Ethics – how screwed up it can get ;-)

Though I don’t believe in God I am always fascinated by how believers expiate their sins. I remember in high school, meeting this girl whose father was a quarry owner. The family used to mine blue metal (jalli) off Tambaram. He of course had to grease a lot of palms, including those of policemen and labour inspectors, to ensure that work at his quarry went uninterrupted. Since he felt guilty about his profession, the family was every year hauled off to Tirupati where they would either shave their head (the men) or cut their hair (the women) en masse. Of course he would continue his business once he came back to Chennai, but he obviously felt much better after settling his account with God for that fiscal. My friend of course didn’t like getting her waist-length lovely wavy hair chopped off to shoulder-length.

Then there is another lawyer I know who engages in all kinds of nefarious activities at Madras High Court. But everyday he feeds a beggar during lunch time (nothing paltry – a full meal from the Saravana Bhavan there). His logic? “Well I am only engaged in this horrid business. I don’t want my sins to descend on my children. So we have to do something madam. If we do something for someone only can we hope to get a little puniyam.”

So what are your ethics?

Blogs I heart – Simply Natural

 

I heart “Simply Natural” by Catherine. I love her blog and am a regular reader! Most interior design blogs are very consumerist in nature. But on Simply Natural you will find a love for antiques, a love for natural products and a love for people! She’s anti-consumerist in nature and her photos of how she celebrated Christmas  are amazing for their simplicity and style.

Catherine says: “When I was 14 I swapped to a smaller bedroom because I fell in love with a magazine article about small bedroom style….and so begun a lifelong passion for interior decorating. I live in Adelaide, Australia with my young son and I pour my creative energy into my home. I have a love for all things pure and simple, natural and textured…think white, wood, seashells and cane. I want to share the things I love with fellow lovers of pure and simple decor style”

(Below a handmade Christmas ornament by Catherine)

I love how her bedroom looks. Definetly has a “Zen” like quality to it. Its also so clutter free and amazingly soothing.  I love colour – lots and lots of it, but her blog is now converting me to her love of nuetrals. When I was first browsing through her blog, I was just looking at the pictures (Hadn’t caught on that she was a great writer as well) and thought this picture of her bedroom was a shot of a five-star hotel. Looks picture perfect, doesn’t it?

 

Check out the antique Chinese screen above the bed – so bold and dramatic. Her love of all things Asian is something I can relate to. I love bamboo, wood and brass antiques and furniture. There something so ethnic, earthy and fairy-tale like about antique items - legacies from the past. Her collection of antiques makes me want more for more.

And like her I love plantation shutters. I studied in Madras Christian College, built by Scottish missionaries more than 150 years ago. Most of the doors are plantation doors, huge in height and girth. I remember that some of the plantation shutter doors in the Chemistry lab were over 10 feet tall. The lab attendants had to use stools to reach up and close the bolts on those doors. Some of the windows also had plantation shutters. We had cathedral-like huge ceilings; our voices used to echo during classes and professors didn’t really have to strain to make themselves heard. And since my mother works for the government, everytime she got transferred we got to stay in those huge, lovely bungalows typical of Indo-sarcanic architecture. I love large houses with large, airy windows, tiled roofs, sprawling lawns, long verandahs – the picture would be complete with a few dogs, cats and some birds (not caged). Seeing Catherine’s pictures brings all those memories back, as economy has now dictated that I live in a cramped apartment in busy Nungambakkam. (Below a picture from her lovely blog. Doesn’t it remind you of the ambience created in Hey Ram?)

This is another (below) great picture from her blog. Look closely into the mirror – see that elegant, scroll-type wall hanging? Well that is another architectural piece that Catherine managed to salvage and use in her home.

I was also pleasantly suprised to read  a movie review of Practical Magic on her blog. And like most people obsessed with decor, it was the gorgeous  interiors she was reviewing! I have also found myself distracted by the interiors in movies – like in the case of Mozhi I found the movie a dead bore, but the interiors were great. While the heroine’s red and purple bedroom was too colorful and jared my senses, the hero’s black n’ white colour coordinated apartment was both classic and sophisticated at the same time. Isn’t there something so chic about plain black & white? My recent discovery of Black & White bliss fulfills my need for eye-candy in that direction.

