India bashing on orkut

I'm a member of an internet community called 'orkut'. I joined a community called 'linkin park' there a while back and was surprised to find a thread called 'INDIA' on the list of threads. When I opened the thread I was shocked to find that the very first post was a very offensive post about India and reading further I also found some very virulent retorts. After the first shock wore off I was quite amused at finding a hate-india thread in a linkin park community. [If u don't get the joke pls don't ask me to explain. I have a weird sense of humour.] This was a while back. Today out of curiosity I went back to that thread and I was shocked to find that far from dying out it's become something in the nature of an online battle. Fake Ids, bad words in various languages, bad portuguese, worse english... you'll find it all.

I don't know if the guy who started the thread is a Jamaican or if he's a Brazilian. He seems confused himself. On his profile he's listed himself as a Jamaican. He's listed Portuguese as the only language he speaks. And in one of his posts he says he's Brazilian. Infact reading through all the posts gives me a very unreal feeling. Most Indians would think I'm a nut I guess but the strongest emotion his words stir up in me is curiosity rather than rage.

I want to know if this guy is for real. If he is, I want to know why he hates India so much. If its racial, then Pakistan, Afghanistan etc should also be part of his hate list. But they aren't. This hatred is so India-specific the writer could qualify as an India-bashing pakistani :) [no disrespect intended to Pakistanis in general]

Did some Indian really hurt him?!?

Is it all a big prank by someone who just doesn't have anything better to do?!?

I do so wish I knew :(

back again...

I'm back n not very happy about it. Had a nice time. Did well (I think), made some new friends, met some of the old ones, bought loads of movies, ..... yeah, all in all a lovely trip.

That's the best thing about my memory. In cases like this, everything bad that happened fades into the background, leaving bright happy snapshots in my mind.

For instance, if I really delve into my memory, I can find things that didn't go well. A friend who I couldn't connect with because of the circumstances and yes... because of her nature. Yet, if asked, all I'd glimpse instantly is an hour of laughter with that same friend.

I wonder why my mind insists on blacking out all the unpleasantness in my life. I wonder if it thinks it's protecting me. I wonder if other minds do the same for the people they occupy.

And yet, with everything that's gone right... with every happy memory,... there is probably an accompanying shadow. I suppose it's the shadow of the parts I've forgotten. The forgotten has it's own weight. Maybe that's why I'm not as happy as I should be.

Or maybe it's not that complicated at all. Maybe I'm not happy about being back because I'm not happy about what I've come back to.

The beauty of "Chess" - Clemens Konieczka

My favourite so far.........

Hopeless Human Condition - beautiful

Been to Bombay and back last week. had a pretty nice time. Could have been better of course if dad hadn't fallen sick. But all in all we came out on top :)

This week off to Bangalore to submit my projects. Exams all next week :(
Then the rest of my life awaits me :((
Life's so good right now I'd freeze it if I could, but... [damn... knew I should have kept working on that time-freeze thingy]

This picture is called Hopeless Human Condition. [Yes, that's its name and No, I did NOT pick it cos of the name] It's by someone called Billy Gong... I think. [Actually I'm sure but what the heck... better safe than sorry]

Anyway, it's one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen and it has the honour of being a big branch on my ever growing beanstalk of things_i_must_own_copies_off.

Who's Watchin' Me

I'll be kinda busy till the end of June so rather than leave this blog unattended [wouldn't want cobwebs to grow] [do cobwebs 'grow'?], I've decided to upload some of my favourite artwork now n then.

This first piece is called "who's watching me?" It's one of my favourites and I intend to buy myself atleast a copy of it some day.

whoo hoo... online endorsement!

You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from. And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics... Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

'Melting Medusa'

It's raining enough to wet feet even if the said feet are perched on 4 inch heels. Ofcourse since it's about 3 am right now there won't be many feet out in the rain. Infact if there's even one foot out wearing a high heeled shoe at this time of the night in my neighbourhood I'll eat my own 4 inch beast of burden. Actually, since 1 shoe would be useless without the other, and since it would mean a loss of almost a 1000 bucks, I'd probably eat both.

I daresay the average reader at this point will stop reading and wander away in search of headache medicine. *Hint: If you don't want to admit you are an average reader, persist*

I'm not trying to cause confusion here. If you must blame someone, blame the electricity department. I had conceived the brilliant idea of writing a post on the superhero persona that would best suit me. I had actually started the process of choosing a name for myself when the electricity went away. The lights and the fan both stopped working too (I suspect a plot). And the rain started. And then the temperature rose so high that the only name I could think off was 'The Iceberg Goddess'. Or maybe 'Melting Medusa'. At which point I gave up on the idea.

Hence this post on the rain. The shoes just wandered in all by themselves.

Love?

Two friends called today to say they had split with their respective partners. Another called to say a relationship seems to be taking its baby steps... What's it with love? People spend lifetimes debating whether God exists or not. A far more fascinating question in my book would be whether 'LOVE' exists. What exactly is love? Hormones, candidate-fulfils-desired-specifics-in-internal-list, the-need-to-be-needed, ....etc. The list of what 'love' could be, is very long. Almost everyone I know has a theory. Most people have 2. One theory they use when they actually are in 'love', the other when they are not.

