remains an ex!

A Shack in the valley of Kullu-'08

An awesome video that will convince you that art may be the most powerful medium to effect social, political or even personal change.

The delicate republic of India

The recent show of BJP being booted out of Karnataka may give some hope to the democracy that a set of rascals have been booted out. But democracy is being subverted in its very exercise. The parliamentary sessions are being postponed sine-dine, leaving the country's governance in abeyance. Moreover, in its present form, it is rather a relief that the bills remain stalled! Still worse is the blatant use of CBI by the government. The Hon'ble Supreme court has given an uncommon expression of the common anguish of the people. There have been egregious attempts by the government to cover up their scams and brazen out all their misdeeds. The government has become so narcissistic that it doesnt even show up in the court!

The CBI has been turned into a mindless puppet, hapless in the hands of their masters. The professional integrity of every office seems to have been compromised. There are evil deeds done; but there is no doer.

They say the PM is honest and innocent. Never before has someone been so thoroughly compromised by abdication.

They say Sonia Gandhi stands for the poor. Never before have the poor been so brazenly used to cover up a multitude of sins and plethora of scams.

The government's position is untenable. It has two choices: either to inflict torture on this country or to let the people act on their own. The people have the power to boot out the rascals. However, even if democracy speaks, the alternatives that we have aren't any better either. Effectively, there is no parliament left. The condition of our republic remains bleak.

Morning view from my hostel room