Heal Ad(d)ipose

A few days back my g-chat status message read - If fat people lost some weight, we would have not only have more space in local trains, it would also be beneficial for them as they would be healthier.
This got me into a heated argument with my friend as she tried to 'logically' convince me that an individual in 'our' country had a choice to remain fat. Two other plump friends of mine too opposed my status message. Our conversation was interesting and ironic, I must say. She being THIN (on the verge of anorexic), argues for the fat people...posting our chat.

Also, please make sure you read Freakonomics fame guy Levitt's post titled To Fight Global Warming We Must Tax All Recreational Exercise

me: well, maybe.. i understand if someone is fat because of a health problem, i acutally know some like that bt there are ppl who are just fat, without any reason and research has indicated that it dulls the brain so basically, its good if they actually reducve maybe they consume more oxygen etc etc
her: yeah but with some ppl, they try and try and it doesnt work its in their genes and also, its a free country
me: yeah, so health problem like i said, i understand bt its frustrating to see ppl who can lose eight, remain fat.
her: if they want to be fat and have no problems with it, then its their choice and we shd just accept that

me: i know its tough to differentatiate, bt atlesat they can try.
her: you cant force a fat person to lose weight
me: ok they can be fat, but dont occupy so much of space then. how do the eu countries do it? its better for their health too na its nt u are asking them to commit suicide.
her: well that's patronising. you cant force someone to be concerned abt their own health. In that case you shd have some ban on chocolates and cigarettes and alcohol
me: applying that logic, u cant force anyone to do anything.
her: no you cant
me: no ... they just need to keep a check
her : but that's their choice. maybe they like being fat. they may be well aware of the associated problems with it, but they choose to live with those problems, whatever that may be.. thats an informed choice that they make. just like a person makes a choice to smoke depsite reading the instruction on the packet , and chooses to drink. you cant force them to lose weight or not smoke or not drink
me: my point, keep ur choices at a pvt level..dont make it affect others.. if u smoke..and it affects me, i think i shld have the right to tell that other that he is killing me. he can smoke in his own quarters and i care a damn similarly, be fat, i am not bothered. bt if u wanna travel in locals and occupy gen space, then lose weight, i mean, u have limited space ya
her: so you're proposing some kind of weight bar for ppl to travel on local trains?
me: yeah it'l help for sure on an avg ther are like 10 fat females everyday in each compartment of the train imagine the numebr of trains running and imagine the number of fat ppl!
her: so?me: there wld be what a maaax 10 percent health related issue...her: you shd be asking for more trains then me: the rest are fat becuase they choose to be..
me: thats nt possible why imcrease imfrastructure at some ppl's cost! maybe they can have a special train for fat ppl
her: yeah so basically it boils down to improving the infrastructure rather than denying a person something simply becasue they are fat

me: yeah maybe, so fat ppl shld be charged extra fees
her: and even if you put a weight bar (which i dont agree with in the firs place) how do you think you're going to differentiate bw persons who are fat because they dont have a choice, ppl having some health problem and the rest fo the fat ppl
me: well, a flimsy solution: a health certificate and maybe they shld have a weighing machine at the ticket coubnter... the railway ppl are quite efficient here u know. public transport is quite impressive..
her: okay so everytime you want to go from andheri to colaba, you have to show a health certificate yeah i'm sure itis
me: so it can be a small paper na just like u have ur i card... u can have a health i card. which u renew every pd.

her: which says that I'm fat becuase i dont have a choice, so pls dont discriminate

me: correct.
her: do you realise that you're just adding to another kind of discrimination ? dont we enough already

me: bt fat is not good heatlh wise. eventually this is for the greater goood.

My ten day trip to J&K

(Pics will be posted soon)
Quaint is the first word that came to my mind to describe the scenery as my train chugged along from Delhi to Jammu Tawi. As I set foot at the Jammu Tawi station, I was immediately reminded of smaller towns that I had been to earlier.
The station was small, but clean with tourists and porters scattered about. I was already in awe of the city, full of anticipation, as I didn’t know what to expect. Till then Delhi had been the farthest I had been to.
We had our cars waiting as we got out of the station and I had the pleasure of riding in a jeep, sitting behind. We didn’t stay in the main city of Jammu. Situated at the outskirts and on the Srinagar highway, is this seemingly developing area called Greater Kailash, which is where we lived for the next 5 days.
We were a group of four and had gone to Jammu to attend a wedding (from the girl’s side). An elaborate occasion, the affair is generally a 3 day event in itself, after which the reception is hosted.
Snow in Jammu is quite rare. A few of the localities even said that it never snows in Jammu. Quite often, I’ve noticed tourists are ill informed about the geography of these locations. Jammu precedes Kashmir and it is the latter that receives snow. Also around this time, the capital of J&K is shifted to Srinagar.

