Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens..

Aahhhh Forget It!

Just Kisses, Kisses and More Kisses.

These are a Few Of My Favourite Things

Hiya,

I came across this kissinstruction manual and had to share it with you all. How many do you already do, how many will you try and how many of them are just too much for you?? Try and judge for yourself..

Enjoy

x x x

Vish

ENJOY & MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T WASTE YOUR KISSES.

1) Angel Kiss - This is a sweet, comforting kiss. Gently and ever so lightly kiss your partner either on the eye lid or right next to the eyes.

2) Cheek Kiss - A friendly, "I really like you" kiss. Often the preferred kissing method of a first date. With your hands on your partner's shoulders, gently brush your lips across her cheek.

3) Butterfly Kiss - With your faces less than a breath away, open and close your eyelids against your partners. If done correctly, the fluttering sensation will match the one in your heart.

4) Freeze Kiss - Experiment with this fun kiss. Put a small piece of ice in your mouth, then open mouth and kiss your partner, passing them the ice with your tongue. It's an erotic and sensual french kiss with a twist of cold.

5) Eskimo Kiss - With your faces less than a breath apart, gently rub your noses together.

6) Earlobe Kiss - Gently sip and lick the earlobe. Avoid louder licking noises as ears are sensitized noise detectors.

7) French Kiss - The kiss involving the tongue. Some call this the "Soul Kiss" because the life and soul are thought to pass through the mouth's breath in the exchange across tongues.

8) Forehead Kiss - The "motherly" kiss or "just friends" kiss. The forehead kiss can be a comforting kiss to anyone. Simply brush your lips lightly across the crown of their head.

9) Foot Kiss - An erotic and romantic gesture. It may tickle, but relax and enjoy it! To give a toe kiss by gently licking the toes and then lightly kissing the foot. It helps to gently massage the base of the foot while performing the kiss.

10) Hickey Kiss - The object is not to draw blood, but to gently leave a mark that will prove your interlude was not a dream. This is often included in erotic foreplay.

11) Hand Kiss - Gently raise her hand to your lips. Lightly brush your lips across the top of her hand. Historically this kiss was performed with a bow, which showed deference to a lady.

12) Hot/Cold Kiss - Get a cold drink and put some in your mouth. Have your partner gets a hot drink and puts some in their mouth. You then French kiss leaving a sensational feeling.

13) Letter Kiss - Send your lover a kiss in a love letter by writing the letter x several times in a row at the bottom of a letter such as x x x x x

14) Mistletoe Kiss - Surprise your lover by capturing them with a gentle holiday kiss under the mistletoe. This is also a good method for shyer individuals to steal a kiss from a potential lover.

15) Neck Kiss - Come up behind the person you want to kiss. Lightly lick the back of their neck, then kiss the back of their neck a few times.

16) Neck Nibble Kiss- Gently nibble up and down your partners neck. End with a gentle kiss on the lips.

17) Nip Kiss - This kiss can create a very erotic sensation. While kissing your partner, ever so gently nibble on their lips. You must be very careful not to bite to hard or hurt your partner. When done correctly, this kiss ignites wonderful sensations.

18) Shoulder Kiss - Simply come from behind, embrace him/her, and kiss the top of their shoulder. This is a sensual, loving kiss.

19) Sip Kiss - Take a small sip of your favorite drink. Leaving a little bit of it on your lips, kiss your partner. It is a unique way to create a sensual feeling and your partner will enjoy it.

20) Stomach Kiss - Gently kiss and nibble on your partners stomach, and sometimes it leads to other things.

21) Talking Kiss - Whisper sweet nothings into your partner's mouth. If caught in the act, simply say, "we weren't kissing. I was whispering into his mouth."

22) Tiger Kiss - Quietly sneak up behind your partner making sure they do not know what you are going to do. Out of the blue, grab them and gently bite their neck. Make sure to get a few good growls in too. This will surely surprise them.

