We are indeed different

“We are brothers and sisters and should not be killing each other. Let’s hold some candles and kiss each other”. That was the slogan of the peaceniks who thought that with some people to people contact, (as opposed to terrorist to armed forces contact), there would be peace between India and Pakistan. They tried many tricks, like lighting candles in the border (sometimes forgetting to take the candle) and getting a Pakistani actress to kiss an Indian actor.
But looks like we are not made of the same material. This was revealed by none other than the symbol of Indo-Pak make out activity, actress Meera

Pakistani film actress Meera, who last year created flutters in Bollywood with her hot kissing scenes in film “Nazar”, has done a volte-face regarding screening of Indian films in Pakistan, saying that the Bollywood films should not be shown in Pakistan because Indians had a “different culture and mindset” than the Muslims.
Vehemently opposing bringing Indian films to Pakistani cinemas, she said it should “never” happen.
“India has a different culture, Indians have a different mind-set and Indian movies should not be screened in Pakistan. We should produce our own movies. We are Muslims and we have to make films that depict our own culture,” the Daily Times quoted the film actress as saying. [‘Muslim’ Meera does a volte-face, backs Bollywood ban in Pak]

At this point, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Amir Khan should have told her – hey we are Muslims too!
But then you are a product of your upbringing. You have to see what is taught in schools there to see how brainwashed people are. Note that these are not madrassa books, but the ones approved by the Govt. of our friend P. Musharraf.

* The Hindus treated the ancient population of the Indus Valley very badly. They set fire to their houses and butchered them.
* The religion of Hindus did not teach them good things, Hindus did not respect women.
* The Hindu has always been an enemy of Islam. [Hindu, Enemy Of Islam]

Next time these candlewallahs go to Pakistan for some good kabab and curry, can they address these fundamental issues which mould the thinking of an entire generation.

Shah Jahan runs ASI

The Archaeological Survey of India is doing a great job with the financial constraints they have. But once in a while they do something which makes you want to bang your head on a nearby archaeological structure. One such incident came to light when we found from whom the ASI takes instructions — Emperor Shah Jahan. The fact that the emperor has become fossil fuel hundreds of years back has no effect on the ASI. They dare not violate one of his orders, for what if he comes out of the grave.
The issue is regarding the pay for the Imam who takes care of the mosque in the precints of Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan had fixed it at 15 gold ‘asharfis’ about four hundred years back. Now after adjusting for the new currency and inflation, the ASI has come up with an amount which should provide him with a posh life — Rs. 15. Yes, he gets fifteen rupees which is the amount an auto driver would charge you in Chennai if you looked at his vehicle.

“The salary of the Imam was fixed in accordance with the spirit of the Mughal ‘firman’ (rules), issued by Shah Jahan, who had fixed it at 15 coins,” said an ASI official.
“What else can we do, we are bound by the will of the emperor,” the official told IANS over telephone from Agra.
Ironically, a peon appointed by the government to assist the Imam, receives a monthly salary of more than Rs.5,000.[For ASI, 15 Mughal gold coins and Rs 15 are same]

Someone gotta break the news, gently, to the ASI official that the emperor is not going to strike back.

Clean water in Tamil Nadu

If you have lived in Chennai, you know the problems with water supply. Due to scarcity in supply, people are forced to buy water from private tanker suppliers who just pump water from some river, lake, or some place you don’t want to know. This water is not treated and is directly sold to the consumer. So long as they do not see any corpses, body parts or dead insects people are happy. In other places people are getting water from borewells and it has its own issues.