The wedding
Day one was the Mehendi raat, which starts only around evenings. So if you reach well in advance, it is advisable for you to explore the city and finish your shopping as fast as possible. Being the first function prior the wedding, this is the most ‘hep and happening’ events. The bride is made to sit and Mehendi is applied to her hands and feet. After which, mehendis are applied to her sidekicks (in this case, it was just me) as well. (pretty good quality – there is still a trace of it) A few members from the groom’s side make an appearance and are made to dance and fed forcefully by the bride’s relatives.
I must make a specific mention of the dance. It’s not the usual disco dance or any of the other sleazy stuff that you watch in movies, It is quite traditional where a group of musicians come to the venue and play tunes of folklore. One from the group dresses up as a woman and dances and also makes other people dance to the tunes. This is done both by the groom’s and bride’s side as well.
Then a few members from the girl’s side make their appearance at the groom’s. (I was caught this time and asked to accompany my friend – his sister was the bride). According to tradition, we were supposed to bring food from their house for the bride. She was to eat only that food. (In our case, the bride was hungry, so she gobbled up/was fed her own food)
The night ends there.

Day two is termed Devgun, which is supposedly more or less a wedding in itself, marking the transformation of the girl into a woman. A pujari comes to the venue and perfoms poojas and chants verses in Kashmiri. (They sounded more like Sanskrit to me)
Kashmiri woman do not wear a mangalsutra. They have a thread-like ornament that they let down form both their ears, pretty much like golden danglers. This is only when the groom is Kashmiri himself.
On the day of the Devgun, the bride is made to wear these danglers and for some reason, her hair is parted in two ways and two ponies are tied. (I do not know how it goes for a girl with short hair) The function usually lasts for some three to four hours.
The rest of the day is pretty much relaxed, but the night time is party time where you have merriment galore with dancing and drinking.

Day three marks the actual wedding and the most exhausting day for the couple, more so for the bride as she is required to make back and forth trips form her house to the groom’s house.
The wedding muhurt was sometime around afternoon, so the bride’s day kicked off at some 6 am. She had to get dressed at home initially as it required wearing a traditional head garb. She then scuttles to the parlour to turn herself into the pretty swan and taken to the venue of the wedding.
At the venue the girl’s side waits patiently for the baraat to arrive. (The groom, most importantly) It is at this time that the shows are supposed to be stolen and returned to the groom in exchange of money. (Some kind of good luck)
The wedding is again an affair that lasts for a few hours after which the couple is transferred to the guy’s s house along with a few of the bride’s relatives, the day when she actually married and belongs to another family. This is called the Vidai.

We had had nothing lined up for the following day. So me and a few friends left on an unplanned trip to this place called Patnitop. We stayed the night at a hotel. Our rooms overlooked the scenic landscape of J&K with mountains on all sides. It was quite chilly at this time of the year (hill station – what do you expect!) None of us had any sweaters. We returned the next day after an unsuccessful trip to the Vaishnodevi temple of which I shall spare you the details.
But I guess the deity was on our side. We were lucky enough to get a very good darshan the next day. (Had to pull strings!)
Sadly one of the receptions had to get cancelled owing to the demise of a close relative, but the other, hosted by the groom’s side, was quite nice.
The cuisine during the entire wedding was constant and I am not someone who relishes Kashmiri food. So my staple diet during the whole week was Rajma chawal :-). I have no clue about the non-veg items, but I hear mutton is quite the favoured item on the menu.
Veg food is quite oily, but you get to have an unusual item, the lotus stem. Otherwise its huge paneer pieces and the dum aloo offered with naan and rice.
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I have to say this trip was more religious for me than anything else. I had to fly to Chennai before heading to Jammu and it so happened that I passed Tirupati on my way..:) It's almost as if the Gods are beckoning to me...

Some cruel joke

It was some childish impulse ... I had a wish...years ago..just like any of you guys..I hoped and therefore I prayed.. My mom used to tell me, God always listens to you when you are a kid.. and so I wished, and he would always grant me those wishes.. But not this one- he didn't..not then atleast...
Today..he seems to have..I guess thethe timing between heaven and earth doesn't match..Maybe he just saw that grant list now..
Some childish wish...and now I pay...

Review of Race

All characters are thankfully purely fictional and any resemblance to ANY of the characters should be dead by now

I would like to thank Vodafone for its Tuesday service of offering one ticket free on one. This has made me waste only a total of Rs 50 on the movie.

I saw Race yesterday, quite a disaster from what I thought when I caught the promos. A total waste of time, the movie generates no thrill from the begin to the finish. With hardly any steamy scenes too, the movie fails to generate any publicity too,not even a bad one!

Another one of Abbas Mustan's streotype thrillers, Race is a close and a terrible copy of their own 'Ajnabee', the common thread being Bipasha Basu.. so in this movie she plays the good girl, while in that one she played the 'villi'. The only good thing in the movie I think is Saif, whose looks are above average. Don't be fooled in by the 'Zara Zara' steamy number you see on TV. It is SO NOT steamy on the big screen! On the contrary, Kaif looks quite plump (although that may attract a few of you there!). Akshaye Khanna is no fun in the movie and Sameera Reddy's job could have done better by the foreign chick who plays Javed Jaffrey's muse in 'Salaam Namaste'. The worst is Anil Kapoor, who makes the worssht jokes, acutally he sounds like a poor (read cheap) imitation of cool dude Rajnikanth!!( Oh, I did laugh once... remember the Pehli Nazar love song, Akshaye Khanna sings it..that's a riot, its shaped up to be quite an unusual love song!!)