23) Tongue Kiss - While french kissing your partner, gently licking their tongue while it's in your mouth. This produces a wonderful, erotic feeling for both!

24) Quickie Kiss - When you're in a rush. Often the nose gets it rather than the lips.

25) Upside Down Kiss - You stand behind your partner (who is seated or laying down) and have them tilt their head back. Then kiss them so that you nibble their lower lip and they nibble yours. This is fun and feels good because you can feel them breathing on your neck as you kiss.

26) Underwater Kiss - Find your partner under water. Embrace and kiss. It's a unique and wonderful feeling. By the time you run out of air, you'll be back at the top. Continuing the kiss is optional.

27) Underwater Deep End Kiss - Dive to the bottom of the deep end of a pool. Find your partner under water and begin kissing. Continue as you rise to the top.

28) Vacuum Kiss - While kissing open-mouthed, slightly suck in as if you were sucking the air from your partners mouth. This is a playful kiss.

29) Virtual Kiss For Internet lovers - Send an e-card or a kiss via email with this symbol: :-* .

30) The Wave Kiss - While kissing your partner, slowly roll your tongue like a wave, up and down. It can be a little sloppy, but it's a unique feeling and always gets a little laugh when it's done.

SHOULD NEWS be REPORTED or MANUFACTURED?


Aristotle had once said that “Law is Reason, free from Passion”
Maybe the same can and should be applied to news too.

The Indian vernacular news channels are guilty of many things and free and fair reportage is not something they understand, believe in, or practice.

Yesterday on Zee News (possible the worst of them all) was a new program called “Halla Bol”
It is supposed to be a new 'awareness' program where they hope to enlighten and hopefully provoke the public to Raise Their Voices (Halla Bol) against supposed injustices.

Yesterday they wanted to Halla Bol against the nation’s politicians.

On the face of it and knowing how politicos are perceived in this country this should have been a relatively easy task.

However the producers had obviously not prepared well.

First the format: One you had a hyper-active main anchor in the studio with field reporters stationed in various cities around India.

After a brief lecture (tirade) against the politicians the anchor decided to go “live” to the waiting journos.

First off was a girl reporter (looking like she was barely out of school) in Bangalore surrounded by a group of about 10-15 people.

This is all in split screen format with the Studio Anchor on the left and Field Reporter on the right.

Girl Reporter: “Do you think that the politicians of this country have disgraced the country?”

Man in his 40’s (educated and obviously sane in a slow calm voice): “Now you cannot taint every one with the same brush. Why just politics, every profession has its share of corruption…”

Girl Reporter (slightly taken aback) : “ But what is happening to the country today. MP’s are being bought and sold?”

Man (still calm) : “But WE elected these MP’s didn’t we and so we can only blame ourselves not them”

Main Anchor (now very agitated and impatient) in Studio to Girl Reporter (who is very nervous and clearly out of her depth): “There are so many others standing behind you ask them, ask them” he shouts.

Girl Reporter thrusts mike in another man’s face “What you say?”

2nd Man (and this is obviously a decent neighborhood): “You know what I feel is that we need to focus on education and that is the only way we can bring about a change in…”

Anchor (who by now is almost jumping up and down and red with rage) to Girl Reporter: “Just ask all of them 1 by 1 if they agree that politicians are corrupt. Just Yes or No answer, just Yes or No” he screams.

Girl Reporter thrusts mike into 3rd Man’s face (who I suspect has done this before coz he coolly takes the mike from her hands and begins) : “ Corruption is actually the result of ….”

Livid Anchor decides that this is not going well so he tries another trick

“Ladies & gentlemen we are now crossing over LIVE to another correspondent in Delhi."

Camera feed of the startled girl in Bangalore (who is now gaping open mouthed at the camera) is abruptly cut off

Anchor "Yes. Hello….. Hello……… What can you tell us from Delhi? What do the people feel there?”

Guy Reporter in Delhi has clearly been overhearing the crazy exchange in Bangalore and who I must say, certainly deserves marks for innovation if nothing else.

