tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79279632012-02-10T19:06:15.445+05:30Me and my text. (By the way, sihi = sweet, kahi = bitter. But we entertain all types here.)Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.comBlogger2271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-21449967081004509792011-12-27T15:45:00.005+05:302012-01-28T13:13:16.439+05:30

I saw this movie immediately after watching this clip, which basically warns against falling for narratives or stories. But how do we do that? We are all made up of stories and spew them by the minute. Yet, he (Tyler Cowen) has a point: when we tell a story, we inevitably tell it through our filter. So, any story leaves off something off the 'original' and takes on a little of the teller. A story

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-52885405456083087342011-07-31T19:04:00.003+05:302011-07-31T19:58:28.052+05:30

I watched the movie a month ago but found the time today to blog about it. I enjoyed the movie immensely and was surprised to find people scandalized and shocked by it. So, here's my quick defence of the movie:Why do you like Delhi Belly?* Its spontaneity, creative dialogue, and, of course, its celebration of oral sex, especially that rendered to women. Let the tribe of 21st century men grow!But,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-81000471101284900592011-06-16T22:15:00.002+05:302011-06-16T22:20:53.569+05:30

Where do the minutes and hours, rolled up into days go? What is memory, but traces and hints of these mysterious days? The bane of memory. If not for it, there’d be no search for the absentee days. If not for memory, everything’s hearsay. Subject to incredulity. For, beyond belief it all seems.Why such consciousness of the self? Why not be unburdened by existence? Why is the past such a comfort

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-57555490900649920422011-02-17T11:17:00.003+05:302011-02-17T11:54:56.717+05:30

After a long time of seeing and hearing about killings in Bengal, this one made me really sad, depressed, angry, and restless. Even as I write this, I realize our individual impotencies, my own even. But if all I can do is write out my angst, than so shall I. Rajib Das, a teenager, died in Barasat, suburban Bengal, sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, from the injuries he sustained

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-38455437892537762992011-01-26T19:26:00.003+05:302011-01-26T19:30:51.608+05:30

Please see my post on my official site Blue Pencil India intended for beginners on Elance.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-64051473250315596512011-01-12T10:06:00.000+05:302011-01-12T10:08:01.734+05:30

Something I related to from this post:"Elance has given me the confidence that my mind is strong and that my education is valuable, that I am valuable... Through several projects I got to use my experiences and fell in love with my career choice all over again."

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-56681629701416408732010-12-12T15:26:00.002+05:302010-12-12T15:31:47.853+05:30

Trips to Bolpur help me breathe, literally. I have never really been a big-city person, as I realize on trips to smaller cosier towns like Sirsi or Bolpur. I could trade a lot of the easy convenience and razzle-dazzle of the city for lungfuls of fresh air, any time. The power cuts in Bolpur are exasperating, of course. So, are the mosquito battalions. Here are images from a recent trip to Bolpur

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-24054106227991172652010-11-16T08:02:00.000+05:302010-11-16T08:03:29.834+05:30

Time for 'f'email now. Will it hit the 'G'-spot?

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-54906306859791544602010-11-11T16:55:00.002+05:302010-11-12T11:16:38.215+05:30

Does heterosexual sex necessarily involve subjugation of women? Is the feminist movement toothless or even unnecessary today?If women can’t reach the same professional heights as men, is it because they studied the wrong subjects in school? These are some of the questions being currently discussed in Germany as a result of a public spat between feminist and author, Alice Schwarzer (left), and the

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-79732917743842483652010-11-02T18:56:00.003+05:302010-11-02T18:59:30.524+05:30

My post on my work site, Blue Pencil India, on a security software company's plain English (?) ad campaign.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-66258630582144559592010-10-29T15:31:00.002+05:302010-10-29T15:34:12.505+05:30

More pics here.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-58723974376555055842010-10-04T13:15:00.001+05:302010-10-04T13:19:46.487+05:30

I shook my head twice when I was reading Summertime. Was I reading a novel by J M Coetzee (in picture) or was this written about someone else? But that couldn’t be: the subject of the book shared the same name as the author. For some time, I was lost. And one of Coetzee’s purposes was achieved. To puzzle the reader, to leaver her perplexed about his personality – is the novel autobiographical, or

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-92225709683984856452010-09-07T09:50:00.001+05:302010-09-07T09:53:42.849+05:30

Lost Season 6 ended yesterday. It kept me awake for pretty long in the night. Apart from the superb cast and gripping plot, there’s something more about Lost that will stay with me for some time, hopefully for ever. Lost is, after all, about faith, love, seeking, and finding. What stops us from reaching is that we haven’t started yet. What stops from believing is that we think it’s too difficult.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-80409133798627689192010-09-03T10:21:00.001+05:302010-09-03T10:22:58.186+05:30

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-18905130494766094532010-07-11T09:33:00.003+05:302010-07-11T11:02:13.492+05:30