Residents of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board Colony, Korattur, have tried to boil the water for drinking. Says G. Janaki, “I boiled the water and allow the sediments to settle at the bottom so that it can be used for cooking. But, it has a metallic taste and an oily substance floats on surface. Vegetables cooked in the water turn dark and unappetizing.”[ It’s no cola, it’s the water supplied in Korattur]

Since everyone is busy trying to establish that Coke has pesticides, impurities in water which is used by all Indians is of no importance. Water is not a good cause to fight for since you cannot shutdown multinationals, shout anti-imperialist slogans and destroy public property. But atleast one town has found an alternative

Factories and homes in one Tamil Nadu town have clean, reliable water supplies for the first time thanks a new private sector plant, but while industrialists are happy, consumer groups are worried.
State-backed, but majority owned by private firms and investors, the water treatment and delivery plant in Tirupur is the first of its kind in a country where almost half the urban population and 87 percent of rural dwellers live without running water.
The plant is operated by Mahindra Water Utilities, a 50-50 joint venture of Mahindra Infrastructure Developers and Britain’s United Utilities. It pumps treated supplies 53 kilometres from the Bhavani river to the nation’s T-shirt capital, Tirupur, source of most Indian knitwear exports.
Before the 10.25-billion-rupees project was completed two months ago, private tanker trucks provided the water, untreated, straight from the river or from wells.[Pioneer private water provider makes waves in India via Globalization Institute]

Since it benefits people, the Left has included it in the issues for it’s national strike.

The protestors will also raise the issues of privatisation of water and power.[Nationwide strike by Left unions tomorrow]

Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your health.

Movie Review: The Motorcycle Diaries

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna. Directed by Walter Salles
Soon after they leave Alta Garcia, Argentina, on a motorcycle for their trip across South America in 1951, Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna, a medical student and Alberto Granado, a biochemist hit a dog and fall off the bike. Ernesto chides his friend and takes proper care of the dog. Later, completely broke, they reach a town and con two women in a restaurant to order them food and wine and get their father to repair their broken bike. They visit a newspaper office and get an article printed that both of them are expert doctors curing leprosy and then use that newspaper article to get people to do favors for them. They hitch rides, seduce women, hunt animals and convince strangers to provide them lodging.
But what started as a fun filled trip changed both men at the end. Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna, the asthmatic, introverted idealist tranasformed into “Che” Guevara, the revolutionary who influenced revolutions in many countries and was later killed in Bolivia. The silent romantic young man was transformed into a killing machine and a psycho

In January 1957, as his diary from the Sierra Maestra indicates, Guevara shot Eutimio Guerra because he suspected him of passing on information: “I ended the problem with a .32 caliber pistol, in the right side of his brain…. His belongings were now mine.” Later he shot Aristidio, a peasant who expressed the desire to leave whenever the rebels moved on. While he wondered whether this particular victim “was really guilty enough to deserve death,” he had no qualms about ordering the death of Echevarría, a brother of one of his comrades, because of unspecified crimes: “He had to pay the price.” At other times he would simulate executions without carrying them out, as a method of psychological torture.[The Killing Machine: Che Guevara, from Communist Firebrand to Capitalist Brand]

The movie, The Motorcycle Diaries is about the trip that Ernesto and Alberto made across Argentina, Chile, and Peru and is based on the notes of Ernesto himself. On the way, they meet various poor people who are being exploited and slowly the transformation of Ernesto happens. He realizes that national boundaries are artificial and the problems of people across South America are the same. The movie ends at the end of their road trip and hence you do not get to see the violent Che. The last shot in the movie is of Ernesto boarding a plane while Granado is standing on the tarmac waving him Goodbye. As the camera zooms to Ernesto and pulls back, the actor portraying Alberto is replaced by the real Alberto, who is now in his eighties.
The actors who portary Ernesto (Gael García Bernal) and Alberto (Rodrigo De la Serna) have done an excellent job. Though there is not much in terms of action or drama, the script is tight enough to hold your attention till the end. As the trip starts, Gradado is the older wiser person, but towards the end it is Ernesto who does the talking. The two differing personalities are bought out through dialogue and situations. Though you may disagree with the path that Che followed, this is a movie worth seeing for understanding the influences in his life.
Mohandas Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda both traveled all around India to get to know the problems first hand. This travel influenced the path they chose to address the issues and it did not involve murdering people. The time Ernesto became Che was after India became independent and I wonder if he even gave some thought to the ideas of Gandhi.
Postscript: Chasing Che is an excellent travelogue by Patrick Symmes, who decided to follow the route taken by Ernesto and Alberto