Split screen reappears as the camera cuts to Guy Reporter standing alone in the dark in a deserted street with his back to a wall :

Guy Reporter: “The people here in Delhi are so fed up with corrupt politicians that they have all gone home. Back to you.”

Stunned Anchor: “We will be back after a short break… till then Halla Bol”

I personally had watched enough… didn’t bother to come back after the break…

This is what NEWS has been reduced to nowadays.
I don’t know about information but entertainment it certainly does provide.

WOW & CIAO

Love

Vish

OF COMMA's AND OTHER THINGS...


With my blog named COMMA and all that, I could not resist posting an extract of an article which appeared in the Times Of India titled COMMA SUTRA. The article is by Mr. J S Raghavan and he and TOINS retain full copyright of this (just to clear any doubts of plagiarism).

P.S. A typo (or mind-o if such a word exists) from yesterday’s blog.
As a kind (and alert) reader helpfully pointed out, Gravity is part of Physics.

I stand corrected.

Enjoy

V


COMMA SUTRA: Pause Before A Stop
22 Jul 2008, 0000 hrs IST, J S Raghavan

Ever since my schoolteacher underscored the volte-face in the gravitas of the telegram, 'Hang him not, leave him,' which was misleadingly conveyed as 'Hang him, not leave him,' the importance of commas has remained etched in my mind.

A comma, followed by a white space and never preceded by it, is akin to a momentary coma in the elongated life of a sentence. A sentence is not supposed to zip, bullet-like, towards its logical end, namely the full stop. It should have pauses in the form of colons, semicolons and commas, a comma among them allowing the writer to make it classy, by introducing a wide variety of clauses at punctuated pauses like sharp bends in a scenic railway.

A wit said a cat has claws at the end of its paws. But a comma is a pause at the end of a clause.

Without commas, a long meandering compound-complex sentence will be a simple sentence pronounced on the reader. A crafty man may pour out his love shakily thus: 'I love you, and the millions and your dad's objections do not really matter.' But the darkness of his heart would have slyly repositioned the comma thus: 'I love you and the millions, and your dad's objections do not really matter'.

Millions or no millions, feminine figures require curves to attract and bewitch. But the ones denoting numbers require commas. Millions and lakhs may remain monikerless without such markings. Karmic commas don't act tetchily like cockroaches when inverted. Instead, they serve quoting direct speeches.

There are rules that command the usage of commas before conjunctions — the word 'command' gaining portmanteau status with a 'comma' spliced with an 'and'. The Oxford comma is also known as the serial comma.

On the day my English professor explained it, his battered (Morris) Oxford had conked out. "Well, it used to be a comma," he drawled. "Now it is a full stop."

Grammarians grimly teach complex rules that govern the use of commas punctuating linguistic units like parentheses, participial clauses, adverbial sentences, apposition phrases and so forth, all dry and dreary, like cold pasta served without gravy.

The crying need, therefore, is a comically illustrative work titled 'Comma Sutra' which can nestle close to Vatsyayana's 'Kama Sutra' in a bookshelf on the simple premise that both deal with positions

Of Weekend Movies and Other Things....

The weekend’s over and as usual it was very hectic… But being the movie freak that I am, I managed to cram in 2 movies inbetween dinner invites and hosting a momo party at my place…

Kismet Konnection: The movie isnt bad but then the problem is that we have become used to a whole rash of good movies recently that something like this will not work in todays times. And esp a Rom-Com when it has no Romance or Comedy.

The first problem with KK is that the hero’s sidekick’s girlfriend is named Aditi. I agree she is a minor character but she does crop up at regular intervals and the real problem is that everytime her name is mentioned you cannot help but be reminded of Kabhi Kabhi Aditi and Jaane Tu... and everything that was good about it and as a result, everything this movie seems to lack. I am not an informed critic but I know that if you are thinking of anything else during a movie then its not a good sign at all.

