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Best of AnthoBLOGy • Unripe
Revolution |
Computing, Libraries, Tennis, India & other interests of Vikas Kamat
| Mumbai and Bombay |  | ||
| Mumbai and Bombay It is understandable that the media had to explain that the two names refer to the same city over and over again during the recent crisis. In the year 1996 (that was 12 years ago) the name has been officially changed to Mumbai. But for a large segment of India, the city was always Mumbai, and Bombayites have always been Mumbaikars, even before the official naming. I have a funny story to tell about that. When I was in the 5th grade (year 1976), we had a English lesson in which a boy goes to Bombay. But during the discussions and even prose reading, some classmates pronounced "Bombay" as "Mumbai". It was funny, but we never thought much about that. Imagine writing "Bombay", but reading it as "Mumbai" ! With that background, I am really ticked off when I run into some snobs at desi parties who will proudly say "I am from Bombay, not from Mumbai". These people somehow think that referring to the city by the old name of Bombay will bring the romance of the British Raj back. It won't. It only makes you look like a good house Negro. This entry was prompted by Mihir Bose of BBC, who writes among other things, "It is a city I shall always call Bombay and the one where I grew up." Mr. Bose, please do refer to the city as Mumbai in the future, especially when you are practicing journalism. Otherwise we'll have to call you unpleasant names. BTW, good house Negro refers to the slaves who compromised on their values and character and enjoyed special privileges among the owners. They were despised by the hard working field slaves.
The Name Bombay as a Sign of Slavery of India When I took my wife to show the statue of Queen Victoria in Bangalore (I know, you got me not writing as Bengaluru. But that's not the point. If you refer to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus as Victoria Terminus or VT, that is not insulting anybody), she was appalled. She said that after Korea became free, the Koreans proudly destroyed remnants of all Japanese occupation because they found the buildings insulting, and reminded of oppression. I tried to explain to her that Indians are much more sophisticated and that tearing down old relics is not necessary to move the civilization forward. But it deeply hurt me that Indians are not nationalistic. In the name of tolerance and acceptance, we've let our identity diluted. I don't believe that every building and city be renamed to an Indian name, but Mumbai definitely was a different case. See Also: The Trouble with Indian Names -- Most Indians know when to use the Indian
proper noun, and when to use the anglicized name. No Indian (other than a good
house Negro) will say "I am going to cleanse my sins in the Ganges", the
appropriate proper noun is to use the name "Ganga". In other words, one can use both the names of Mumbai or Bombay, as long as one is sensitive and knowledgeable enough to use them correctly.
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| Who is Deccan Mujahidden? | | ||
| Who is the Deccan Mujahidden? BBC: Mumbai Attacked A group called "Deccan Mujahiddeen" has claimed responsibility. Nobody knows who they are, but the name and some background gives some pointers. Deccan is Southern Plain of India. It was ruled by several Islamic rulers in the course of history. Deccan Mujahiddeen means "Strugglers of South India" Over the last two years, many readers and friends from pockets of South India have privately told me of the increase in suspicious activities in Muslim neighborhoods. Of course, I didn't have any proof that the activities were anti-social, and I attributed such complaints to the deep distrust among Hindus and Muslims. I did have some hints though. Last year as we drove though a forest, the local driver told us of a Islamic target practice center. I thought that if it is such a common knowledge, something's was being done by the authorities about that anyway. Earlier this year, I tried to photograph some young students on way to a Madrassah, and was told that the youngsters had been advised not to part with identifiable information such as their names or pose for photographs. To me it seemed incredible that village kids would know about such sophisticated privacy matter. It was obvious that there was a bigger hand in the running of the school. The Mumbai attacks are bad news for Muslims of India, who are mostly poor and underprivileged. It is truly unfortunate, because they get branded. My guess is that Deccan Mujahidden is a loose group of Indian domestic volunteers who feel bonded to the Al-Qaeda movement. It is hard to fathom that these were engineered from outside of India as claimed by some sources (including the Indian Prime-minister), but it is obvious that they had training or funding from a sophesticated godfather -- either the Indian Mafia, or the Al-Qaeda or both.