Introducing PublicGyan – The Public Knowledge Exchange

Will Oil touch 70USD/barrel at the end of this month? Will Rahul Gandhi be made a cabinet minister by the end of 2005? Will Jagdish Bhagwati win the 2005 Nobel Prize or will Hillary Clinton contest the 2008 presidential elections?
The pundits on the blogosphere and the commenters have differing opinions on questions like the above. But are you willing to put money where your mouth is? If so take a look at PublicGyan, the Public Knowledge Exchange, where you can make predictions for the future and trade like the Iowa Electronic Markets. Nitin, the man behind the idea has an excellent introduction to this concept.
The site was implemented by the man who breathes technology – Srijith (with lot of support from his wife). Currently you can join only if you have an invite from one of the members. If you need one, please leave a comment with your real email address or mail me at jk at varnam dot org.

Earliest example of Vaastu

In most history books, if you look for the word vaastu, you won’t find it in the context of the Harappan Civilization or any kingdom another two thousand years later. Even Georg Feuerstein[2] who has written very positively about that era does not mention this. But Y.S.Rawat, the director of Archeological Survey of India thinks that Vaastu Shastra evolved in Dholivara, an Indus Valley site in Gujarat. Dholavira is a port city located on the path of the mythical Sarawati river and last year an old sign board was found.

The location of Dholavira between two rivers, the shape of the site, directional alignment, geometrical shape and construction of the houses, the planning of the gates, the direction of the walls-all indicate perfect use and understanding of Vaastu Shastra.
â??Looking at the Dholavira site, I have a strong feeling that Vaastu Shastra evolved in a big way in this Harappan site,â? Rawat said.
The science dates back to the Vedic ages. It is composed of specific rules, regulations and directions set down by the sages of those times for the construction of the houses. Rawat said, the excellent water harvesting system, rock cut reserviors, the location of the grave yard, use of open spaces and other things point to the understanding of Vaastu Shastra by the Harappan civilisation inhabitants.
The water harvesting system also shows the hydraulic engineering skills of the Harappans, who converted the city walls into veritable reservoirs to preserve every drop of water, he said.
“An interesting point to note here, is the existence of a citadel, middle town and lower town. The citadel is the most secure place among them, which is furnished with beautiful entrance on all four directions”, Rawat said, adding that all these are in accordance with the Vaastu Shastra.
The city is divided into 49 squares having perfect geometry and alignment. The houses were constructed using circular structures to withstand storm and sandblasts, he added.[Did Vaastu Shastra further evolve in Harrapan Kutch?]

According to some scholars the Vaastu Shastra texts were written between the 7th century A.D and 13th century A.D. One city cited as an example following vaastu principles is Old Jaipur, built in 1727 A.D.
So what happened during the time between Dholavira and Old Jaipur? Was Vaastu used extensively by kings for building their palaces or cities?
Pictures: Dholavira site, CG Reconstructions

Subhash Bose: The Investigations – II

The story that was propagated about Subhash Bose’s death, that he died in a plane crash in Taiwan turned out to be false. Now that has been confirmed by Americans as well. Theory (2) is that he was held as a prisoner in Russia where he died or probably escaped. Theory (3) is that he lived as a monk in Uttar Pradesh
The Mitrokihn Archive which broke the news that Congressmen and Communists were on KGB payroll has some relation to information about Subhash Bose as well.

A key deponent of the Mukherjee Commission, Purabi Roy, who took off for Moscow tonight, said Mitrokhin knew about Bose’s Russia link and had helped her locate classified information on him.
But Roy, who has submitted four affidavits till date in front of the Mukherjee Commission till date, is worried. “My key worry is that the Commission should be allowed access to classified documents in three archives, the Federal Security Bureau(FSB) – which was called the KGB in the Soviet era, the President’s archives in Kremlin and GRU, the military intelligence archive. After all, the Commission has been asking for permission for visiting Moscow for the past three-and-a-half years,” Roy said.[Netaji disappearance case takes a new turn]

One of the witnesses the Commission met in Russia told that he had never told Purabi Roy anything related to Bose. After spending so many days in Russia, the Commission has not been able to unearth much information which causes Udayan Namboodiri to ask if this Russian story is also fake, like the plane crash.
One person who knows something about this is L.K.Advani. While he was the home minister he refused to give some files related to Subhash Bose’s disappearance to the Commission saying that it would affect India’s relations with some friendly countries, which I guess is a code word for Russia. Maybe the search should be done more thoroughly at home first.
Previous Links: Subhash Bose: The investigations, How did Subhash Bose die?