The second problem is more sartorial. Again its just my perspective of things but when the hero’s hair, clothes and make-up looks better than the heroine’s then again its surefire disaster. Vidya Balan, bless her, can definitely act but she looks like some dowdy cousin from the village trying to be glam that you just don’t buy into the whole romance at all.

Shahid Kapur is the third problem…. He is an earnest actor and very likeable too but he needs to rein in his hands and that vein in his neck. Every word, every phrase every emotion is punctuated with raised shoulders and jabbing hands… We know you can act dude but does it have to show? Maybe he needs to chill and relax a little … Infact in the few scenes where he is relaxed and not gesturing animatedly, he is wonderfully belieaveable. After Jab We Met the Rom-Com bar has been raised and this movie falls way short of the mark. Not worth the watch

Wanted: Lets be clear. This movie is senseless and defies almost all laws of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Gravity. But it is such fun that you don’t have a minute to stop and think about the inconsistencies. I don’t want to spoil the fun for you by describing the movie but when the hero smacks his colleague (who is sleeping with his girlfriend) with his keyboard the letters break off and as they float out towards the camera it spells “FUCK YO U” in slow motion with U being a broken tooth. How can you not enjoy such crazy over-the-top action?

Action movies this year have done well by taking great actors in the roles so they end up adding a certain reality to the proceedings. Ironman had Robert Downey Jr., Spiderman is Tobey Maguire & in Batman apart from Christian Bale, Heath Ledger & Maggie Gyllenhall, 2 oscar winners are just playing supporting roles (Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman). Now imagine the old guard of Stallone, Van Damme & Schwarzenegger in these roles.

Wanted also has 2 Oscar winners in Freeman (again) and Anjelina Jolie. However the most impressive is James McAvoy who was previously seen in period flicks like Atonement & Last King Of Scotland. He is the anti-thesis of a superhero stereotype and and brings with him a certain 'ordinary-guy' quality that grounds this fantasy even as the kick-ass action sequences and Angie make you suspend your disbelief.
And Angie can kick ass like no other heroine I know. You Go Girl!
Definitely worth a watch.

While on Angie, you all know by now that she has delivered two more babies and she cehcked out of the hospital yesterday.

The media frenzy over her & Brad’s brood is so hyped and crazy that the following pic of them leaving the hospital was sold for hundreads of thousands of pounds. Just look at the picture. I don’t even know what to look at or for in the picture. Its just a blur.

Reminds me of the time the chewing gum that Britney chewed and threw away sold for more than $600 on EBay

And talking of odd....

Here's an ad for a ... Frankly i dont know... Guess for yourself...

Till Next time

Ciao

V

OF RANDOM THINGS....But then whats new??

Hi,

Weekend’s here and have been a little busy lately and hence haven’t had time to blog.

A few things to recommend and warn you against.

MOVIES :-

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na: I am sure most of you have watched it already and loved it too as did I. And I am not simply biased coz Imran looks like my cousin Sid. My friends already refer to Sid as Rats and for more proof you can check the collage below. However the best performance (among a host of great ones ) was by Prateik Babbar.

If you remember, he is the son of Smita Patil & Raj Babbar and considering that he does not ham his way through the movie it is quite clear his acting genes are more maternal than paternal. He is not only a splitting image of his mom he acts pretty well too. (Now imagine if he looked like his dad and worse acted him him). He gets 3 of the best written scenes in the movie and he passes with flying colours in each of them.

Whether it’s his introduction where he mocks the ‘hero’ for a) not looking good, b) being gareeb and c) singing so badly

or the sensitive scene with his screen sister where he reminds her how she’s moved on with her friends leaving him behind. He is superb in all of them.

Jaane Tu... also shows that Hindi movies are finally getting the hang of ensemble casts where the ‘hero’ does not have to dominate every scene in the movie (think Sunny Deol, think the screaming, think the dancing.... phew... stop thinking!)

Imran - Sid - Jai- Rats? Who is Who?

