Bangalore’s child-beggars: Maimed mannequins of Poverty Inc

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Begging professional

A few days ago, on our return from Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, an apparition of a girl of 10-11 years stood next to our car under the Metro lane in MG Road knocking on the window. Her right ear was cut off; blood was trickling down slowly from the open wound.

With vehicles in caught in a logjam, the girl had enough time to move from one car to another. Each time she passed by bikes or cars, she made sure her right ear was exposed. With the bleeding wound, she, like a ghost in dirty clothes, aroused spectres from Slumdog Millionaire. Continue reading →

Kunsthaus museum, Zurich’s art destination

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English: The Gates of Hell,1880-1917, Kunsthau...

The Gates of Hell,1880-1917, Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland

DECEMBER’s freezing temperatures do not seem to alter the plans of hordes of people and schoolchildren lining up before well-maintained museums in Zurich. One can’t help wondering that for the people of Zurich, building museums must be as routine an activity as round-the-clock road-digging is for Bangaloreans!

A Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Art Council, sponsored trip that began and ended with Swiss precision (never mind the jetlag-sponsored migraine attacks!) revealed how truly global the city of Zurich is. But first, a plunge into the supersoft bed at Hotel Sofitel, just to have everything fall in place. Continue reading →

In Bangalore, postmodern feminists know their right of way

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Feminism

Image by peterkellystudios via Flickr

We do not have a Madonna all worked up about her Blonde Ambition World Tour amid us, or a Julia Kristeva giving finishing touches to her new book on psychoanalytical theory. But when it comes to living it up every day, that feminist strand among a majority of postmodern working women in Bangalore is anything but thinning. Continue reading →

Sridevi & Madhuri can do more than removing stains & washing dishes

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Sridevi at at Neeta Lulla's show for Lakme Fas...

Long back, when Malaika Arora returned to work after her first delivery with an item number, a news channel went berserk debating a teeny-weeny stretch mark on her belly. It kept on zooming in on the almost unnoticeable line over and again. A ‘dismayed’ newscaster criticised the falling standards of Bollywood—a world where item girls and marriage cannot inhabit one sphere, much less stretch marks.

All of us know that Bollywood masala can’t do without two main spices: youth and beauty. No wonder we see Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit—two storehouses of talent that our Bollywood directors failed to exploit to the fullest—appearing in soaps, fabric conditioners, dishwashing solutions and basmati rice ads. Continue reading →

Female foeticide in India-VI: A virtual Holocaust

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Inside Asia's largest slum, Mumbai - India

By calculating the number of extra women who would have been in China or India if these countries had the same ratio of women to men as obtained in areas of the world in which they receive similar care, noted economist Amartya Sen calculated that in India alone there were 37 million ‘missing women’ already in 1986 when he did the first estimation. Continue reading →

Female foeticide in India-V: What UNICEF says…

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At the India launch of its “State of the World’s Children 2007” report in December 2006, UNICEF said 7000 fewer girls are born in India each day than the global average would suggest. Continue reading →

Female foeticide in India-IV: Are mothers killers?

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Indian family with goat in field, India

Image by World Resources via Flickr

A question that often leaves even thinking people befuddled is how a mother could kill her own baby! If we fail to fathom what actually makes a woman kill her own child or not protest when others smother it to death, the most important question is this: is it her intent? Her will? Or someone else’s? Continue reading →

Female foeticide in India-III: Swatting them like flies…

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Indian baby

Image by Zuhair Ahmad via Flickr

When and how did it all begin? Writers have drawn references from Atharva Veda, which states, “Let a female child be born somewhere else. Here, let a male child be born.” As far what Manu Shasthra says about the futility of being a woman, the less discussed the better.

Research on female foeticide in India reveals how deep-rooted misogyny is and how mechanical the killings have become. As if the traditional methods of killings weren’t efficient enough, we now have modern ultra-sound scanning machines that swat foetuses like flies. Continue reading →

Female foeticide/infanticide in India-II: Traditional methods of killing babies

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A picture of a young child

Image via Wikipedia

There have been certain traditional methods perfected through years to execute female infanticide.

Feeding the infant with paddy husk so that it fatally damages the baby’s insides. Feeding poisoned milk or sleeping pills. Drowning the baby in water or milk, smothering it with a pillow, strangling to death, burying her alive, or simply starving her to death. Continue reading →

World Tour Finals: Federer Has Work to Do on his Backhand

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Roger Federer at work at Barclays ATP World Tour. He entered his 100th final after beating David Ferrer 7-5, 6-3.

In my previous article, I wrote that Roger Federer had tweaked three things post-US open: Improved first-serve returns, clear posturing to attack the second serve and, most importantly, a more powerful backhand.