I've felt this emotion called 'love' a couple of times. Looking back I can identify what are my 'triggers'. The qualities that make me 'fall in love'. Once it was because I found 'someone like me'. A guy who seemed to know me better than I knew myself. As almost anyone will testify, that's irresistible. The second time it was because I found a 'clean heart'. A really good soul. Or so I thought. Even when I stopped loving him I thought of him as a clean heart only to find out recently that I may have been wrong. Still, it helps me identify the second factor that attracts me to guys. A warm heart. Someone who will cry for the starving children in Africa if you remind him about them. Someone who believes it's an honour to be called 'friend'. An honour that sometimes, when the cause is worthy, must take precedence over 'love'.

I can understand and sympathise with people who fall in love because the person they love is 'special' and worth loving for n number of reasons, no matter how far-out. What I find hard to understand, is the capacity normal people have, to get the steps mixed up.

I've seen far too many relationships start off for all the wrong reasons. First they get into a relationship and then they fall in love. I'm sure everyone has come across relationships like that. Pick your favourite from the following:

Guy thinks girl is good looking enough and needs girl to impress the rest of his friends.

Girl thinks she'll be the coolest girl in her school for getting a guy before most girls have gotten their periods.

Girl thinks guy is suitable husband material and will impress folks back home.

Girl doesn't have enough cash and is not greedy enough to want a whole bunch of guys buying expensive gifts. One sucker is enough.

Girl/Guy is away from family and thinks a relationship would be a good idea.

Guy wants to be assured of a date to all the events around town.

Girl wants to be seen with rich boyfriend in/on expensive car/bike.

Girl wants to rub the noses of all her (pretend) friends in the dust by flaunting eligible ex-bachelor as her boyfriend.

Many times these 'relationships' actually work. Though both parties may have fallen 'in' love for all the wrong reasons, they actually start loving each other and stay together. Sometimes they stay together just out of inertia of course. (But lets ignore those pathetic people)

Even if both regret the relationship, there's no harm done. They can chalk it down to experience and go on their merry ways.

What sucks (and I've seen it happening twice) is when the couple is 'in love' for the wrong reasons and only one person actually converts from "being in love" with the other to actually "loving" the other person. That sucks. That leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth and a hollow sensation that seems to be screaming out, "that's it?!?"

To all my friends reading this. "Love is a wonderful thing. But it's not the only thing that makes life worthwhile."

To my friend who keeps saying life is not worth anything now, who keeps wanting to get in a fight or hurt himself. "It hurts me when you say things like that. I know I can't understand or help with the pain you are going through but still, knowing that you consider me, all your other friends, your family and everything else in your life worthless is pretty painful."

To each and everyone who ever reads this post. "Always love yourself. Always respect yourself. Never sell yourself short. Love will always change. It will grow or die. But never lose yourself in it so much that you feel you have nothing of value besides the relationship. Everyday do something that will increase your value outside the relationship. It doesn't have to be much. Give a hungry child 20 bucks. Call up a friend going through stressful times and give him/her a shoulder to lean on. Learn something new. Put in extra effort at work. Call your mom/dad and say I love you (tough one for me atleast). Then as you become a better person everyday you will find that you are a person worth knowing. A person worth loving. You can never guarantee that others will love you... but maybe, just maybe, this way you will learn to love yourself."

Evil Editor

Came across a blog called 'Evil Editor'. It's great. Scary but great. The 'Evil Editor' accepts queries from aspiring authors and then cuts them to bits. Fun for all the readers of the blog but probably torture for the 'writers'.
I'm glad I changed my 'top' occupation from 'writer' to 'editor'. It looks like it's a lot more fun cutting up other people's books. Writing is too personal. It must be fun reading submissions from others and smirking 'cos you 'know' you can do so much better. If I actually submitted something I wrote to EE I'd have to come down to earth and start digging a grave to bury one of my fondest dreams.

I would recommend this blog to anyone out there who believes that he/she has the potential to write a best seller.

Enjoy :)

The Da Vinci Code

Went for mass yesterday to the Taleigao Church and was shocked to find that the entire sermon was about the Da Vinci Code. What is wrong with the Church? The priest today was exhorting the people to boycott the movie and to join in a protest ‘morcha’. He said the book potrayed Jesus as a liar and insulted the Catholic faith. What a load of bull. I have read all of Dan Brown's books and I have never found my faith and belief system insulted in anyway. With all the ruckus on the issue I have never been more ashamed to be Catholic. Living in Goa, I've laughed when people in other parts of India have taken to the streets at the drop of a hat. Seething with indignation at perceived insults to their respective religions. To see Catholics in Goa take to the streets to protest a work of fiction will be the nadir of my existence so far. Can’t the Church find a more worthy battle to fight? If the book insulted Jesus it would be another issue. All this fuss is because the book potrays Jesus as a married man. C'mon, it's not like the author is saying he did something evil. It's not like the author says that Jesus was a criminal or crook of some kind. Is the Church trying to say that saying Jesus was married is equivalent to saying he was evil?

I'm not sure when the morcha is scheduled. I was doing my best not to pay attention since thinking about it was really pissing me off. I'm sure I'll hear about it again anyway.

I intend to go for one of the first showings of the Da Vinci Code. I think it's coming to INOX on the 19th. More on that later.