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic: Why am I a sucker for punishment? Why do I go for Kunal Kholi movies? Fanaa was a bad movie redeemed only by its top notch cast (honestly with Aamir & Kajol, even a reading of the phone book will be interesting) but as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, when asked to name some of the most overrrated directors in Bollywood replied “Kunal Kohli. Kunal Kohli. Kunal Kohli.”

Yet there I was in the theatre with my popcorn, trying to stay awake during this excuse for a movie. Before the release he went on record saying it is not a remake of Mary Poppins or Sound of Music..

He was correct.

It Isn’t.

But If Only…..

BOOKS:

Jeffrey Archer – Prisoner Of Birth: Inspired by and along the same lines of Alexander Dumas’ The Count Of Monte Cristo, this book is not only a racy (though predictable) read but very fun and light entertainment when you are not in the mood for heavy stuff.

Speaking of heavy, along with a magazine recently I got a small promotional booklet with excerpts of Amitav Ghosh’s new book “Sea of Poppies” and am I hooked? Looking forward to it.

You must have also heard that Salman-Don’t-Kill-Me-Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children won the 40th Anniversary Best Of Booker award. I cant comment coz I havent read it yet. I don’t know why but was never interested in reading it. Still not. Maybe Later. If any of you have read it then do feel free to write in about it.

MUSIC:

Rock On: Farhan Akhtar on the vocals is not something you expect to work but in a funny way it does.

Lyrics by papa Javed however are pretty maudlin.

Quite an enjoyable album though. Completely removed from the staple Bollywood bhangra-dholak songs.

Bollywood is indeed changing. Good for us.

Was also surfing though some other regional blogs and saw one about some expat’s visit to Saudi.

An excerpt from that for your reading pleasure is attached below….

Ciao & have a Great Day and Weekend

V

Riyadh - unforgettable moments

I flew in from Saudi this morning ...But that was the boring part..Last night, a friend picked me up to go have dinner. On the way and at one of the red lights, I saw a women sitting next to her husband in the car next to our’s. I noticed that she wasn’t wearing a seat belt but her husband did.

Me: umm.. isn't it mandatory for people to wear seatbelts here?

Friend: Yes…

Me (in a disinterested tone): this women isn't wearing hers .. her hubby will get a ticket.

Friend: naaah... he won't

Me (ok, now I am interested): Why not?

Friend: Here, if a woman is sitting in the front seat, she should not wear the seat belt.

Me: And why not?

Friend: Because if she does, the seat belt coming across her torso, will outline her boobs and the religious police might arrest both of them..

Me: (silence)

THE FAMOUS RACE OF THE RABBIT AND THE TORTOISE.
Once upon a time, a tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster. They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for sometime. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he's sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ. The hare woke up and realized that he'd lost the race.

THE MORAL "SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE"

This is the version of the story that we've all grown up with.

BUT THE STORY DOESN'T END HERE.

The hare was disappointed at losing the race and he did some soul searching. He realized that he's lost the race only because he had been overconfident, careless and lax. If he had not taken things for granted, there's no way the tortoise could have beaten him. So, he challenged the tortoise to another race. The tortoise agreed. This time, the hare went all out and ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.

The Moral : "FAST AND CONSISTENT WILL ALWAYS BEAT THE SLOW AND STEADY”

It's good to be slow and steady, but it's better to be fast and reliable.

BUT THE STORY STILL DOESN'T END HERE.

The tortoise did some thinking this time and realized that there's no way it can beat the hare in a race the way it was currently formatted. It thought for a while and then challenged the hare to another race, but on a slightly different route. The hare agreed. They started off. In keeping with his self-made commitment to be consistently fast, the hare took off and ran at top speed until he came to a broad river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometers on the other side of the river. The hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime, the tortoise trundled along, got into the river, swam to the opposite bank, continued walking and finished the race.