• Old Picture of Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay • Muslims of India • Taj Mahal Hotel and the Gateway of India • Pictures of Bombay
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| Bharat Ratna for Bhimsen Joshi | | ||
 Hindustani classical vocalist Bhimsen Joshi has been awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna. I am told that he is only the second person from the state of Karnataka to get this honor, ther other being M. Vishveshwariah. Congratulations Bhimsenji, and thank you for showing us glimpses of heaven all these years! See Also:
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| Saturday Updates | | ||
| Rare Jamini Roy Painting on Auction Jamini Roy/Quinn's Auction Galleries Click for Auction Details. This one has no reserve! Apparently, someone bought it at an estate sale in Washington DC about 10-12 yrs ago and had no idea of its value. The frame is a 1960s frame and the piece is painted on a pink colored cardboard, can"t tell if the cardboard itself is pink or if there was some kind of applied coating to it. See Also: Jamini Roy
T.M.A. Pai Award for Amma Amma is in Manipal to accept an award given by T.M.A. Pai Foundation. Picture Courtesy: Hemanath Padubidri/Daijiworld Link to Report at DaijiWorld.com
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| Saturday Notes | | ||
| Gorgeous Autumn is Here Birmingham is full of red and yellow fall colors, and it is a wonderful to drive around the town.
Leave Sarah Palin Alone New York Times: Sarah Palin is calling accusations against her are "cruel and its mean-spirited, its immature, its unprofessional... It is not fair and not right." I agree. That's why when her campaign started calling Obama as a terrorist, a socialist, it was cruel and mean spirited. Anyway, leave her alone guys. She still is the Governor of Alaska and has a job to do.
Alabama beats LSU at Tiger Stadium How 'bout them Roll Tide?! Living up to the #1 ranking, Alabama wins 27-21 in overtime
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| Notes on Begging in India | | ||
| Hazel Kahan of Tidings Program at WPKN
interviewed me about the Beggers of India. (big quicktime download). In the
limited time, I had to struggle to explain that begging is not a simple
profession, but rather a complex issue involving problems of poverty on one
side, and the ideology of conquering of ego via self humiliation on the other
side. I tried to explain the complexity of begging writer S.L. Bhyrappa
narrated so non-chalantly in his autobiography, Bhitti. What is stunning to me is the large number of Indian people and bloggers who have a one sided opinion of beggars and of begging. I explained to Ms. Kahan that the beggar and the donor (in the Indian context) indeed have a symbiotic relationship. The beggars actually help the donors atone for the sins they committed against fellow humans, and are helping secure an good after-life. Some more notes on Beggars and Begging © K.L.Kamat This gentleman was a regular householder. He has a shop, a family and doesn't need to beg for money. Except that he made a promise to the Lord at one time of difficulty that should he survive the crisis, he'd beg on the first Saturday of every month. So on the 1st Saturdays, he doesn't eat at home, but only consumes whatever alms he can gather via begging. That's part of his devotion. The photograph below shows the begging ritual practiced in India.The young understudy or monk is taught how to beg for food, and taught to honor whatever is given. © K.L.Kamat BTW, that's me in the picture. "Bhavati Bhikshandeshi" I begged and got some 300 bucks (year 1976). The Gypsies will say that moving from place to place and sometimes begging is part of their being and their culture. They have resisted rehabilitation. My father (and I do too) feels that we cannot impose our value system on their culture without causing social turmoil. At the end of the program, the host asks "Isn't a person free to choose a profession? Aren't beggars self-sufficient?" They don't rely on tax-payers for their living.