In the first semifinal against David Ferrer in Barclays ATP World Tour Finals semis, a real and stern test of the improved Federer SHB was the most discernible aspect of his game.

It is fairly safe to say that Federer has more work to do on this front. One could witness a litany of errors late in the first set which allowed Ferrer to come within two points of claiming the first set.

For the rest of the article, click here.

Pick: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Female foeticide in India-I: Murder in the womb

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Beautiful baby girl

Image by adam.declercq via Flickr

Think hard. Search every corner of your mind for words that can match this act called female foeticide. Chances are that you may not find one. Female foeticide in India is one such dark realm that words can’t enter.

Words fail because there is no way to explain how the nation continues to be in a self-congratulatory mood when 7,000 female foetuses are eliminated each day (Unicef—State of the World’s Children 2007). Worse still, there is no way to fathom how mothers are turned into killers here, and how suddenly motherly instinct seems like a multi-dimensional deception.

There were a few incidents that took place in mid-2007 that I have never been able to forget. Continue reading →

Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry: how long will it last?

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Had you been up at 1.30 am local time and warmed up yourself with the pre-match euphoria that gave a 50-50 chance to the greatest tennis rivals, you would have just empathised with Roger double-faulting at the opening point  of the match.

Nerves. That’s what it was. Continue reading →

Food before mortality

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A flood-hit woman in Bellary district, 2009. Lakhs of people starved for weeks on end. A majority of them are still homeless.

The nation debates economic expenditure on infrastructure and industrial growth threadbare, but its social expenditure on food, health, and education has been shamefully low. Amidst all this chaos, something else remains woefully neglected: the female population and their right to nutritious food.

Sifting through the shards of history isn’t enough to fathom gender bias in India. It is multi-hued, many-faced, and uniquely critical. How and where do you begin to untangle the issue? Which face do you look at? Which premise do you hold on to?

Click Prayas to read the rest of the article.

(Pic: SH)

“The Aishwarya effect”: why media forgets feats of lesser mortals?

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Indian actress Aishwarya Rai

Image via Wikipedia

This week, the media reported Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s “feat” of delivering a powerful statement: opting for a normal delivery “at a time when every fourth woman in Mumbai undergoes a Caesarean section”.

This bit of research termed “the Aishwarya effect” helped us realise this much: that the media finally found something to push this Bollywood star and millions of Indian women under one set of statistics. Continue reading →

Bachchan family’s right to privacy vs. Malegaon blast accused’s right to freedom

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Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan with wife/actre...

Image via Wikipedia

November 16, 2011 clearly defined what it means to be born in the First Family of Bollywood.

First, it begins with obsessive speculation and gossip in the media. Every movement of the pregnant star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is watched with bated breath. An unheard-of security ring thrown around the Seven Hills Hospital makes sure that the disheartened paparazzi’s desperate attempts capture only a few glimpses of the star walking into the hospital. Discussions on whether it’s going to be a baby girl or a boy or twins leave you wondering whether this modern-day fairytale has just begun! Continue reading →

The inescapable world of Barbies & Ben 10s & Tinker Bells

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Three first editions of Barbie dolls from 1959...

Image via Wikipedia

I visited an acquaintance’s a flat sometime ago and was left befuddled by the glut of branded toys and accessories showcased in a room dedicated to Barbies, Ben 10s, Hanna Montanas, Tinker Bells… Continue reading →

Roger Federer Tweaks a Bit, Conquers Basel & Paris

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There was little doubt that World No.4 Roger Federer would cinch up two back-to-back victories at Basel Open and Paris Masters. The question was how definitive and spell-binding these wins would get.

I am not sure if “the old Roger” that Tomas Berdych talked about after he lost to the Swiss maestro in the Paris Masters semifinals is back to the circuit after a long title drought. We all know how some of the younger players have beaten Roger and stripped him of that aura of invincibility that he wore like an invisible cloak every time he waltzed into the court.

To read full article on ‘Bleacher Report’, click here.

(Visit “Racquet Science” for more tennis articles).

Heart of darkness

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His body lay squashed on the bridge that connected my hometown to the rest of the world – a typical dusty Indian town that stumbles on its own follies but never rises above them.

A monstrous 10-wheeler truck had run over the doctor leaving his bloody innards entangled with those of his bike. Dr Dinakar Shetty had met with his end on the same bridge from where he dumped black plastic bags stuffed with female foetuses and newborns into the rivulet flowing under—some poisoned, some smothered, and some throbbing soft and warm. Continue reading →

Saalumarada Thimmakka, a peerless green champion

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This beautiful canopy leading to Hulikal, Saalumarada Thimmakka's village in Magadi taluk, runs at least 4 kms. These massive banyan trees were nurtured by her many decades ago. (Pic: SH)

The road that leads to Saalumarada Thimmakka’s home in Hulikal of Magadi taluk is as much a source of wonder as the destination itself. I wonder if the incredible beauty of life and its full meaning need such an encounter to shine through!

