Thoughts on M.I.A's Born Free video

As someone from India, I'll readily concur that LTTE pioneered despicable acts like the "suicide bomb"(they assassinated our prime minister in 1991 for sending a peacekeeping force to Sri Lanka!), use of child soldiers in their eventually futile guerilla war & perhaps even training/inspiring Al Qaeda. They certainly took the wrong approach to achieving representation. MIA though, like most artists fighting for the "right" cause, sorely lacks (or is deliberately insensitive to) a sense of history about the LTTE's wrongs - as was evident to me from her appearance on Bill Maher's HBO Real Time. She couldn't even sensibly articulate the basis of her opinions, but she cunningly uses "Tiger" imagery in her videos and attire. And the liberal "hip" Westerners are dazzled by her reputation, her connections in the music biz (Jay-Z no less!) and their short-sightedness in seeing past the thin line (is there one?) between freedom-fighters and terrorists.

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

On the other hand, one nation's terrorism is a whole people's freedom struggle. Among the countless such confrontations across history, the current situations in Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya and Sri Lanka are ready examples. Though ineloquent, MIA remains provocative in bringing injustices to light, be it the avoidable mess in Iraq, or social issues in the developed world (like the Arizona Immigration law which harks back to the pre-civil war restrictions on free slaves) or excesses of those in power around the world. If nothing else, we can recognize artists like her and RATM for their efforts in giving voice to the misunderstood and appreciate their music, which can be appealing to some.

A "touching" moment

On their way back from School Arjun started talking

Arjun : Bro! I am moving to a different city to study. I will miss you man
Pargat: I will miss you too mate. But nothing can break our friendship. We will at least meet once every year.
Arjun: Yes that is a deal

and they parted with tears in their eyes...
As time went by, both got busy with their work life. They kept their promise for two years and after that they moved on with their own lives and in the process Arjun lost his contact with Pargat. Time went by and both became Police Officers.

Year: 2009
Venue: The Police station where Arjun works

Tring... Tring...

Arjun picks up the call and he gets a pleasant surprise...

"Is this Arjun?"
"Yes. Who is on the line?"
" Bro. Its Pargat! I just found out that you are posted in this station"

Tear drops welled up Arjun's eyes

Arjun: Where are you?
Pargat: I am standing outside the Police station. Come Out
Arjun: Is it? I am coming right away.

Arjun rushed out of the Police station and saw Pargat standing outside. They were seeing each other for the first time after thirty years. He wanted to go and hug his friend. But he could not hug his friend. It was a very touching moment for both of them :

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Have you ever seen a touching moment like this?

How the Stock Market Works

An interesting forward:

It was autumn, and the Red Indians on the remote reservation asked their
new chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red
Indian chief in a modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was
going to be.**

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the
winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village
should collect wood to be prepared.

But being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea.

He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked
'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'
'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed,' the
meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more
wood.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Is it going to
be a very cold winter?'
'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'It's definitely
going to be a very cold winter. '

The chief again went back to his people and told them to collect every scrap
of wood they could find.

Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you
absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely' , the man replied. 'It's going to be one of the coldest winters
ever. '
'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.
The weatherman replied, 'The Red Indians are collecting wood like crazy.'

**This is how stock market works!!!

Letter from a grandson to his Thatha

Thatha is grandfather in kannada and tamil. Predictably, he doesn't use email. Here's the looong letter (minus embarassing personal stuff) verbatim for others like me to relate to or unlike me to bash :




919, E. Lemon St., Apt # 210,
Tempe, Arizona, USA
12/21/07



Dear Thatha,

Season's Greetings to everyone at Tumkur, and a warm hello!

Its been such a long time since I wrote a letter on paper that I now find it easier to express myself typing out my thoughts (partly because I can make frequent edits, and largely because sometimes I myself find it hard to understand my writing, let alone others!). I hope you saw the pictures I sent, so here are the thousand words to describe them:

Well, its been nearly four and a half months since I first landed in America – Los Angeles to be precise. A lot of things have changed for me since then and I'd like to think mostly for the better. I don't know where to start, except at the beginning. Everyone seems to ask me about my first reaction (shock?) on arriving here. For one, the cars all go in the wrong direction! But thats just one of the several things that Americans do differently, but not always better.

Aside from cars, the streets are deserted for the most part. Noone walks here, except Indian parents visiting their children or students like me who have no choice. Even I got bored of walking, so I bought a bicycle to get around. Unlike India, there won't even be anyone whom you can ask for directions if you're lost, that is especially true in Arizona, which is mostly a desert. Any travel has to be planned out completely in advance with maps, directions, and in my case, bus schedules!

The roads here are usually very wide, with up to 6 lanes each way on busy freeways. But there are parts of the city I live in (Tempe) that remind me of India. Tempe is a suburb around 15 miles from Phoenix, the capital of Arizona. Arizona is in the south-west of America, with California on the west, Nevada and Colorado on the north, New Mexico (the state) on the east, and the old Mexico (the country!) on the south. Most of Arizona is very dry, hardly gets any rains as it's on the leeward side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The weather is a bit extreme, like Delhi, only drier – Summer highs go up to nearly 50 C , while winter lows are usually around 5C.

The people in the land of Hollywood and George Bush are quite unique. I find they are very candid in expressing their thoughts, which can be a good thing. Also, most of them are quite open to people from other countries – after all, they are a nation of immigrants. (By the way, Arizona has a few American Indian (Native American) reservations, haven't had a chance to visit any yet though). What is commendable is how they provide equal opportunity to everyone – there's not a single building that doesn't have assistance for the elderly and disabled. Women work in far greater numbers, and in all sorts of professions. My barber is a lady! Americans are much more liberal in comparison with Indians, in dressing, communication and the values they share. Professors wear shorts to beat the hot weather, and they're addressed as 'professor' or even by their first name. They consider it offensive if you call someone you know 'sir' or 'madam'!.

Indians don't change completely when they get here though. They do enjoy the American way of living, but they don't compromise their principles completely. At least, first generation Indians like Chechu uncle stay loyal to their roots and religion. I had a great time with him in my first week in the US, getting over the jet lag and getting used to the sights and sounds. I had been to Las Vegas, the casino city, to visit dad's cousin Sheela. They even had a homa at their home, complete with vadyar and mantras.

I guess mum would have told you that I've settled into a two-bedroom apartment with two roommates. We share the costs, cooking and cleaning duties. Mum tried to teach me cooking when I was India, but I didn't really learn anything new until I came here. I guess necessity is the mother of invention, or in my case, discovery of recipes by trial and error. We get most Indian groceries here – the Indian store is about as far as the Shetty angadi from the Tumkur house! All our shopping and household chores is done on weekends.

There is a sizeable Indian community here, nearly 800 students across all disciplines, including the second generation Indians , mostly in undergraduate. We spend time together visiting places, watching kannada movies and cricket matches on the internet. So I don't get homesick much, I've been out of home for more than four years now, but I do sometimes long for good old home cooking and spending time with all of you and my friends. But life goes on, so we have to accept new things and move on, while keeping our fond memories with us.

There are a lot of people from the Iyengar community here, we keep meeting every so often at the Kannada Sangha. All my cousins and uncles here have invited me to visit them in the corners of the USA. Will go when the weather gets better. Most of Northern USA is frozen over in the winter. I plan to get a drivers license during the winter break. One of dad's distant relatives lives in Phoenix, he offered to take me in his car.

Wish you all a happy new year!

Love,



Varun.