And then the love for metallic objects. Catherine says: “can’t even explain why I love it so. I guess I just like the contrast of hard and soft, and metal objects often have quite strong, simple, architectural lines which appeal to my eye. Even the colours of metals – browns, greys, silvers, blacks – steal my heart. And there’s a utilitarian honesty about metal – it’s as much as home in a workshop or garage as it is in the living room.”

I love silver – infact I made my hubby buy me a silver ring for my engagement. He wanted to buy gold as convention dictated, so I let him buy me a gold ring for the wedding. But then I love my silver ring the most – its a simple ring with a ruby-red garnet mounted on a decorative base of silver. My first wedding gift from hubby was another silver set – pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a gorgeous ring. I lost the ring within a month of my wedding! Sigh! I love all things metallic and my mother-in-law has gifted me a few silver tumblers and some brass lamps to satisfy that earning.  So going through Catherine’s blog is quite therpautic in nature.

(Love roses as you can see from my blog header and numerous posts)

But most of all her blog is so human. Having been a bit of a problem child myself, I can empathise with what her son is going through at school. Blogs somehow make things so personal. Even though I have never corresponded with her personally, I found myself daily checking her blog to read about her son’s progress. And also I love her approach to life! so fun! so full of zest!

Happy Friendship Day!

Since I still haven’t learnt Adobe Photoshop well enough to design my own card, I thought I’d post this e-card I got from Anand. My classmate and best friend Anand blogs at Infinite Thinking. Do check out his blog! He has lately started an event management company along with a few partners. While I have never availed of their services, I have worked with Anand on projects long enough to know that he is very sincere and dedicate about what he does.

When we conducted our film festival in MCC, I remember seeing him work right up till 6 in the morning on a presentation for the press meet. So if you have any business to send his way do contact my friend at 98847 46163 (he lives in Chennai). Meanwhile, Happy Friendship Day!

Muses from JNU

“Most dangerous of all is to be filled

with deathly silence,

no turmoil within,

to bear all the suffering,

to leave home for work

and return home from work

most dangerous of all

is the death of our dreams.”

- Sandeep Singh, JNU student union president

Blogs I heart – Allsorts!

Allsorts is one of my favourite blogs to read! Though Jenny B Harris -  children’s illustrator and blogger supreme – doesn’t update her blog much, she’s got quality stuff down there.
Do also check out her site – JennyBHarris! I first came across Allsorts because I was rummaging around the Pink Chalk Studio, which is another great crafts n’ sewing blog.

Even glimpses of home are divine! Her house and little studio abound with her creativeness, sense of colour and fun. I love eye-candy and her studio is a treat to the eyes! Most of my friends can attest to my untidiness – as they see my house in various stages of chaos with every visit.  I console myself that someday I’ll get organised. Meanwhile, I just keep hopping from blog to blog for more visions of loveliness.

In her blog, Jenny has lots of posts giving step-by-step instructions on how to make Christmas ornaments and other cute crafty stuff. Every Christmas I was in charge of decorations at three places – my parents’, my paternal grandparents’ and my maternal grandmother’s. Since both sets of  grandparents didn’t want too much stuff put up as they would have the bother of taking it down, I couldn’t do much there. It was only at my parents place that I could give full rein to my creativity. And every Christmas the decorations was different.. Hearing Jim Reeves’s rendition of “White Christmas” and a large glossy picture of a white Christmas tree in a magazine, we once had an all white & gold Christmas. I hung up huge paper chains everywhere, pretty gold paper lanterns and gold stars made from thermocoal. While hanging decorations I learnt from bitter experience that one does not decorate doorways or hallways…many a time ornaments come crashing down on the heads of people passing by or the paper chains get entangled with their necks – tempers fly high and the paper becomes worse for the wear and tear.. After our fake holly wreath fell on Toto (our dog) and Toto also fell upon the wreath tearing it to bits – when someone slammed the door too hard, I was forbidden to tamper with doorways.

