ISLAM'S FRENCH DIS-CONNECTION

The recent controversy emanating from the French President's views on dress code prescribed for Muslim women is agitating Muslims across the world.
Presumption of evil (male) elements in society is the weakness of Islam based upon which women are discriminated. All humans are equal and being born a Muslim woman need not be displayed by a dress code to send a message of being different merely on religious grounds.
Differences create conflicts and it is disgusting to find Muslims (specially clerics) hijacking society in the name of religion by displaying petty mindedness. Is their faith so weak and religion so brittle that they get offended by irrelevant issues setting aside important matters that can uplift one and all.
Followers of Islam need to speak up and clear misconceptions arising from manipulated interpretation of their religion which is creating an unhealthy environment world wide by dividing people into 'Muslims(We) and non Muslims(They)' based on hate, intolerance, misunderstanding and violence.
Blood and flesh are the same in all homo sapiens. Nature does not differentiate when giving us bounties or destroying us by natural calamities.
THE END IS THE SAME IRRESPECTIVE OF RELIGION. LOVE AND TOLERANCE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOW WE INTERPRET SCRIPTURES.

FOREVER

Tina left for Mumbai to commence her final year in college (majoring in Sociology) on Sunday June 7th after a fairly long vacation for which she arrived in Bangalore on 22nd March. We as parents are of course trying to cope with the ‘empty nest’ syndrome.
She has posted a beautiful piece on her blog (www.tinanandi.blogspot.com) on arrival at her Mumbai address which aptly expresses the happy moments we all shared. It is indeed our good fortune and God’s Blessing that she is blossoming into a beautiful human being capable of enduring friendships that radiates happiness for her and her pals.
In retrospect, our difficult and hard decision to send her away to boarding school across continents at a tender age appears to have been justified in shaping her pleasing and balanced personality which is in high demand amongst her wide and varied circle of friends.
Friendship is one of the most treasured relationships that are nurtured by choice as opposed to relatives whom we sometimes have to tolerate by default.
It was wonderful to experience the fun and frolic generated by some of her friends when they stayed over night at our home gorging on self made exotic meal cooked to the tune of live music and then depriving themselves of sleep although there’s an early morning transport to be availed next morning!!
Pray and wish that happy moments with friends continue to happen forever, wherever and whenever they can catch up. God Bless all the lovely people who have entered Tina’s life as friends. Thank you guys!!

RABINDRA SANGEET

Have casually heard and enjoyed Rabindra Sangeet on various occasions but recently after listening to a particular song (not for the first time) performed on a TV show some thing special happened to trigger a more than casual interest in this genre.
Sadly I realized that may be have been missing out on some thing really special as a Bengali considering the pleasure derived from just sitting back and listening to the unlimited tracks sung by different singers (have managed to build a small collection lately to derive unadulterated happiness.)
The richness and variety of the topics expressed in words is awesome and makes one wonder about the greatness achieved by an individual in a lifetime. (Can any one please provide statistics on the total number of songs/poems and other writings of this prolific writer?) I pay my respects to this larger than life personality and wish to thank all the artists/musicians who spread unlimited pleasure and happiness.
The following is extracted from Visva Bharati site which is worth sharing as it closely resembles what I want to express about my new found love.
"Music, like all other arts in India, had stereotyped patterns. There was and is the classical tradition, whether of the north or the south, which has behind it centuries of devoted discipline, and which has within its limits, attained near perfection. It is music, pure and abstract, and like all abstract art its appeal is limited to those who have taken pains to understand what may be called its mathematics. For them it can be very beautiful, hauntingly so, in the hands of a master, but ordinarily its appeal is limited. Its counterpart for the popular taste was the traditional religious and folk music, now rivaled by film music. The position was not dissimilar in literature where, before the nineteenth century, there was either the great storehouse of Sanskrit classics or the popular religious lyric and ballad.
What Rabindranath was doing in literature he also tried to do in music. While caring for both the traditions, classical and folk, he respected the inviolable sanctity of neither and freely took from each what suited his purpose. He was not even averse to borrowing from western melodies, although he did very little of that and made his own whatever he took from other sources. If his creative contribution in music has not received the same recognition as his contribution in literature, it is because, in the first place, the classical tradition of music in India, unlike that of literature, is still very alive and vital and there was no vacuum to be filled.
In fact Rabindranath did not attempt creation of new forms in abstract music. What he did was to bring it down from its heights and make it keep pace with the popular idiom of musical expression. In the second place, his own music is so inextricably blended with the poetry of words that it is almost impossible to separate the mood from the words and the words from the tune. Each expresses and reinforces the other. Hence his songs have not the same appeal outside the Bengali- speaking zone as they have in his native Bengal.
In Bengal, however, each change of season, each aspect of his country's rich landscape, every undulation of human heart, in sorrow or in joy has found its voice in some song of his. They are sung in religious gatherings no less than in concert halls. Patriots have mounted the gallows with his song on their lips; and young lovers unable to express the depth of their feelings sing his songs and feel the weight of their dumbness relieved."
Rabindranath had said, "Whatever fate may be in store in the judgment of the future for my poems, my stories and my plays, I know for certain that the Bengali race must needs accept my songs, they must all sing my songs in every Bengali home, in the fields and by the rivers... I feel as if music wells up from within some unconscious depth of my mind, that is why it has certain completeness."
RABINDRANATH TAGORE - BORN 7th MAY 1861; DIED 7th AUGUST 1941.