A chat conversation that I had recently with a dear friend brought out things that have been in the back of my mind for some time now. Excerpts below:Praveen: overall hows the feel of life? me: the feel is that i'm coming to terms with life but every now and then, it seems it has me in its grip than the other way round but, i submit10:04 AM Praveen: always so, isn't it? me: yeah, its only thaat

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-21151572290940262902010-06-23T16:36:00.002+05:302010-06-23T16:40:45.133+05:30

Things don’t right themselves with the passage of time, unless they are righted. And the way they are righted, is, first, you say sorry. Next, you put things in place and clean up. Thirdly, you learn and remember not to forget. Bhopal is still all wrong, any which way you look at it. No one has said sorry, no one has mopped up the mess that is the Union Carbide factory, no one has put things in

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-14844512739878366182010-06-02T18:36:00.001+05:302010-06-02T18:42:23.014+05:30

The Trinamool Congress’ victory in the West Bengal civic polls is not an overnight event. It was cooking all along, when the apoliticians were busy sighing that even if they wanted to vote for someone apart from the CPM, there was no alternative; when the ruling media houses of the land went a step further than the CPM itself in Mamata-bashing or Mamata-ignoring. Today, the people’s movement

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-35191330931238083532010-06-02T18:25:00.002+05:302010-06-02T18:36:38.815+05:30

A more comprehensive review (and one that I liked) is here. Am making a very, very brief note, of course: The tussle between tradition and individuality or the attack of Western influence is at the heart of the book. So, is a murder mystery, that is weaved through till the very end. But tradition, too, originated once perhaps as a streak of individuality and then got institutionalized. The fear

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-73617592261122108442010-04-02T13:26:00.001+05:302010-04-02T13:39:49.745+05:30

Hmm, this has almost become a quarterly blog. Well, what can I say? So many things have been happening workwise that I should say I’m lucky to be able to breathe. There were a couple of things that I sorely wanted to blog about. Like the crow nest in front of my office which will perhaps never be filled. Two crows were trying to build a nest since quite a few days. There was nothing that couldn’t

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-9609539860829749462010-01-04T10:18:00.003+05:302010-01-04T10:54:39.345+05:30

A couple of days ago, The Telegraph had this on the front page: Last meal at NY’s Tavern on the Green. And in spite of globalization and shrinking virtual worlds, I didn’t relate to this story. It is not as much as about the restaurant, as it is about the correspondent’s personal nostalgia about the biggies he met and the scoops he got there. Ho-hum. Secondly, why is it on the front page? Yes,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-89783773393906311422010-01-02T11:22:00.000+05:302010-01-02T11:25:10.389+05:30

I recently read Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. After a long, long time, this was a book that had me licking for more from Page 1. I have often thought that when you meet the work of a true artist, you get the feeling that he/she knows you, knows something about you that can make you smile or cry a tear. They know something about you that you never bothered to discover. I got this feeling

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-60238257537718253912009-12-30T19:50:00.002+05:302009-12-30T20:01:24.846+05:30

I’m so glad I didn’t take Pratim Gupta seriously. 3 Idiots made me laugh heartily and unexpectedly cry the next moment. Maybe because am not an arty-farty type, thank God for that. But it wasn’t just me. After a long, long time, I saw an entire hall roaring with laughter and then fall suddenly silent. Why indulge in rat races, let’s leave it to the rats, eh? The subject of Aamir’s movie has long

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-52811497672135776502009-10-26T12:49:00.007+05:302009-11-12T13:30:09.274+05:30

(Note to Sihikahi regulars: You're already familiar with most of the stuff of this post. This is my entry to Elance's 'The New Way to Work' contest, so you guys can skip it.)I chose to work on my own from the comfort and distractions of my home a little less than two years ago. This new way to work, for me, is an affirmation of faith in me, as a writer and editor who can make it on her own. My

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-30024870899957109042009-08-08T22:57:00.002+05:302009-08-08T23:07:25.382+05:30

A programmer friend, who is on a sort of a sabbatical, was wondering if he could code as well as he did despite his long break from work. This prompted me to think if one could ever forget writing, too. I don't think so. I feel writing is a process that helps you evolve and your writing, too, keeps constantly evolving. Writing exercises and involves the brain, hence it is not a task we can

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-60850509706959458992009-07-25T19:56:00.004+05:302009-07-25T20:08:39.082+05:30

Tucked between all the neatly subbed and written stories of the New Indian Express was this strangest story of all. It was strange from start to finish.“GULBARGA: It may sound strange. But come Nagapanchami, a three-year-old boy plays with a live scorpion as he would with a toy. He is not the only one. For the entire Kandkoor village in Gulbarga district, Nagapanchami day falling on the fifth day

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-66535167021042309892009-07-21T18:22:00.002+05:302009-07-21T18:33:57.856+05:30