The next Christmas was better, I pasted all the Christmas cards we had received (including my grandparents’) over the walls. Since my mother is a diligent correspondent and has been sending Christmas cards out to everyone since the time she knew to spell….we have a huge collection. The house resembled a card shop more than anything. My mother said that though it was a bit overpowering;  after one got used to the effect – it was quite nice…So many memories, so many people and so many warm wishes! I also used to make fake gifts to put under the Christmas tree – cover empty cardboard boxes with tinsel and wrapping paper. One of my little cousins, who was more curious than a cat was quite disappointed to open one and find nothing …we then had to give him something off our tree to cheer him up.

I loved the Christmas ornaments on the tree. Most of them were handmade by me or my mom…And some were really old. My mother had preserved ornaments from the Christmas tree I had on my very first birthday. Our Christmas tree was also quite small by modern standards. It had thick glossy green branches and looked lovely when it twinkled in the candlelight with pretty, shiny ornaments. Even though I loved glass, I could never persuade my mother to buy glass ornaments or electric Christmas lights – she said I could have those after my 18th birthday if I stopped behaving like a bull in a china shop (an exaggeration I can assure u

Anyway, seeing Jenny’s tree brought all the old memories ago. I felt sad, that neither my parents nor grandparents decorated the house for Christmas after I turned atheist.

Jenny also makes and sells embroidery patterns on her Etsy shop. One wishes one could step back into childhood – when there were two whole months in summer to be spent in lovely activities like embroidery, knitting and paper crafts. Her patterns have clean lines and are well-drawn.

I also love how Jenny has turned a plate rack into a storage and show piece. One of my grandaunts had also turned her metal plate rack into a show piece with pretty illustrations and ethnic artwork she collected from the different places her husband was transferred to. My grandaunt put up the metal plate rack on a wall out of reach of chubby little hands bent on destruction; “accidental” or otherwise. She always held that artwork should be displayed above 5 feet in any room for longetivity.

Isn’t this a cute idea of displaying a doll’s dress?

Her collection of dollypops which she sold online on Etsy were simply superb! I still can’t get enough of them. I have downloaded most of the pictures onto my computer and have made a slideshow of them…the dollypops and her little dollhouse are too chweet for words!

She’s also got lots and lots of lovely posts on crafts, cooking and gardening with great pictures. As far as dollhouses go, Smehreen’s are the best, but Jenny’s is a lot of fun too!

Do check out Allsorts for great images and great creativity!

Happy August!

Making a come back!

I never thought depression was going to hit me – I imagined that I always had enough sang-froid in me to keep going. Why did I feel down in the dumps? Too many problems caused by those near and dear relatives….it dragged on…I had to quit my job. Even now nothing has changed as far as the situation goes. Only I have changed; realised life doesn’t always go the way you want it to…and sometimes you just have to grin and bear it.

Another big boost to the spirits was finding a job – with a financial news agency. I was getting a lot of job offers in these three months – but none of the jobs were even remotely related to journalism. Meanwhile, I was feeling guilty about letting my hubby take care of everything…did so want to pitch in. Sometimes I kept wondering if I was being too fussy; I mean what was so great about being a journalist? You were only going to write what ur allowed to write…But still I stuck it out and refused to take up any other job. Meanwhile I kept wondering what was worse? Taking up a job and being miserable or staying at home and feeling handicapped?

I can’t believe that my sense of self-worth is so dependant on my job…I avoided everyone of my journalist friends because I couldn’t bear to tell them I had quit my job and was looking out for another one. When I joined journalism four years ago it was the boom time for the media. So these last four years, everytime I thought of switching jobs, I had always had a slew of offers to choose from. With the recession, there was nothing coming my way and I was feeling so desperate…..I would have jumped at anything that guarenteed a press ID.