For those who wish to catch the movie even now, I'd recommend youtube, its already up there. If not, try to catch it on DVD. But if you really insist on seeing the horror flick asap on the big screen, then GOD, save your soul!!

Enjoy the flick ;)

My weird take on Lord Rama

I seem to be into philosophy and mythology these days. This, I assume, is an effect of reading Shashi Tharoor's Riot. I highly recommend the book for those who haven't yet read his works.

A thought that crossed my mind recently was about the curious incidents that took place post Ravana's defeat. If you are into mythology, I am sure you would know of the agni pariksha. You would also have, no doubt, heard about the earth swallowing Sita.

Lord Rama, according to me, was a mere human. To me, he performed no extraordinary feat in his life. And it is this human tendency, I feel, that gave rise to his 'inferiority complex'. I mean, how else would you explain Lord Rama doubting his own wife, not once..but twice!

Actually, I have another kinky thought - What id Ravana, King of Lanka, was actually good looking? What if he was actually the most handsome person on earth at that point of time? Maybe that is why Lord Rama developed an inferiority complex in the first place?... Maybe Lord Rama wasn't really good looking?

Many people in our society follow everything blindly and many are quite illogical. People, as you might have seen yourself, tend to believe that because a character is flawed (in this case, Ravana) he has to be bad/gory looking...which I personally think might be an illusion. I have heard of people saying that he is a rakshasa.. but hey...can't you have good looking/ cute looking rakshasas?!!

just a thought..:)

Convocation- Sep 23, 2007

It's another short trip home and another unplanned trip, but I guess an exciting day in a journalist's life...

I think right now, what I am suffering from is halfway trouble...that of a partial journalist and that of an incomplete economist....

I am in Chennai to attend my convocation, incidentally the first for our college. In retrospect, I wouldn't say I year for college life. I do have good memories, but I pass that off as a phase in every one's life.
This was a different convocation..to be amidst great people is one...to be among media's favourites is another..and most important, to be captured in the same frame as them...is what makes it an interesting..enriching(perhaps) experience.

I received my certificate from none other than my chairman, Dr Rangarajan and also shared some space with none other than Dr YV Reddy..partially proud to say that there was also a group snap with him. (I shall be uploading the snaps as soon as I receive them)

As a student, I have always been curious as to how the economy works etc etc..and while studying to be a post graduate in economics, my professors further kindled my interest...and now when I feel I am in perhaps one of the best professions wherein I can use my learning and maybe undo some of it:), which is when say I would need say guidance9for lack of a better word)...from superiors such as the above I have mentioned....
But they shy away from people who are curious to know more.....the press is but a facilitator here....It is indeed sad that they are unable to differentiate people...

I write this post with a sense of pride..as I am a part of an institution that is associated with great names..although at the same time, I am slightly disheartened at their lack of participation.....

Yeh hai Mumbai...

I thought of writing much earlier, my contract forbid me to do it. As a journalist, you are bound by a contract that asks you not to produce articles outside the realm of your organisation.And I have been doing exactly that, adhering to it and well, hardly writing anything. Although recently, I made a jump and since I am yet to formally sign the contract, technically, I still got my blogger freedom:).
Sadly though I do not have A particular issue to write about.
I could tell you about Mumbai, the city that is so not fast..It is just that the people have to travel huge distances owing to the high rents. It's one of the dirtiest cities I have ever been to and horribly expensive! Given my journalist income, I am going to find it slightly difficult to save up.
A movie costs you around Rs 120 except sometimes, when you choose to go for a morning show, where the tickets cost you Rs 70. Since I come from Chennai, these rates do sound huge.
I am reminded of my theories I learnt in my economics course:As the quantity demanded of a commodity goes up, the price for the same comes down... I'm sure the exact opposite applies for 'movies' as a product.
Say you have 4 theaters, location remaining constant and say you have X people demanding it at time i. The 'X' tends to increase when more and more people demand for movies. Now say, the number of theaters also goes up. Ideally, wouldn't the tickets for the new theaters be priced in such a way that it attract more customers (read lower prices) and wouldn't therefore, theathers in the locality follow suit and lower prices to remain in competition? (I would like it if you put forth your views in the comment space.)
Another puzzle rattling my brain: why do small time shop keepers that do really well, choose to remain small in terms of infrastructure? Like for example, take a bakery that has existed in a locality for a few years. It has a small kitchen that has a large oven and say a manpower of 5 people. Over time, the bakery is famous and thus recognised because of its quality of products. Thus, the quantity demanded of its products goes up. Ideally, as they would have more customers to handle, they could go in for larger room with better infrastructure facilities. But more often than not, they choose to remain in the same location catering also to the additional number of customers. I fail to understand the logic behind the same.
Dirty Mumbai city: I am sorry aren't the civic authorities doing anything about the cleanliness of the city? Allocating people towards such activities would, apart from keeping the city clean, provide employment opportunities for many. (Believe me, this city is that dirty!)
ok, that's about all I have from here. Comments most awaited.
Thank you:)