I have never seen such a shitty (picked up that word from Bani’s vocabulary, :D) English exam paper in my entire life. The paper is for 90 marks, and 40 of those allotted to the literature segment! And what to they test in the literature segment??? Bits and pieces of a story by Narlikar, the rhyming scheme of a poem which you have heard only once in your life, and utter rubbish by Lester Brown (god only knows who the heck that guy is, still haven’t bothered to look up the English text book, :D).
I used to think that the Indian standard of English being taught in schools was bad. Well, guess what??? I change my mind! It’s absolutely HOPELESS!!!
Can any one tell me what is the whole point of memorizing the sequential order of events of a story, written by some author that you never might be interested in reading again, because his works were featured in the NCERT textbook?
The British curriculum segregates nearly 100 marks, yea 100 marks (that’s like a whole new paper), for grammar alone. Literature gets the least importance. People would think that instead of trying to teach us English, NCERT would be promoting and publicizing an author’s works!!! C’mon!!! This is a school!!! You’re supposed to teach us something, not let us have 6 free periods a week (I wouldn’t exactly say that part is bad though, :D)!!!
The whole Indo-English story
Radical ideas do not change humanity.... only ethical ones do.
Although very revolutionary, Avaneesh, I really can't imagine how that idea would work in reality. You see, it's true that man would have no meaning at all if he didn't have hardships to overcome. However, we have enough errs in this world, even excluding that small, lingering threat of terrorism. Ridding the world of this wouldn't make our lives any easier. But letting it take a toll of millions of lives only reduces the population who would be willing to do anything constructive against other evils. Unless of course, you go back to your radical ideas.
As is my title, in reality, I do not believe radical ideas have the magnitude to change the ways of humanity, only ethical ones do. If you say, that the present day generation is responsible for all that is being done to the world, then the only real solution would be creating a better generation after us. And how is that possible, if our generation is the one to teach them?
You can participate in a million campaigns which aim at bringing down the birth rate, which would in its due course take years to complete. But in the same time, the death rate would also be dwindling and all our efforts would have gone to waste. The more radical solution to bring down the ills of over-population would be to gather all the people in the world below the poverty line, in a deserted region, and nuke them. In that way, you could say we're getting rid of over-population and poverty at the same time. Thats like two gigantic scratches erased from your Biology record. However, we live in a world where ethics overpower logical reasoning, and that does not allow us to do such a thing. So unless we resolve this attitude to an extent, such that we can put down emotional traumas for a greater need, our race is slowly degenerating by itself, which I believe is the true course nature intends us to take.
The Slasher lives within me.......
I wonder what the average Indian teenager finds interesting in the television these days. By the way, for the girls... unless u comment otherwise, I will assume soapies such as our beloved "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" make your heart throb. Friends, The O.C, Everybody Loves Raymond.... and for the more adrenaline pumped fellows, maybe a bit of Pimp My Ride or the usual sports gimmicks. Wonder why cartoons should be shunned then?
The Japanese have always had a knack for marketing their own countryside legends. This one is no exception. Kenshin Humura, or Batusai the slasher…….. in lay man terms, Samurai-X. A wonder of creation, this thriller packs an archaic reality-based fiction with philosophies so deep, u gotta dig in to understand.
For the more “advanced” readers (:D), here was an argument I picked up off boards… Is the legendary slasher still the best swordsman in the job…. or has Shogo or Shishiyo denied him that glory.
"Shishio Makoto: Do you think Shishiyo would have survived the 'Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki' if Kenshin had slashed him with the swords he used before? Shishiyo might have fought all the others, but so did Kenshin. His job was much harder to accomplish. Not only did he have to defeat the likes of Ayoshi and Seijuro but also change their hearts, which was even harder.
Shogo Amakusa: He might have taken Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū to Super God speed but Kenshin with his 'Dragon Flight of Heaven' proved that he was the fastest. Shogo might have had the opportunity to finish Kenshin off. But don't you think that there was something that was holding Kenshin back. He cared for Shogo and could feel his pain, that is why he was ready to sacrifice himself. But when it came to protecting the life of Shogo's followers he had no option but to defeat him.