Feeling depressed, incapable and without a job…is something I don’t want to go through again. Even though my hubby was very supportive and we didn’t really need the money…a job for me is something integral to my well-being. I always had a poor sense of self-worth. I was a problem child at school who always spent more time standing outside the class than inside it…College was a little better, was a topper in subjects I loved and barely scrapped through in subjects I hated (which included my major- Chemistry). Journalism was the best thing that happened to me. And getting a job at 19 was heady stuff…Even now I can’t forget how on “top of the world” I felt when I landed my first job. These last four years – my marriage and my job – has given me self-confidence and lots of great memories.

This blog was intially started so that I can write about my views. I found how impossible it was do just that. Stating my real views on journalism would first considerably lower my chances of employment. Stating my real views on family & sentiments seems like an act of disloyalty…so even in this blog I find myself stating only things which are socially acceptable.
Anyway I have made up my mind to write n write n write

(P.S. Watched Scent of a Woman and I heart it. Do check out Por Una Cabeza, can’t get enough of it!)

Might continue to blog or again might not…..

I never thought such a chatter-box as myself would find myself at a loss for words. But sometimes there are things which maybe better left unsaid.

The update on my front is that after my grandfather died I had a lot of work to do; being the only granddaughter in India. I first asked for one week’s leave at the workplace. Then had to extend it by another one week. And when it came to the third week and there was still no coast in sight, I decided to jump the boat and resign my job…

Two months down the line, my life has become less hectic. Hopefully, I’ll gain sufficient time on my hands to resume full-time work.

On the look-out for a job. Since the media industry in Chennai is not hiring because of the recession, I am looking at working in some publishing house….Let’s see, what the future holds

But one thing I am happy for is that despite all this turmoil, my spirit remains intact and my lips ever ready to smile.

I hope everyone has a glorious day

End of a warlord & zealot?

Disclaimer* I am not pro-LTTE or pro-Sri Lankan Army, but recent events have made me break my self-imposed hiatus and state my views.

Now that LTTE Prabhakharan is dead and the Sri Lankan Army has triumphed every mainstream media channel is quick to dub him a “fascist, terrorist, warlord, zealot, etc.”  The same media which pronounces him a ruthless and dreaded terrorist, is however not interested in asking questions like “Who was funding him?” If Prabhakharan is to be called a terrorist, what about all the Indian politicians from MGR, Vaiko to Karunanidhi who initially supported him? Only after the political weather turned rough post-Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination did TN politicians deem it wise to  maintain a safe distance from the LTTE. What happened to Karunanidhi’s fond reference to the LTTE supremo as “Thambi (brother) Prabhakharan.”

Who gave military training to the LTTE? Would the LTTE have grown to this stature had it not been for India’s overt and covert support? What about the Indian Army, RAW and other Indian intelligence agencies which trained the LTTE on Indian soil? Who gave the LTTE its guns? How did the LTTE develop from a small guerrilla force into a formidable army with a  sea wing, air force, police force, a border security force and home guards? Where did the money come from?

What about the IPKF’s involvement in the atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils? Every media organisation is so quick to take a one-sided approach to issues. It was a war zone out in Sri Lanka! When the media can talk about Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, why is it not talking about the events (IPKF atrocities) that led up to the assassination?

When the media can talk about how the LTTE emerged as the only-Sri Lankan Tamil support organisation by killing leaders from other Tamil groups like TELO, PLOTE , why is it not talking about the Sri Lankan Army’s atrocities against Tamil civilians?If the Sri Lankan govt had never oppressed the Tamils, where is the need for the LTTE?

If the LTTE committed atrocities and violated human rights, it must be remembered that the Sri Lankan Army’s record and the Indian Army’s record is worse. The IPKF raped Tamil women in Sri Lanka. The Indian Army continues to violate human rights in J&K and in the North-East.  How can one ever forget this picture of women protesting naked in Imphal, cyring out “Indian Army men rape us”?