The Moral: "FIRST IDENTIFY YOUR CORE COMPETENCY AND THEN CHANGE THE PLAYING FIELD TO SUIT YOUR CORE COMPETENCY"

BUT THE STORY STILL HASN'T ENDED…

The hare and the tortoise, by this time, had become pretty good friends and they did some thinking together. Both realized that the last race could have been run much better. So, they decided to do the last race again, but to run as a team this time. They started off, and this time the hare carried the tortoise till the river bank. There, the tortoise took over and swam across with the hare on his back. On the opposite bank, the hare again carried the tortoise and they reached the finishingline together. They both felt a greater sense of satisfaction than they had felt earlier.

The Moral: "ITS GOOD TO BE INDIVIDUALLY BRILLIANT AND TO HAVE STRONG CORE COMPETENCIES, BUT UNLESS YOU'RE ABLE TO WORK IN A TEAM AND HARNESS EACH OTHER'S CORE COMPETENCIES, YOU'LL ALWAYS PERFORM BELOW PAR BECAUSE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SITUATIONS AT WHICH YOU'LL DO POORLY AND SOMEONE ELSE DOES WELL.

Teamwork is mainly about situational leadership, letting the person with the relevant core competency for a situation take leadership. Note that neither the hare nor the tortoise gave up after failures. The hare decided to work harder and put in more effort after his failure. The tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as hard as he could.
In life, when faced with failure, sometimes it is appropriate to work harder and put in more effort. Sometimes, it is appropriate to change strategy and try something different and sometimes it is appropriate to do both.

The hare and the tortoise also learnt another vital lesson.

When we stop competing against a rival and instead start competing against the situation, we perform far better.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED...


We have all heard elders telling us to drink in moderation(OK NOT drink is more like it), not smoke and always use sun block. Again OK, the last one is more applicable if you are in the Middle East but at least moisturizer then?

Anyway, we all also know how this advice goes whizzing past the top of our heads like water off a duck's back.

Till Reality hits us that is.

Now do you remember Jeremy Jackson from Baywatch?

He was the cute fresh faced kid who played David Hasselhoff’s son in the hormonally enhanced series. (see pics below)

Can you imagine him today?

Just look what too much booze, smokes, drugs and sun has done to him.

And to think that he is just about 25-26 years old.

WOW.

They should put 'before' and 'after' pics of him on cigarette boxes.

It is guaranteed to get anyone off smokes…

Virtually unrecognizable!

CREATIVITY & SOCIAL AWARENESS

I have been complaining about the lack of creativity in the ads here in the UAE (with some exceptions which i will reproduce next week) and this morning Samirda sent me some very creative ads on Social Awareness that were forwarded to him by his wife.

Some of the fine print maybe too small to read so i have thoughtfully (but ofcourse) re-typed them for you.

Enjoy & Enlighten.

Ciao

V

------------------------------- * -------------------------------

Title: Stop Domestic Violence

Headline: 78% of domestic abuse incidents resulting in death occur in the victim's home

Title: Stop Racism

Headline: Defend human rights against racial discrimination

Title: Feed the Children

Headline: The next time you waste food, think

Title: Encourage Adoption

Headline: Adopt. You never know who you'll bring home

Title: Save The Girl Child

Headline: Do not neglect the girl child.

Title: Parenting is by example

Headline: Children learn fast. Don't fight at home.

Title: Drive safely

Title: Child Abusive Awareness

Headline: Most child abuse is committed by the person a child trusts

Title: Save the girl child

Title: Chewing tobacco causes mouth cancer

Here's an article from the indian express about the wayward ways of the media. Very Interesting Read.

Ciao

V


Drama in real life
-Shailaja Bajpai
Here’s how a news story spins out of control in successive broadcasts

They call it the news and then make it into fiction. We know this but somehow can never quite find the clinching evidence. Well, here’s one example where first there was news and then there was a story.
Friday, CNN-IBN: A report on a young girl named Shinjini, who had participated in a reality talent contest on a regional channel and was gravely ill with a debilitating condition that had robbed her of her voice and mobility. We see Shinjini lying helpless in a hospital bed. The father of the girl said the harsh words of the judges before she was eliminated had depressed her enormously, leading to her mysterious ailment. CNN-IBN quoted a doctor in Kolkata who said that depression cannot cause such a condition and that the responsibility lay elsewhere — it is of chemical origin.