Shared by a copywriter friend. More of his work is here and here.My recent conversations among 'friends' and 'family' tell me we are getting more polarized than ever. All this surfeit of information only seems to reinforce stereotypes and close 'us' up against 'them'.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-43721886732130947272009-07-20T09:39:00.006+05:302009-07-20T09:59:11.589+05:30

This graphic adorned The Telegraph’s front page a couple of days ago. In response to protests by women’s organizations, the paper’s reply was:"For some months now, Bengal has looked like a state without an administration. Friday’s bandh and the unchecked vandalism on its eve further demonstrated the lack of will on the administration’s part to enforce the law. In yesterday’s paper, the five top

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-12293677602704685672009-07-18T11:36:00.004+05:302009-08-05T20:00:42.838+05:30

I have previously written about my work-from-home/freelance writing ventures. Blue Pencil India now seems to me to be the logical step forward. Of course, this took much convincing and all the persuasive powers of my husband, Lincoln, who is now a co-founder of BPI.You need to believe a lot in yourself and have an unflagging positive spirit to start off on your own. And, to some extent, the lack

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-15862038980012099772009-07-10T01:25:00.005+05:302009-07-10T01:39:34.776+05:30

When the credits started rolling, I was surprised that this was a Woody Allen movie. Till now, I hadn’t ever equated predictability and clichés with Allen’s movies, and here was this movie brimming with every romantic cliché you could possibly think of. Cliché no. 1: Two women – one pragmatic, the other free thinking – go to Barcelona for different reasons but end up falling for the same guy: an

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-26195477223857542752009-07-01T12:42:00.003+05:302009-07-01T12:51:22.313+05:30

Michael Jackson – his was some of the earliest music to burst out of cable TV in India. School and college annual days were incomplete without a moonwalking feat. It’d be rare to find someone who wouldn’t tap their feet to his music. More than two decades after he shot to fame, his music, his ghostly white face, his sequined glove, the military jackets – all come to mind without much processing

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-30009994946049707052009-07-01T06:55:00.005+05:302009-07-03T08:21:03.059+05:30

Love is a beggar on the streets!She is not to his need -Like the have not's creed;Seeking what's not his,Dreaming of eternal bliss;She is a sucker on his wits.Love is a cur in a deserted ditch!Howling drearily at midnight's hour,The Solitary wail of a bond gone sour;Dribbling wearily for emotions gone by -Pondering passions that were a colossal lie;She is but now a bitch.Love is a bonded slave!

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-58406185204488758532009-06-24T17:53:00.003+05:302009-06-24T18:35:29.578+05:30

I have been very busy in the last few months, perhaps the busiest in my life yet. And in the all-consuming daily rush, I never noticed that I completed a year of working on my own this May. Yay!I took on this new freelance writer-editor avatar of mine after I quit my last conventional job in April ’08. When I quit, I had no friggin idea what to do next, how I would pay the looming EMIs..., heck,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-81663487216222062282009-06-10T07:17:00.005+05:302009-06-10T08:10:05.506+05:30

I wrote this on Sunday in my diary, and wanted to post it the same day. I am hopelessly late, but here it is:Today, the high tide will finish what Cyclone Aila left unfinished a fortnight ago.About 900 km of the Sunderbans’ 3,500 km-long embankment was breached by Aila. The water that will surge through today will determine the fate of the people of Sunderban for the next couple of years. Saline

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-73847669351893034822009-05-30T11:10:00.018+05:302009-06-01T17:51:28.747+05:30

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a few music articles for the Advocate Weeklies, part of an American newspaper group. It was interesting to interview the musicians and the money was good. And what the heck, I got bylines.I learned this week that this was sort of an outsourcing experiment. Here's their explanation for why they outsourced their issue.And here are my articles: Licking it clean (

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-79891442685601258632009-05-16T17:13:00.004+05:302009-05-29T18:56:00.320+05:30

Ok, I have the flu as an excuse this time, yay! The importance of Mamata's victory cannot be entirely clear to people who have not lived in Bengal or have followed its politics closely. (If you live outisde Bengal, what you think you know is not true. The English media do a very good job of not reporting things as they are.)Some people within the state, too, are sitting up and taking notice of

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-80847919133438362662009-05-04T19:06:00.001+05:302009-05-04T19:57:02.113+05:30

This comes about 2-3 weeks late; no excuses for the delay. I simply have to catch up on my blogging. I had written down some thoughts when I heard of the American student's rape in Mumbai:Going by what some people had to say on prime time TV about the TISS American student rape, and going by everything that I have come across till date, we women folk always seem to be asking for IT. We wear a

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-11039702613855112612009-05-01T09:51:00.003+05:302009-05-01T09:56:26.995+05:30

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-62073781846346510342009-04-18T18:00:00.004+05:302009-04-18T18:16:10.430+05:30