Saitou Hajime: He fought with Kenshin for years but was disappointing against Shishio. That proved he wasn't the strongest either.
The only one that I presume would have come close to Kenshin's strength is his master Hiko Seijuro. He was the one who nurtured him and made him who he was.
Three great statements from the Anime are enough to prove that Kenshin is the stongest.
Shishiyo: 'The week shall die and the strong shall live.'
Kenshin: 'My will to live is stronger than yours, its stronger than anything else.'
Shishiyo: 'The will is only as strong, as the person it is in.'"
Anti-terrorism... and why we should forget about it!
Human society, from origin until now, has always been at war, may it be within or between two religious communities, societies or nations themselves. An important point to note is that nearly all these conflicts have arisen due to competition between two factions. The World Wars for example, has its root cause hidden in the motive of Germany to usurp the United Kingdom's position in the world economical and military status. Similarly, in the case of terrorism, I strongly believe that Western interference in the functioning of the Muslim majority middle-eastern countries is to blame for the various recent outbursts which manifest themselves in the form of terrorist attacks. This has come to harm many innocent lives, which had no say in the matter.
The United States' invasion of Afghanistan, or Iraq proves my point. Before the Iraq invasion, the country may have been ruled by a tyrant who mercilessly ordered 148 Kurdish people to the gallows. However, to bring down one dictator, we rendered thousands of other human lives worthless, by allowing such a war to happen. The media had their share of the fun, months worth of headlines to print, and a dozen more pictures or videos of Saddam's execution to leak out into online video sharing websites. But in the end, terrorism still roams free, not in the hearts of the innocent, but in the minds of the
Human tendency is to oppose, what is ordered, want, what is forbidden, and take, what is necessary. By showing the middle-eastern community that the United States' has the power to bring down nations, does not help us to counteract this threat by terrorism. In fact, they are urged on to prove to the world that they cannot be put down by one nation alone. Attacks on other nations have shown that terrorism is a world wide threat, more so because other countries allow such powers to act irresponsibly on behalf of the world.
I do not say that we heed the threats of such violence, or we give in to such radicals, but only that we act wisely before risking another few thousand lives in Iran. Enough of blood has been spilled in the war against terrorism... I only plea that we shed no more.
Why Bani never wore black on the final episode of roadies...
A million other voices all across India resonate the same question. Why Bani? Why? Why didn't you wear black in the final episode of the MTV reality series, Hero Honda Roadies Season 4?
When you look back at our all cho chweet final episode, we recall what was the reply when Swathi asked her the same question. Here came the reply, “Because I did not know whether it would be a vote out or a vote for the winner”. All too soon Poonam was down upon her, “Oh you knew it all, Bani”. Yea, she pretty much knew it all, I must say.
She did know that only Anthony and herself were left. She did know that she wouldn't give a damn if Anthony won the show anyway. She did know, that of all people, ignoramuses like Poonam, would not win anyway.
And that my people, is why she didn't wear black.
Reality shows have been the latest sizzle in the entertainment. Who cares if Shilpa Shetty won Big Brother man? We still got to see the other idiots “race” (get it??? racism!! =))) themselves to a superb loss. Me, I'm definitely not the one who would waste hours in front of a 29 inch screen watching staged spoofs. But Roadies, brought out a whole new meaning for the word “mind-blowing”, and I guess they owe most of their success to that amazing teenager from Chandigarh, Gurbani Judge.
She was the one thing on the show which didn't piss me off. I mean, who comes across a girl like her nowadays. In a world where Karma, means you have to be vegetarian, to save animal's lives, but where stamping a few dozen ants to death everyday doesn't matter, Gurbani Judge becomes an epitome of reality. With that ever present aura of her I-don't-give-a-damn-if-you-hate-me attitude, this girl comes with a lot of spunk. Kamini or not, that goes with your philosophies. If you're that suburban girl-next-door who loves flirting around with college guys, or a household typical Indian Bhabhi... she's not your usual cup of coffee. But for those who want a taste of real life in the big bad world...
we present to you.... GURBANI JUDGE!
Yea mate, and you'd better believe it.