Five minutes later, Aaj Tak broadcast the same item. ‘Judges scold Shinjini’, was the first headline (the original Hindi ‘daant maari’ sounds more ominous and hard-hitting). We see Shinjini dancing during the show, lively, vibrant. Cut to the judges who look forbidding. Aaj Tak said that the judges were very harsh (only to Shinjini?). The father was quoted saying roughly what he said on CNN-IBN — that the judges had brought on the ailment. Then, Aaj Tak asked a rhetorical question: “Judges ne Laxman rekha tho nahin paar kiya?”, thereby suggesting that they had (but which ‘rekha’ is that?).

Ten minutes on, it was the turn of Star News. “Reality show ne chheen li uski awaaz”, it cried out. It repeated Shinjini’s experience on the reality show, it showed Shinjini perform on stage, cut to the same grim judge and reached the same conclusion (or should it be accusation?) — that the judges had done it to Shinjini.
We were then transported to her bedside where we saw a lady (presumably her mother) and were told by the anchor that Shinjini is being treated at Bangalore’s Nimhans Hospital. “Awaaz ghoom ho gayi hai”, is the accompanying commentary, “ek reality show ne ... kiya hai”.

The angry father spoke: Shinjini was eliminated when in tenth position. She was very depressed. He excoriates the judges and the show — programmes like this should be stopped if they cannot be conducted in the right manner. A friend (or fellow contestant) takes the stand and describes Shinjini’s hopes and dreams of an acting career. But, declares, Star News, the judges gave their verdict (“suna diya phaisla”) and it proved very costly (“bhaari padi”). One judge named Ringo replied: it’s been two months (since Shinjini was eliminated) and now they are saying we are responsible... how is it possible (or words to that effect). Star News is not listening. It returned to the helpless Shinjini: “khamosh hai Shinjini — her childhood has been snatched from her.

There you have it: a tweak here, a tweak there, and a straight report developed twists and turns. In its report, CNN-IBN did not air the views of the judges and the Hindi channels chose to believe the father without any recourse to a second opinion from the medical profession.

Nobody told us what harsh words were used by the judges to Shinjini, nor did anyone question the advisability of parents allowing children to compete in reality shows or their pressure on the youngsters to excel. And what about the nature of the ailment?
A sad and saddening account of Shinjini’s condition became a sensational story about the judges’ malevolent role. This happens to the news every day. Facts become fiction faster than a novelist could convert them.

That, possibly, explains why so many of us so often turn to sports for relief. Last week there was plenty of it — Euro soccer, Asia Cup, New Zealand-England and West Indies-Australia ODIs, Wimbledon, etc. In sports we can take the news for what it is: Spain-1, Germany-0.

A SCANDALOUS MEDIA TRIAL

Indian news channels (except maybe for NDTV24X7 & CNN-IBN) are a disgrace to journalism.

Aaj Tak keeps spending ad money to proclaim how many awards it has won and since it is in Hindi I don’t watch it much. However I did think it would be decent because, quite simply, the others in the vernacular category can, at best, be described as Tabloid. Nothing journalistic about them in anyway.

However recently, I managed to catch Aaj Tak on TV and to my horror the reportage on the Arushi murder case felt like a TV soap from Ekta Kapoor gone horrible wrong. It was filled with images of the poor girl swimming in and out of the frame and inter-cut with shots of the other ‘accused’ and horror of horrors, also with a song from Tare Zameen Par called "Tujhe Sab kuch Pata hai Maa" playing in the background.
Awards alone don’t seem to make anything respectable anymore.

And some child protection agency intervened on time or else we are also going to be subjected to a serial based on this (still unraveling) case.

Not that the Media is alone to be blamed.