I want to tell my own little election story today, though it might already be somewhat late for that. About a week or so ago, I put in an application to include my name in the electoral roll for the fourth time in about eight years. The last two attempts were in Kolkata, the first one was in Hubli. This time we set out from the house, determined to get my name on the electoral roll, or well,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-82904769494075251402009-03-03T11:47:00.002+05:302009-10-28T17:17:45.518+05:30

Not everyone gets to learn from the master. But today, thanks to technology, one of the greatest living mridangam vidwans, Sangita Kalanidhi Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, is accessible to all people passionate about Carnatic music. The incredible genius of Umayalpuram has been distilled into Mridanga Cintamanih, a pack of 7 DVDs, with the intention of preserving something invaluable for the

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-51219264608164876852009-02-23T23:26:00.002+05:302009-02-23T23:37:07.837+05:30

Annana Nenapu is a delightful book written by Purnachandra Tejaswi about his father, Kuvempu. The book begins from the beginning, albeit that of the son, and not the father. And the many stories that Tejaswi tells us about his childhood not only reveal less-known quirks of the poet, but also are such fun to read, thanks to his cheery narrative. For me, it was even more of a pleasure to read such

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-55911003510992102082009-02-09T11:06:00.002+05:302009-02-09T11:15:59.928+05:30

When work numbs my mind, I numb it further by typing in senseless stuff. For 'write something' I got this. Quite schizophrenic.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-80440723285229439382009-02-05T00:01:00.003+05:302009-02-05T00:22:47.611+05:30

I dont understand this. And, if you do, am sure there's something wrong inside your head. The Supreme Court today upheld an appeal by a bunch of foreign banks to remove the cap on 30 percent annual interest rate on default payments by their credit card subscribers That is, the Supreme Court agreed with the fat cats that its okay to clobber us with 49% interest if we committed the sin of not

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-47060922926133514542009-01-23T15:33:00.003+05:302009-01-23T15:49:34.337+05:30

After you use Firefox, your expectations from a browser are high. And, frankly, I had expected Google Chrome to be at least similar to, if not better than, Firefox. Yet, I will say that I like the clean look of Chrome and the search functionality of the address bar (Omnibox) is handy. And, it hasn't crashed once. Also, I like the fact that related tabs are kept together. Neat. But, apart from

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-83473846531380589692009-01-21T18:39:00.001+05:302009-01-21T18:49:26.431+05:30

The other day I was chatting with a friend about Slumdog Millionaire. He said it was one more of those unbelievably un-ending attempts to sell India's poverty. (Really! If only India's poor knew how valuable they were. They must know, of course.)Anyway, from Slumdog we went on to talk about contemporary literature and how I felt we lacked one, one which is truly representative (though I don't see

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-26561768695006368202008-12-06T17:01:00.004+05:302008-12-06T19:08:43.979+05:30

A couple of days ago, they were showing Munich on HBO. Coming so close after the Mumbai attacks, a lot of the anger seemed familiar. But this post is not about Munich or Mumbai, there's only so much you can discuss hate. Munich just reminded me of Eric Bana's other movie I recently watched: Romulus, My Father. The movie explores the relationship between a father and son very intimately. It has

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-79415655808408900212008-12-04T13:34:00.003+05:302008-12-04T13:53:51.757+05:30

No explanations will do for little Moshe. He will cry for his mother for a long time to come. Heart goes out to him.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-51248868738470778282008-11-09T11:08:00.004+05:302008-11-09T12:08:23.947+05:30

I wrote this down in my diary on 25 October in the throes of typhoid. For your reading pleasure/misery:I am ill and looks like will continue to be ill for some more time. I sleep almost all day and then wake up abruptly in the middle of the night, fully alert and nothing to do. So I gaze at Linc's calm, sleeping face, listening to his little breathing sounds. After a very long time - I really

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-42474327356497220242008-10-11T15:58:00.004+05:302009-02-09T22:38:23.622+05:30

A few months ago, I began working on my own as an editor and writer. And I must say that I like the experience, with all its accompanying risks. I had never realized that there is such a market out there for good freelance writers and editors in India. After working in all kinds of companies – MNCs, newspapers, proprietary firms, start-ups – I thought I had seen it all. But working from home has

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-29557420516845531242008-09-28T22:34:00.002+05:302008-09-28T22:40:50.463+05:30

We didnt have too much time, but still had fun. It was also a historical moment for me, because I have lived just 4 hours away from Goa for most of my life, but never could be there. Some beach pics here.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-63444529929398526902008-09-19T11:19:00.010+05:302008-09-19T18:21:11.753+05:30

I won an award. I dont have any acceptance speech ready, but will say this: thank you Vinod. Felt good. Now, I know am supposed to pass it on, but that will take some time. Please bear with me.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-84975114170511200022008-09-19T11:19:00.006+05:302008-09-19T18:12:30.831+05:30