(Naked women protestors shout slogans against the alleged rape, torture and murder of Thangjam Manorama by paramilitary soldiers in Imphal, capital of northeastern Indian state of Manipur, Thursday, July 15, 2004. In a highly unusual protest, some 40 women stripped naked and staged an angry demonstration outside the Assam Rifles base to protest the death in custody of 32-year old Manorama)

And India’s involvement even till date seems to be huge in the whole affair. Rajapaksa’s announced that the “LTTE has been defeated” right after the Indian Parliament election results were announced – Prabhakharan’s death was announced soon after – it is too fishy and doesn’t strike one as an accidental coincidence. It looks like they were biding their time for the announcement…..

One leading newspaper writes: “Prabhakharan ironically remains an inspirational symbol to thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils”…… after calling him a “Nazi-type dictator.” Why is it ironical?

If the Sri Lankan govt had never oppressed the Tamils, where is the need for the LTTE?

On the very same page in that newspaper there are pictures of Vellupillai Prabhakharan meeting MGR, Karunanidhi and the Editor of that newspaper. Why did someone who was feted and dined by Indian politicians and the press suddenly be labelled the “bad guy”?

The political opportunism that surrounds the sad, brutal tale of the LTTE is sickening to observe!

Email Fwd: Pick of the Week

OK mum, you can come and get me down now!!

I'm the king of the world!

Look deep into my eyes... You are feeling sleepy...

On the count of three, lift!

Kung Fu Panda...bring it on!

Pick the panda fluff!

Peek a boo!

Just Nappin'

Women’s sexuality & the pink knickers campaign

When I recently visited Bangalore I was surprised to find that the hottest topic being discussed there was not the recession, but women’s sexuality. After the Mangalore pub incident and 53 other cases of moral policing by the right-wing elements in that state, one could say progressive views were the need of the hour.

While I am all for women’s freedom and celebration of individuality, there was something about the recent “pink chuddi campaign” that irked me. I really couldn’t be caught dead participating in it, though I’m a feminist and am anti-moral policing.

First, thing the idea of sending knickers to Mr Muthalik seems so undignified. I mean when the whole protest is for upholding the dignity and respect of women, why would you do something like that – which smacks of immaturity, childishness and is undignified to the extreme?

I’m also surprised that the journalist from Bangalore who started this campaign wasn’t worried about the fact that the most impressive thing on her resume might turn out to be that she started the pink chuddi campaign? I’m also not really for this whole journalists-turning-activists business – unless the activism had to do with problems faced by journalists.

I mean objectivity is the name of the game. Even if you didn’t like the BJP or the Congress, being a journalist you don’t take sides – you just report events. In that sense Ms Nisha Susan in her overt campaigning for women’s sexual liberties seems to have crossed the fine line between journalism and activism. I’m suprised that the media group she works for hasn’t taken issue with that…..only three years ago two journalists were fired from one of the largest English newspapers in India because they blogged on issues.

What irks me – is the popularity of the campaign. It was so popular only because of the sensationalism involved in sending pink knickers. Time and again journalists have protested so many worthwhile issues – including women’s sexuality. The recent attack on journalists in the Madras High Court didn’t even get reported in most media channels and newspapers. The hunger strike in protest of the attack got even less mention. But when does something catch the attention of the masses? Only when it has an element of sensationalism to it. Would the campaign have been just as popular if we had all been asked to send pink handkerchiefs or pink dupattas?

And again the gesture…..

In the book Scarlett, the heroine Scarlett would wish that the bride had not thrown bouquets but brickbats at the Yankee soldiers. Rhett would retort she didn’t have much imagination to appreciate the finesse of that gesture.

Its the same here! Since Mr Muthalik doesn’t like people celebrating Valentine’s Day or women going to pubs, would sending him pink knickers make him think any better of women? Would it kind of shame him into silence?

I remember when someone wanted to protest against the policies of Tony Blair they threw a rose at him…..much more dignified and costing a lesser imprisonment term than when a journalist threw a shoe at George Bush (much as we are all tempted to applaud him for that).

If it had been me, I would have preferred starting a pink roses campaign for Mr Muthalik. Same slap in the face – but in a more dignified manner!