There was a specific intent behind meeting Thimmakka. We had to officially hand over the “IGBC Green Champion” award plaque which she failed to collect at the event for personal reasons. Continue reading →

Shankar Nag, the unforgettable

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It was just another lunch break on a sunny afternoon. The moment I entered home with my schoolbag slung around the shoulders, I saw my mother and sisters glued to the radio set. The fatal accident that killed Shankar Nag on the spot near Davanagere was on the national news bulletin. All were stunned. I struggled hard to hold back my tears, in vain. Continue reading →

Do we need nuke energy in a sun-blessed India?

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Solar settlement Frieburg, Germany. This town enjoys complete freedom from man-made energy. Individual homes, offices, and industrial units generate solar power on their own.

Looks like, at last, the West is waking up to impending nuclear disasters. Once reactors exploded one after another in the post-tsunami Japan, huge crowds came out with placards in Germany and told the government to “shut down” all the nuclear facilities at once.

Perhaps, it takes a tsunami to realise that nature can spike human efficiency at its absolute best with just a whim.

A life without nuclear energy may sound near-impossible right now. Yet, Germans can take heart, or indeed, be proud of the shining example they have set in their own backyard: Freiburg. Continue reading →

Sad! Man-made rainforests are no match to natural ones

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How easy it is to replicate iPhones, high-definition LED TVs, or indestructible mobile phones! And how silly of us to think that we can first bring down rainforests and then replace them with new ones by planting only a few species of trees with axes and shovels! Continue reading →

An epic tale called Saalumarada Thimmaka

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Saalumarada Thimmakka (Pic: SH)

Rarely do we leave the world richer while dealing with an emptiness within.

A childless couple, instead of brooding over what life has not given, leaves behind a living green heritage this world had never heard of. Continue reading →

Vegetarian? Call yourself “eco-warrior”!

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Despite my eco-sensibilities, I am not sure if my carbon footprint is so low that I can brag about it. Until I opt for public transport regularly, stop using the geyser for heating water, and grow my own food, I will remain a major source of carbon emission on the face of this earth. That’s for sure.

However, Continue reading →

Should our kids do 4 yrs of schooling before they turn 6?

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“There are no leaves in this tree. It still looks so beautiful, no?”
It’s difficult to imagine a three-and-a-half-year-old girl capturing the beauty of a bare winter tree in so many words and appreciating it while stressing the word “still”. This tree, spreading itself against the setting sun, was just enough for my little girl to be closer to nature for a moment and be one with it with all her being. Continue reading →

The end of Persian wheel.

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When I wrote about Persian wheel recently, the headline carried a question mark.

That’s because the wheel was still turning somewhere, keeping a fiction of hope alive. That the last surviving Persian wheel in Kolar in Karnataka would somehow clatter along. That it would somehow continue to draw water slowly while leaving the groundwater table unharmed. That it would continue to remind us that the secret of a water-secure future lies a simple realisation that we have to respect the bountiful Mother Earth as much as we enjoy her generosity.But this time, it’s a full stop.

Continue reading →

Why democracy and the right to dissent are inseparable

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In India, those who express dissent against any popular opinion/views get labeled “cynical”, or even “anti-national”—be it the Anna Hazare movement or plebiscite for Kashmir. We often forget democracy is dialectical, and must arrive at the truth through exchange of logical arguments. Continue reading →

Deepavali: silent diyas vs. deafening firecrackers

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I read it recently that firecracker sales in India have dipped by 30-40%. One of the reasons is the rising manufacturing costs that have pushed prices by 25-30%.

Isn’t that hard to believe?   Continue reading →

Fading Glory: Can Roger Federer’s Career Still End on a High?

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When Roger Federer‘s ATP ranking slipped to No.4 recently, it kicked off yet another “write-off-Roger” season.

There have been quite a few of those already.

Back in 2008, Mats Wilander had prophesied that Roger would never equal Pete Sampras’s 14 grand slams. No wonder a majority of tennis experts kept him out of the pre-French Open buzz this year.

To read full article on ‘Bleacher Report’, click here.

Can Bangalore afford private penthouse swimming pools?

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For the last few days, I have been seeing some real estate ads in newspapers with lavish display of a massive swimming pool inside the club house, with a promise of private swimming pools for penthouses!

It’s not about criticising the idea of luxury. All of us want to succeed in life and live luxuriously.

But where is water for all this? Any idea how many Continue reading →