UPA VERSION 2

The euphoria of Election ‘09 stands converted into a Ministerial Team whose average age still remains 60? A few youngsters have found some berths which it is hoped will be a trend setter for the future.
The cabinet team is as large as is permitted under the existing rules. The spirit of the rule was not intended to be abused in this manner. The idea was to set an ‘upper limit’ to the number of Ministers, which is conveniently interpreted as the maximum number of Ministers that can be employed at the tax payer’s cost to accommodate the aspiration of certain ‘greedy’ leaders (whose greed extends to having multiple wives and dozens of mostly unworthy off springs!) to overcome the pit falls of coalition politics.
Certain Ministers and their dummy Ministries will merely dilute the focus from deliverables and are likely to restrict the high expectations from this government.
PM Manmohan will have to be agile and ruthless in managing the parasites to ensure that the faith and trust entrusted by the electorate is justified. Performance parameters must be constantly monitored.
Indian elections have repeatedly thrown up surprises. The electorate is usually unpredictable and votes to send clear and strong message to the manipulative politicians.
The message this time is loud for ‘DEVELOPMENT+GOVERNANCE’ without any petty excuses and a ‘BIG NO’ to religion/caste/creed/region/wealth etc. The burden on the government to perform and deliver is magnified more than ever by the impatient youth factor inherent in India’s existing demographic profile.
Let us hope that we as a Nation are able to make the turn around we all deserve and our elected team fulfills their duty with responsible behaviour.

AILA'S MESSAGE

The intensity of Cyclone AILA that caused massive devastation in and around Kolkata could not be predicted by the weather man although the occurrence was expected.
Animals, birds, vegetation, humans and cars were tossed around like tooth pick. Tidal waves larger than any one can recollect destroyed miles of forest land along with tigers and other wildlife.
The extent and ferocity of damage is yet to be assessed, but the fact that we are face to face with many more such ravages of nature around the world is certain.
KATRINA was the wake up call which we ignored at our peril.
We are all destined to experience expected and unexpected incidents of similar destruction more often, unless we become aware of the man made environmental degradation we continue to cause of our only habitat.

HUMBLE REQUEST

Just completed reading HOT, FLAT and CROWDED - by Thomas Friedman.
A revealing and well researched 412 pages that we must all try to make an honest attempt to read.
It will enlarge your horizon and increase our collective awareness about the the crucial point we have reached in our journey as human beings and the critical need to save OUR EARTH.
WARNING - please try to go through it asap because we are already running late!

CRESCENDO

After the protracted foreplay enacted by politicians and five actual acts performed by a half hearted electorate, the day of reckoning has delivered a surprisingly healthy number of seats to one of the two National parties to form a stable government without having to indulge in illicit activities to woo unscrupulous bed mates. The supremacy of ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES (EVMs) has been resounding. No Exit Poll or other statistical methods predicted this outcome. The winner also has been taken by surprise!
Penetration achieved by the two National Parties is satisfying. The allies and petty immoral politicians who decided to flirt have been given a very firm warning and a loud message that the voter should not be taken for granted. Bastards will no more be tolerated.
The results appear to be a trend setter for the future of Indian governance, where we can look forward to healthy and competitive fights between truly national parties capable of providing real leadership for the country’s progress.
It is heartening to note that despite the accumulated rubbish in our political harem some of the dirt has been decisively removed. The silent voter has validated the increasing maturity of our democracy by forcing the political class to introspect and avoid arrogance of power.
The biggest winner in this massive presentation is the VOTER. They have supported ‘issue based’ politics that affect them and the country. A ‘red card’ has been shown to all self appointed power mongers of one man/woman parties that pursue personal agendas based on caste, creed, religion and other manipulative tactics. The voter has effectively and intelligently separated local and national issues by rejecting politicians/political parties that are perceived to be spoilers and made a smart choice.
The Election Commission deserves a pat (not withstanding the systemic flaws) for being an able conductor of this political crescendo in the theatre of Indian Democracy.
THREE CHEERS TO ALL THOSE WHO VOTED. LONG LIVE INDIAN DEMOCRACY.