It began with the UP police (who incidentally still haven’t managed to prosecute the accused in the horrible Nithari rape/sodomy/beheading/cannibalism of almost 30+ children) who began their bizarrely premature press conference with innuendo and half truths. The police version of what happened that evening was an absolute fabrication where they accused the poor girl of being caught by her father in a “objectionable but not compromising position” with the domestic help Hemraj, after which the father alleged killed her and then led the servant to the terrace to kill him there. The throats was cut with a sharp “surgical like” instrument, they helpfully added. With both parents being Doctors it wasn’t difficult to see where this was heading.

Ofcourse with the poor girl and Hemraj dead, and the only other person present there (the father Dr. Rajesh Talwar) not having confessed, the question was how did the police reach that conclusion?
The media however were too busy wiping the drool from their lips to even bother with such questions.

Then to make matters worse, the police (An IGP no less) began to leak SMS messages from her mobile as well as numbers of the boys in her school who she spoke to frequently. There was no motive behind this selective leak except to paint the poor dead girl as some kind of decadent slut.

Again the media did not question any of this and infact picked up the ‘story’ and ran gleeful stories with some channels even producing re-enactments of the sms exchange, complete with ‘actors’ hamming their way through the parts.

Obviously not satisfied with this blatant lying, the blitz of media attention led to further insinuations from the attention crazy police force.

They went further to suggest that a family friend was Dr. Talwar’s mistress. That the two worked together was the alleged proof. The daughter, the police said, did not like the affair and thus was killed by the father to hide the affair. There even a hint of wife swapping.

The IGP obviously not satisfied with lurid speculation, slander, professional ethics then went on to conclude the press conference by saying that in his view the father was “as characterless as the daughter”.

Each and every one of these allegations have been proved with time to be absolutely false yet no action has been taken. No apologies tendered. By either the police or the media.

Then the CBI took over the case and everyone watching breathed a collective sigh of relief.

A few weeks later a ‘compouder’ was arrested and subjected to lie detector and narco tests. Still nothing.

A few days ago another servant, Raj Kumar, was arrested. The CBI said he would show them where the murder weapon was and that he was the one to destroy Arushi’s mobile.

Still Nothing.

More Narco tests are being done and meanwhile the TV “News” channels are providing more ‘updates’ with even more bizarrely placed background songs.

There has to be some kind of a line between voyeurism, sensationalism, character assassination and a genuine public scrutiny. But this is difficult in an age where news has become entertainment. But who will bell the media cat?

Zee News (and I use the word very lightly here) however, took the cake ….

When Raj Kumar was being taken into custody they had a 5 second footage of him being led away which they played in a never ending loop and in slow motion with a song playing in the background…..

And guess which song it was??

Khallas from Company.

What is the connection?

GO figure....

Till next time

Ciao from me.

V

IS THAT A PICTURE IN YOUR GENES OR...


HI Again,

A very interesting thing has come to my notice and as you know, I like to share.

All of us like interesting artwork in our homes. Something that is not only unique and beautiful, but which can also be a topic of conversation.

“My Godfather bequeathed this Hussain to me” or “This is a doodle by Picasso on a napkin” etc… However not all of us are fortunate enough to have such rare and expensive works of art and the store bought ones can be, for lack of a better word, generic.

Hardly individualistic in any way.

However there is a way to be as unique with your art work as your fingerprint.

An Emarati (UAE national) has started a company where you can get portraits made of your genes.

Yes genes with a ‘G’.

Once you register at their site (www.dna-dx.com/ ) you will be sent a swab stick with which you will have to swab the inside of your mouth (kinda like they do on CSI) and send it back to them. From that they will create a portrait of your genes and print it on canvas with colours of your choice.

If you have a hair sample you can also have gene portraits made of deceased relatives and also of pets etc.

Artwork, honestly can’t come more personal than this but it does cost money. Prices start from $450 a piece. Check out the above link for more details and by the way it’s a great gift idea too.




My favourite colour is blue.

Hint. Hint.

Till next time

Ciao

V