Today, I got in touch with two long-lost friends. It felt as good as a fresh breeze from the Ganga on a damp, sweaty day In Kolkata. It was also very hilarious remembering what we were then and fitting it into our present life scenarios. One friend asked me if I still participated in debate competitions. I don’t know why but I almost fell off the chair laughing. I thought of all of our lives. Our

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-77490006868776386192008-07-13T20:16:00.001+05:302008-07-13T20:34:39.332+05:30

Very funny, I thought, and hence must share this.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-21827372261325992452008-07-06T20:33:00.002+05:302008-07-06T20:36:59.358+05:30

Into the Wild is about a young man who wants to avenge himself by running away from his parents, their materialism (basically everything they stand for), home, and society in general. A lot of teenagers think about doing that, and some do it, too. But Christopher McCandless redefines running away by going to Alaska, because he wants to be absolutely sure he will never be found. And he never is,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-16050878355498798412008-06-23T19:18:00.001+05:302008-06-23T19:21:39.368+05:30

Over the last year or so, quite a few people who borrowed money from banks killed themselves. Reason: they missed an EMI or two and the collection agencies hounded them like crazy and humiliated them. That made me think of the many calls we receive from banks, begging us to take loans. It doesn’t matter that you already have one and are on the verge of selling your furniture to pay back the loan.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-33421006186598853932008-06-05T20:29:00.007+05:302008-06-07T10:12:39.938+05:30

What'd we do without power cuts in the evening? When you mutter and curse the electric supply company aloud, but you are actually delighted within. Because, in the dark you can stay within, within yourself. And think of all the things you were supposed to do in life, and how life brought in its own list of things for you. Aww, mosquito bite here and scratchy-scratch there. And if it's a Kolkata

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-67581693822518719082008-05-28T18:49:00.001+05:302008-05-28T18:50:40.990+05:30

Life‘s play after all.There’ll be fury, there’ll be cry.There’ll be laughter, too.But what matters isStanding up to the test.Life will scare you, tickle you no end.Something or someone will forever be out of reach.What matters isSmiling through it allAnd loving through it all.Coz life’s but your dog, and before you know,He’ll be gone.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-86162984128720749942008-04-18T16:34:00.002+05:302008-04-18T16:41:45.356+05:30

All of life ...just a meeting and a parting. Why meet when we must part?Why part when we must meet? But who am I to complain?Nothing began,hence, nothing ends.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-10120367333588663382008-04-17T15:40:00.003+05:302008-04-26T00:01:36.869+05:30

Linc said, “Considering your capacity to cry rivers and oceans, you didn’t cry much.” And I thought, yes. Linc, who is usually much stronger than me, was breaking down every now and then, and frequently had a lost look in his eyes. How was it possible that I wasn’t reacting similarly? What stopped my tears? It is his voice in my ears. I hear it all the time. To me, he is ever-present: in each

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-28206129765186791652008-04-02T18:14:00.002+05:302008-04-03T12:58:26.011+05:30

Some people say that Tibetans must give up their demands because 'it's too late'. Some say their demands are unrealistic, because it's no use fighting China. And others say Tibetans love their traditions too much and China should use globalisation instead of strong-arm tactics. Me, I don't know much. I would still crave for my mother even if I had never known one. Leaving home is difficult,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-84610339325683753702008-03-22T16:55:00.001+05:302008-03-22T16:58:44.798+05:30

Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly EverythingThroughout the book, I kept thinking how much work Bryson must have put into this book…, the amount of reading, cross-referencing, travelling, etc., he must have subjected himself to. All to know the why and how of things. Amazing. His effort was worth each page he must have painfully ploughed through. It starts with discussing the ‘Big Bang’,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-33897136082013218462008-03-15T20:36:00.001+05:302008-03-15T20:39:27.370+05:30

A couple of months ago my cousins and I got together at my Dod Mava (eldest maternal uncle)'s house. It was such a rush of memory. We talked and talked of how:we would sneak up to the 'bimblekai' (a very very sour berry which is green and oval-shaped) tree behind the house and grab handfuls of it. To make things better, salt would be stored in sacks in a sort of shed right beside the tree. So,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-80962808652084175512008-02-27T18:14:00.000+05:302008-02-27T18:25:32.522+05:30

I can understand why a new couple would want to watch a horror movie in a hall. But otherwise, why do we watch horror or thriller movies? (I don’t mean the murder mysteries, but the serial killer types. You know he’s out there and he’s gonna kill you. And mostly, we know his modus operandi, too.) Movie channels keep beaming them like nobody’s business. So, am sure they have some idea about what

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-37833928046510283082008-02-21T23:23:00.001+05:302008-02-21T23:24:28.349+05:30