See Also: The Begging Profession of India
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| Remembering 'Rajni' Tendulkar | | ||
| Remembering Rajni I came across a autographed picture of Vijay Tendulkar and remembered his daughter Priya Tendulkar -- the star of my first favorite TV serial. I looked up on her, and was shocked to learn that she passed away some years ago. I do not know if Priya became an activist because of her role in the series or vice versa. But in the tumultuous years of 1980s, Rajni, the housewife character Priya played, tried to solve India's problems in her own small ways and it appealed very much to me. I eagerly looked forward to seeing the next episode on my neighbor's TV in Mysore. I'm told that she lived with Ananth Nag but they didn't marry. Eventually she married Karan Razdan and was estranged from him. She had such a spritely personality! Her untimely death made me sad. Link to Priya Tendulkar on Wikipedia
Kamat.com is NOT a source of Stock Photos Many have written asking if that was me in the picture in Prajavani supplement.
Yes, that is me on the left. No, they didn't ask our permission to publish it, nor did they credit the photographer, my uncle Gajanan Kamat.
Obituary: Kamalakar Desai I mourn the passing of Kamalakar Desai, my grand uncle, in the town of Kalasa. I mostly knew him as the brother of my grandma, but he was related to me in numerous ways due to the complicated inter-marriages.
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| Back in the Update Mood | | ||
By popular demand, I have decided to blog more often. So please visit this page often.  This article in STLToday says everything I wanted to say about the upcoming US elections. McCain's a great man, but at the end he was unable to carry his ideas to victory, and had to depend on the spiteful conservatives. That effort diluted his candidacy.
Song of the day: Pankh Hote To... sung by Lata Mangeshkar in 1963.
Submissions to are open again. If you have a India related blog, please consider listing it (Free Signup is required).
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| Indian Crow, Cricket Match, Sarah Palin, Mayawati | | ||
 In an Indian school, the English teacher gave a hint about a forthcoming test. "I might ask you to write an essay about an animal or a bird", she said. So this student Raju, prepared to write about the Indian Crow, collected material for the essay, practiced it for retention, was ready for the test. It went something like this: The Indian Crow The Indian Crow (Corvus splendens), also known as the House Crow is a common bird found in India. It is between the Jackdaw and the Carrion Crow in size (40 cm in length) but is relatively slimmer than either. The forehead, crown, throat and upper breast are a richly glossed black, whilst the neck and breast are a lighter grey-brown in color. The wings, tail and legs are black. There are regional variations in the thickness of the bill and the depth of color in areas of the plumage. Unfortunately, during the test, the teacher changed the topic of the essay -- the students were asked to write about a "Cricket Match". Raju wrote. The Cricket MatchThere was a Cricket Macth going on. There was a tree nearby, on which was sitting an Indian Crow. The Indian Crow (Corvus splendens), also known as the House Crow is a common bird found in India. It is between the Jackdaw and the Carrion Crow in size (40 cm in length) but is relatively slimmer than either. The forehead, crown, throat and upper breast are a richly glossed black, whilst the neck and breast are a lighter grey-brown in color. The wings, tail and legs are black. There are regional variations in the thickness of the bill and the depth of color in areas of the plumage. That's the feeling I get listening to Sarah Palin. No matter what she is asked, she gives the same convoluted answer about freedom and government and not blinking, that makes poor sense. Salon: Sentences of Sarah Palin The problem with Sarah Palin is not that she is a woman. The problem is that she is too ordinary, incapable of comprehending or articulating complex ideas. Of course, that is my opinion based on what I have seen and read -- I feel the same way about Mayawati. Since when being ordinary is a leadership skill? As much as the media is complaining about unavailability of Palin, they are also not covering the Joe Biden well. What do we know of him?
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| My Two Cents on the Economy | | ||
| Everybody seem to have an opinion on the economy, and here's mine. I am against the bailout. It is ridiculous that the same people who where against the Hillary Clinton's idea of bailing out common people from their mortgage burdens are the people who suddenly want to solve the crisis in a week. I say do nothing in a haste. Let the next president deal with the crisis -- after all this mess didn't start today. And what nobody is mentioning is the role and cost of the two wars USA is fighting (one of them senseless, unnecessary, and even immoral) on the economy. I have no doubt that we would have weathered the crisis because we would be strong to absorb the shock and turbulence had we not been stretched thin by the cost of the war.
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