The shrinking newspaper business

Bloggers are heavily dependent on mainstream media, for ideas and for use as a football. The newspapers benefit a lot from the increased traffic sent by the bloggers and many columists get wider audience due to discussions in the blogosphere. But now New York Times has decided to make people pay for reading Friedman and Dowd

Beginning Monday, the Times will begin charging $49.95 a year to people who don’t get the paper delivered at home for access to those writers as well as other columnists for the Times’ business, metro and sports sections.[N.Y. Times website to charge for access to featured columnists]

They need to pay their bills, but I don’t know if many people will subscribe to their online service. Both San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle too are shrinking their newsrooms.

New temple at Mahabalipuram

The tsunami that hit South India revealed many historical artifacts. This includes some new rock carvings, deep sea structures and a granite lion which was seen briefly in 1980. The rock temple at Mahabalipuram survived the tsunami, but post-tsunami archaeology suggests that there were more temples in the region. A new temple has been excavated north of Mahabalipuram, and is suspected to be built between second century B.C and first century A.D.

The archaeologists are trying to determine the date of the tsunami that may have destroyed the temple from sand and seashells found at the brick structure, dedicated to Lord Muruga, a Hindu god, Satyamurthy told The Associated Press.
He said there was more damage on the side of the temple facing the sea, and that the sand and shells were not normally found so far inland.
The temple was found one layer below a granite temple excavated by the same team in July, leading archaeologists to theorize that the Pallava kings, who ruled the region between 580 A.D and 728 A.D., built the latter temple atop the remains of the older one.
The team also found stucco figurines, terra-cotta lamps, beads and roofing tiles. Similar articles and large bricks were typically used around the beginning of the first millennium, he said.
The ruins of the temple north of Mahabalipuram that Satyamurthy discussed Wednesday were not uncovered by the recent tsunami, and excavation did not begin until after the waves struck.
But the finding of that temple and the structures uncovered by last year’s tsunami has revived a debate over whether references in ancient literature to cities and towns being submerged by violent waves referred to a tsunami.
“We could never study an ancient tsunami without having some man-made materials surviving from that time,” Satyamurthy said. “This temple is our link to that.”
He said archaeologists have discovered similar deposits of sand and shells at excavations in the town of Poompuhar, another ancient port south of where the latest temple was found.[Indian Ruins Show Signs of Ancient Tsunami]

Picture 1 shows how close the site is to the sea and Picture 2 shows workers cleaning the site.

Help the ASI

The Archaeological Survey of India is busy with various thing – conducting archaeology, preserving monuments, enlightening people, all while messing up things. Also it is cash strapped for doing archaeology. So maybe we all can follow the steps of an Italian computer programmer, use Google Earth and help the ASI

Using satellite images from Google Maps and Google Earth, an Italian computer programmer has stumbled upon the remains of an ancient villa. Luca Mori was studying maps of the region around his town of Sorbolo, near Parma, when he noticed a prominent, oval, shaded form more than 500 metres long. It was the meander of an ancient river, visible because former watercourses absorb different amounts of moisture from the air than their surroundings do.
His eye was caught by unusual ‘rectangular shadows’ nearby. Curious, he analysed the image further, and concluded that the lines must represent a buried structure of human origin. Eventually, he traced out what looked like the inner courtyards of a villa.
Mori, who describes the finding on his blog, Quellí Della Bassa, contacted archaeologists, including experts at the National Archaeological Museum of Parma. They confirmed the find. At first it was thought to be a Bronze Age village, but an inspection of the site turned up ceramic pieces that indicated it was a Roman villa. [Enthusiast uses Google to reveal Roman ruins]