Of late, I have begun to watch the ads, because I think I have 'remote' fatigue. I simply dont have the energy to jump from one channel to another in the hope of avoiding those mind-numbing things called advertisements. Hence, I stay put and watch them. And if I must watch them, I must also write about them sometimes. So, here goes ...It's Feb, and T stands for tax. Enter: Mr Long-term Chintamani

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-63993169941480834492008-02-15T23:49:00.002+05:302008-02-16T00:54:38.870+05:30

LolitaIt almost hurts when Lolita calls Humbert a pervert. Oh, doesn't she realise he loves her so? But then she is just 12 (in the movie she's 14) and he is way older and you shouldn't think it's love. He's obviously taking advantage of her. It's just lust. Right? If he's a pervert, let's call him so, eh? But it's obvious we've been carried away by Humbert's fantasies, and 'to be carried away',

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-6763421792250755492008-02-05T21:44:00.000+05:302008-02-05T23:47:11.680+05:30

Have been wondering about the kind of virtual social lives we lead. No, I've got nothing new to report, but I keep getting amused by it. About how we detail our lives online, put them on display, have status messages inform people what exactly we are feeling, thinking or doing right then, etc. The internet helps or even gets most people to express themselves. People, who otherwise dont write or

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-73583997344863626682008-02-03T20:29:00.000+05:302008-02-03T20:43:24.031+05:30

Two movies I watched recently: Taare Zameen Par and Mungaaru Male. What drove me to watch the first one was Uber's high praise for it. It's definitely a good movie, but wouldnt quite put it in my list of all-time greats. It's just that it's so rare that Bollywood does anything out of the routine, that we cant help being thrilled. In TZP, the parents are made out to be villains, which they may as

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-81470612079252501352008-01-17T11:14:00.000+05:302008-01-17T12:08:02.969+05:30

Ajji is standing beside me, peering into my laptop. I ask her if she wants to try her hand at the computer. She doesn't say anything, but comes closer, grinning. I type out her name in very big font. She reads out each alphabet, puts them together mentally, and says with a wide smile, “LAKSHMI.” She stumps me with her life spirit each time I see her. She always has been, all these years. Then,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-12665559370306552512007-12-10T18:53:00.000+05:302007-12-10T18:57:39.536+05:30

Of late, am very conscious of the passage of time. Of how we get up, and cook and eat, and fight and run, and work and sleep and make love or lust. Of our struggles and passions; dreams - the ones we've seen and the ones we havent.Ten years ago, 'What must I do?' was a question that had very definite answers, or at least that's what I was conditioned to believe. No such illusions today. In fact,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-26130000124680228082007-11-19T17:35:00.000+05:302007-11-19T17:49:53.229+05:30

I had read and reviewed his Hitchhiker earlier. A couple of months ago, read one of his short stories. I liked it for its O'Henrian twist. See if you like it, too.When I read more, Vinod, I'll write about them.In other news:1. The most recent Left-sponsored massacre woke up a lot of people. Much switching of sides happened. One of the prominent ones: Star Ananda. I dont know if it's all of the

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-33713808506606837192007-11-10T23:40:00.000+05:302007-11-10T23:43:53.319+05:30

1. After Singur and Nandigram, the staunchest of CPI-M supporters have had either nothing to say or have fallen silent. But some people are their usual cocksure selves. For instance, the Times of India. Day before yesterday, it led with a story that screamed, “Battle for Nandigram won.” My questions: (a) Who won the battle? The people of Nandigram or the CPI-M cadres? (b) For whom was the battle

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-44439734768804719422007-11-03T23:52:00.000+05:302007-11-04T00:36:49.447+05:30

When I sing, I feel something releasing in me. I deeply miss my music classes with Mrs Sampath. I learnt a bit of Carnatic music from her in Hubli, of all the places. As far as I know, she was the only Carnatic vocal instructor in Hubli-Dharwad, the cradle of Hindustani music in Karnataka. Pure stroke of luck that I found her.When I first joined the classes, I was about 12; my voice was good, but

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-71968753742322936552007-10-21T12:21:00.000+05:302007-10-27T00:02:53.595+05:30

(Image and video of the Bagbazar Puja by Lincoln. Thank yee)Everyone's been about the whole town last night like there's not gonna be another puja. Even the people who sleep on the street are still tucked in in their makeshift beds at ten thirty in the morning. No one wants to wake up. Maybe if you kept on sleeping, the day wouldnt begin and night wouldnt come, and Ma didnt have to be sent

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-22454620367402771062007-10-16T21:51:00.000+05:302007-10-16T21:57:18.211+05:30

Small victory, perhaps, but anything is welcome in such dismal times.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-64681928411034528302007-10-11T14:51:00.000+05:302007-10-11T16:17:10.694+05:30

