my telugu blog

it's been limping along. but i promised myself recently that i'd post more.

aadminama

duniaa men baadshaah hai so hai voh bhii aadmi
aur muflis-o-gada hai so hai voh bhii aadmii
zardaar, be-nawa hai so hai voh bhii aadmii
nemat jo khaa rahaa hai so hai voh bhii aadmii
masjid bhii aadmii ne banaai hai yaaN miyaaN
bante haiN aadmii hii Imam aur khutba-khwaaN
paDhte haiN aadmii hii Quraan aur namaaz yaaN
aur aadmii hi unkii churaate haiN juutiyaaN
jo unko taaDtaa hai, so hai voh bhii aadmi
yaaN aadmii pe jaan ko vaare hai aadmii
aur aadmii hii teG se maare hai aadmii
pagDii bhii aadmii kii utaare hai aadmii
chillaa ke aadmii ko pukaare hai aadmii
aur sunke dauDta hai, so hai voh bhii aadmii....

excerpt from Nazir Akbarabadi's long nazm Aadminama that i found in adnan's tribute to habib tanvir a few weeks ago. copied it, and forgot to post it- but i don't think that makes it less fresh.

adnan's blog is also an aadminama of sorts. many roads on the internet lead to the west- there are very, very few that take you back to your town, your neighbourhood, your gali, your home. adnan's a journalist of a rare kind, i think. to him, aadmi is still news.

where are the issues?

i've been looking at how many major national issues have come up for discussion on the national media, since the election schedule was made public, until now. varun gandhi and ipl, as i'd pointed out earlier, were the only two major issues until a couple of days ago. now, sanjay dutt seems to have joined them.

let's ignore the media for a moment and ask- is anyone, in the political class, looking at issues? i found jaya jaitly's blog at the ibn live site and a post that promised to look at issues. good.

I propose to look at some issues hovering before the electorate in the four crucial states that matter to anyone wanting to create the biggest post-election combine, i.e., Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The rest are in the category of smaller states that add or subtract equally and therefore are not decisive.

I propose to look at some issues. why do issues hover only before the electorate in big states? aren't we talking about national elections? is this what elections in india have turned into: purely elections? in the rest of the post, jaitly briefly touches upon issues such as the recession, 'corporate growth' oriented economic policy, iraq and saddam hussein (why?), job losses, and hurries back to discuss various political parties, alliances, personalities. where are the issues?

i've read that advani too has a blog: so is he discussing issues? the latest post is titled: The Seven Social Sins - By Mahatma Gandhi. And it lists out: The Seven Social Sins - By Mahatma Gandhi. in seven lines. before that, a post titled: The Hour Of God- By Yogi Aurobindo. the post before that promotes one of the schemes he plans to introduce: ladli laxmi yojana. he does talk about girl children and falling gender ratios but then moves on to tell you why he likes prasoon joshi (because he is prasoon joshi?)

and what does he plan to debate with manmohan singh?

liberal with your ears

this was not written as a post, it's a part of a mailing group discussion with a few friends (so, it's kind of wrinkled and rough, not that my other posts are very refined, but i hope this coarseness would be ignored), one of whom suggested that i should post it, as it is. so, here goes:

i thought the point you made about liberal values needs to be stressed. kunte probably wouldn't have had a case if he had taken it to the court- there was an imputation, i think, in his post that barkha's reporting had caused some deaths in kargil. this was a point she had spoken and written about a few times, on earlier occasions- it was obviously a sore point with her..her reputation itself has been built on her professed belief in liberal values (as they are seen by the elite)- she has just demonstrated how hollow those beliefs were.

it's big capital that drives our media but there is no need for individuals working in them to start believing in the illusion that it's their quality (of reporting etc.,) and hence reputation that is driving the channel..if she believed in liberal values, she'd have let it ride, especially because the small guy in india has very little control over how information is distributed (try taking ndtv off your cable or ask your local theatrewallah to exhibit certain films made by non-mainstream filmmakers) or 'opinion' is made.

if someone, a small guy, wishes to express his views publicly in india- where are the outlets? there aren't newspapers in every village. only the most fortunate classes can afford to make films or publish music or books. there is very little scope for little guys to join the almost-political associations like cultural organizations which are mostly caste or class based.. right now the internet is the only place (apart from elections) where with 5 rupees or so in probably half an hour of space, a small guy can have his say..but that again depends on very controlled distribution..less than 4 million indians can access internet occasionally. though, again, the elite have the highest access, i must emphasize, with his limited resources this is the only place where a small guy can air his views publicly.

if barkha reads blogs, i wonder if she ever wondered why the limited number of blogs by lower castes and other minorities are always so filled with bitterness? if there were other outlets for airing their views, on a consistent access basis, their bitterness would have worked itself off, over time and all those spaces. in india, liberal also means giving extra space to the small guys. being liberal with your ears.

your 15 minutes are up

• a lack of ethics, responsibility and professionalism by Ms. Dutt and NDTV Limited;
• that Ms. Dutt and NDTV's reporting at the scene of the Mumbai attacks during November 2008, resulted in jeopardizing the safety and lives of civilians and / or security personnel caught up in and / or involved in defending against the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008;
• that Ms. Dutt was responsible for the death of Indian Servicemen during the Kargil Conflict.

an apology for expressing an opinion? perhaps, it would have made much more business sense if he'd smsed his comments to you? i am thinking some very defamatory statements now- maybe, i should also think an apology, just in case.

when it matters, we know now what certain people west of punjab would like to watch, most. unapologetically. next time, they might go on air (or go to sea) only after making sure you're in an ethical, responsible, professional condition to be around.

hell, they might be the only people watching you.

blogbharti spells diversity

around 1830 unique blogs/sites linked to in around an year (maybe less). through around 2,100 posts. rough estimates- but, i guess you know what those figures mean. precisely.