A couple of days ago, the Times of India carried a story on Page 1 on the riots over the public distribution system in West Bengal. It was more an edit than a story. It said something like the calm of 30 years' Left rule in the state is being finally stirred, etc.I wondered whether it was calm or Silence, the Deafening type.Just before joining journalism college five years ago, the Left had won

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-6205879391179035732007-09-22T14:51:00.000+05:302007-09-22T14:54:56.652+05:30

Ram's home

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-90260648776824881812007-09-11T07:03:00.000+05:302007-09-11T07:11:30.557+05:30

How can days begun with him go wrong?Appa told me that. Thank you, Appa.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-22004190367137043512007-09-03T07:32:00.000+05:302007-09-03T07:54:51.303+05:30

I got on the tram, reached into my pocket for the fare and looked for the conductor. I extended my hand to give him the fare. He was shocked. He studied me for half a minute or so, and said, "Aapni nischoy Kolkata e thanken na. (You dont live in Kolkata for sure)"I almost fell of my seat. Was this guy a facereader or something? A tantrik, perhaps? I could only muster a "huh?""Ke u tram e uthe

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-57586551376343577752007-08-04T19:09:00.000+05:302007-08-04T19:16:37.324+05:30

A letter to Prof. SenProfessor Amartya Sen, Harvard UniversityBy Subroto RoyDear Professor Sen,Everyone will be delighted that someone of your worldwide stature has joined the debate on Singur and Nandigram; The Telegraph deserves congratulations for having made it possible on July 23.I was sorry to find though that you may have missed the wood for the trees and also some of the trees themselves.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-81678500992575935522007-07-28T09:42:00.000+05:302007-07-28T09:46:31.605+05:30

When I said goodbyeI wonderedIf I'd left something behind.Then it came to me.As long as you say goodbyeThere's always something left behind.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-38989290328409761312007-07-22T14:32:00.000+05:302007-07-22T14:44:02.455+05:30

An astrologer's ad scrolled on local cable channel:Without any question i will tell you problem. 100% solution with guarantee card. Heart problems, love, marriage, relief, etc will be solved. Specialization in health and business problems.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-24529005436075350652007-05-09T20:55:00.000+05:302007-05-17T12:48:16.056+05:30

My thoughts as I flipped through the current issue of Down to Earth:Tiger farming According to a new proposal to save tigers, its better to commercially farm them, because we havent been able to stop illegal poaching so far. God!! What's with this urge to domesticate, to use, to consume?! Tigers are not an essential commodity, I thought. Maybe am wrong. Somehow, I found this proposal very

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-77180017523498216192007-05-05T19:19:00.000+05:302007-05-14T12:18:02.072+05:30

Vinod Joseph sent me his book Hitchhiker and asked me to review it. So, here it is:Ebenezer, the protagonist, is a second-generation converted Christian. Pre-conversion, his family belonged to a backward caste, and was regarded untouchable. The conversion doesn’t change their social status much.But what Ebenezer is bothered about is securing admission into a top engineering college. A couple of

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-16608377917656602562007-04-27T16:24:00.000+05:302007-05-22T12:52:21.686+05:30

As a kid, my hubby Linc would wonder, "How do bus drivers know exactly where each person is gonna get off?"Sometimes, he still manages to come up with similar original thinking.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-61846083486009527382007-04-11T15:16:00.000+05:302007-10-27T16:58:37.696+05:30

Even the sound of it chills me inside. A place where children are given a sort of a half-burial. It seems Hindu law doesnt provide for cremating children below three years. I didnt know about this.At first glance, I thought this was something to do with the UP High Court's ruling on minorities. Must say plesantly surprised to know why Hindu priests want to boycott Uttar Pradesh polls. For

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-40725193974111159412007-04-04T18:39:00.000+05:302007-04-10T16:20:36.819+05:30

I didnt whiz past them yesterday. I had seen them just once before, but obviously they were regulars. They would gather in front of the metro station for a little adda, just before heading home... you know, that lil bit with friends which makes all the difference between drudgery and living.They were about 7-8 men, all dressed in either semi-cotton or terycot shirts and trousers with their shirts

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-28884399409290217812007-03-24T16:12:00.000+05:302007-03-24T16:46:05.184+05:30

People in Kolkata are always talking to each other, even if they are perfect strangers. After I got into the auto, the autowallah waved at a Punjabi woman on the street, and then turned back to me and said, "She is a very good woman. She is much respected here." When I said, 'Huh,' he just continued, 'She is friends with everyone in the area. That is what matters - your behaviour with people.

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-66409458790437245692007-03-14T13:59:00.000+05:302007-03-14T15:14:43.331+05:30

There are reports that when the police tried to enter Nandigram, villagers pelted stones at them and damaged their vehicles. That's when the police opened fire at the villagers, killing three.Unconfirmed reports say that around 10 people were killed and nearly 50 were injured in the clashes. If nothing else, such crimes as were committed here today would have guaranteed the end of the road for

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-20300147724547556612007-03-13T11:22:00.000+05:302007-03-13T11:41:03.257+05:30

A couple of days ago, Buddha Babu's government was forced to tell the High Court that of the 900 or so acres acquired, they had consent letters for only 300.Also, today we come to know that TATA will pay back the Rs 150 crore, which the government spent on acquiring land in Singur, in 90 years. Neat.Linc read these reports on the front pages of Bartaman, a leading Bangla daily. At home, we get

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-90316648378185593892007-03-07T17:51:00.000+05:302007-03-07T17:52:15.370+05:30

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-81981486804832909132007-03-06T17:02:00.000+05:302007-03-06T17:26:37.898+05:30

For once, news about Goa is not feel-good. The current issue of Down to Earth focuses on the ongoing development (sic) tussle in Goa. I think the article is pay-walled, so cant link it here.A Goan friend and I were once discussing this tendency of how certain kind of stories get billed as 'what people are interested in' and certain others are not. Like, for instance, most news from Goa that you

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-39788000339537841622007-03-06T14:40:00.001+05:302007-10-27T16:59:36.378+05:30

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-40102922570835748762007-03-05T17:04:00.000+05:302007-03-05T17:54:47.770+05:30

How much of stretching can you do? A couple of my friends/colleagues recently became mothers. They used to work their asses off pre-motherhood. Now I wonder how they will be able to manage. And how I, too, will one day.I have often thought about what this article says. At workplaces, mothers are often considered less productive. This asumption, Naomi Klein points out in her book No Logo,

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-16410333878722730712007-02-28T12:04:00.000+05:302007-02-28T12:06:03.498+05:30

Yippee!

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-77744427070012079292007-02-27T18:07:00.000+05:302007-03-06T17:45:17.282+05:30

I had long given up on Amitava Ghosh's Glass Palace. I thought it was a series of events that just went on and on. I read about 10 pages and put it aside a couple of years ago.Ghosh keeps returning to coincidences: everyone you meet and everything that happens in his books will appear again and show more meaning. It gets quite tiring sometimes. His Calcutta Chromosome is choked with such

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-69367395356477887172006-12-21T15:56:00.000+05:302006-12-21T16:04:55.813+05:30

The Marxist government, which always boasts of being the “most democratic and transparent one”, actually behaves in a different way when “unpalatable” questions are put before them.The matter came to a head when the general secretary of the State Government Employees’ Federation, Mr Partha Chatterjee, sought some information regarding the terms and conditions of the deal between the government

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-53236173304170193702006-12-20T18:41:00.000+05:302006-12-20T19:25:03.490+05:30

That was a screaming 72-point headline.If they ever have the balls to say that on the eve of a CITU bandh, their office next day will come close to looking like the Hampi ruins, in terms of diaster level, not magnificence, that is.On most Trinamul Bandhs, people are not scared to go out. People who want to work are not stopped. This is taken to be a sign of the Trinamul's ineffectiveness or lack

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-46281159966349686912006-12-15T16:41:00.000+05:302006-12-15T18:23:06.522+05:30

Not that this is 'the' time to take a stand... it's been so for quite some time now. But how much longer will it take for people to understand what the powers-that-be mean by 'development'.I paste below an article from The Statesman (link here). I wonder if the ABP group would ever carry anything close to this:Jabberwocky: Singur thoughtsSamantak DasIF Singur does not bother you, you can safely

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-11533552693415951132006-12-10T19:51:00.000+05:302006-12-10T19:54:32.940+05:30

My mom called a couple of days ago and asked me how the situation was in Kolkata. Was about to brief her on the developments since last week, when she cut me short with, “I heard some people created trouble at the Tata showroom.”I don’t blame the news editors of the Kannada paper my mom read. It wasn’t their fault that the national media and the English-language newspapers in Kolkata did a good

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-9761043753257826262006-12-03T21:12:00.000+05:302006-12-03T22:38:05.891+05:30

Land owners in Singur refusing to budge were chased from their land, dragged out of their houses and beaten on live TV, for more than half an hour. Oh yeah, the police were 'provoked' by an acid bulb, and a random stone. The Babus make the police sound like a bunch of criminals who cant be reined in once on the rampage. I guess they are right.Media was forced to shut their mouths about the

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7927963.post-66054782284896068502006-11-30T15:23:00.000+05:302006-11-30T16:58:33.383+05:30

The Babus have committed a faux pas today. Nothing is up on the news sites yet, so no links here. Mamata was arrested a couple of hours ago for protesting against selling of agricultural land to industrialists. And then later dumped on Hooghly Bridge.A few days ago, The Babus gave themselves away, big time. They said they wanted to allow selling of barga land (belonging to sharecroppers) for some

Vijayalaxmi Hegdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12836196700835045813noreply@blogger.com2