Senitmental Fragility

This made me wonder. To give you an idea:

 Are your `Hindu' sentiments hurt by Aamir Khan's take on godmen and gods in the new Bollywood movie PK? Or by Ram Gopal Varma's queries regarding Lord Ganesha? Don't worry, the Hindu Legal Cell will address your concerns. Launched six months ago by more than 100 lawyers across India, this organisation will tackle any perceived insults against the faith, besides fighting for “Hindu human rights“.

Initially, I was in denial. Then I tried to make sense of it. I seem to have failed. 

The article in the Economic Times goes on to state the following:

“Our religion is under threat, and in India, in the name of secularism, everyone wants to protect other religions, except Hinduism,“ said Prashant Patel, a 27-year-old graduate in management and law from Delhi who's the organisation's secretary. “In India, there are some people who talk against Indian culture and get away in the name of free speech,“ he said. “But free speech should be used to talk good things and not hurt others' sentiments,“ Patel said.

Note how there is a mention of free speech. How poignantly put!

After successfully tackling trivial economic issues like poverty, corruption, illiteracy, women's safety, hunger, housing, infrastructure, water, other environmental issues, et cetera we finally seem to have taken a turn for the better. Focus on greater development and make India an economic power. Focus on protection and development of religion and take legal action against people talking smack about Indian culture, Hinduism,  and the so-called force fed faith in Gods and Godmen.

Shame on Indians. Talking about the Indian culture in myriad ways and destroying its sanctity. You have a differing opinion? How dare you? Did you not know that there is no room for independent thought?

Shame on Indians. Making movies like PK & OMG. Is it so difficult to produce item numbers and mindless Bollywood masala movies? That is what Indian culture is all about.

Shame on Indians. Watching, liking and enjoying movies like PK & OMG. What audacity! Who said your choice even mattered? It is an Indian family's birthright where everyone from grandparents to infants enjoy Munni & Sheela.

Shame on Indians. Voicing their opinions against Gods and their men. Follow them. Blindly. Now.

Shame on Indians. Using their fundamental rights in such blatantly normal ways. You live in a democracy. You have free speech. It doesn't mean you can stand against what is considered 'acceptable behaviour'.

No, no. We need to put an end to this. We need to stop this apocalypse before it takes over the country. We need to stop people from having a rational and logical thought process. They need to adhere to norms. How hard is it, really? We have been doing it for generations. We can do it for generations more!

Ram Puniyani, a leading political commentator and member of the All India Secular Forum, finds the emergence of organisations such as the Hindu Legal Cell a worrying trend amid the coming to power of the BJP-led Narendra Modi government. “This lawyers' organisation is a step in the same direction--to harass those opposing blind faith. Those promoting rational thought will be targeted and this will subtly promote Hindu religiosity.“

Rational thought? Hahaha. Even our education system doesn't have any room for this. Why should religion?

The next step for the organisation will be to expand its base in other parts of India and encourage people to file cases against any issue that impacts them.

Industrial development? Development of the service sector? B*tch, please!

On a serious note, instead of focussing on Modi's Japan model for development of the nation, we seem to be on the path to recreating a certain East Asian country's ruthless dictatorship.

I am interested in what you have to say. Leave a comment below or e-mail me.

You may find the article here: http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31818&articlexml=After-Ghar-Wapsi-a-Ghar-to-Protect-Hindu-29122014001078

The Mills & Boons Reverie

I read my first Mills & Boons when I was sitting jobless at a client's place (audit is by far the most boring field of work) and I asked a friend to forward me an e-book. Till date I've read about 10-15 Mills & Boons books (yes, I know, I know), here's what all of them are about:

1.    Tall, dark and handsome men: Yes, the ones that don't exist. Okay, fine. They do exist. But, they’re already taken. They do not exist for us mere mortals. And here in India, we mostly find short, stout, dark and not handsome men who leer at us. Mostly. Oh, well.

2.    Well built men vs. tiny and frail girl: I am neither tiny nor frail. I can kick some serious ass! And, well built? Bitch, please! Why do you think the terms "paunch" and "beer belly" exist? Fairy tale portrayal, WHY!?

3.    Very big man: I need to add a *nudge nudge wink wink* here. You know. The girl has never seen such a huge man. Then again, her fear is replaced by how turned on she is and at the end of the day, they fit perfectly well. You know. Yeah, okay.

4.   Stone wall, zero EQ: The male protagonist is always surrounded by a stone wall, emotionally. He has had some bad experience or the other as a child that has left him emotionally stunted. He has built a strong wall around his emotions and feelings, never lets them show and yes, the female protagonist breaks the wall and he gets all mushy, emotional and gets in touch with his feelings. The man will always, always be beautiful, rough and broken. We aren't talking about broken shards of Venetian glass. No. The woman will fix him (it seems to be her single motive). Wouldn’t going to a shrink be easier? Think about it.

5.   Growl, growl, ROAR: Whenever the guy is turned on, he growls. I am not joking! I have noticed this in every sex scene that was elucidated. Sorry, how tactless of me. Love making scenes. The woman sucks in her breath, he growls. The woman moans, he growls. The woman smiles, he growls. The woman hugs him, he growls. A trip to the zoo would be easier!

6.    Damsel-in-distress and knight-in-shining-armour syndrome: Yes. She is always in need of help. Yes, he is always there to save her. They fall in love and have a happily ever after. Don't we all? It must be so difficult to come up with a plot line showing exactly that. No more, no less.
Oh, a few more pointers for the perfectly concocted M&B- the damsel is usually in financial distress. The only solution? Marriage; A loveless marriage. Duh! Guy demands sex. Girl refuses. Girl falls for his undeniably sexy charms. *Gasp* Guy has amazing control over his sexual appetite and restraint (because, obviously, the girl said no and he should honour her wishes, duh). They end up having sex anyway because they are beautiful, hot, sexy people and what do two beautiful, hot and sexy people do? Yep.

7.   Wealthy magnate: The male protagonist is never a-struggling-anything. He used to be. Not anymore. He only struggles with his non-existent EQ. He is always a wealthy magnate, has more money than well, a lot of money, has real estate all over the world, has an amazing business, is always in the middle of some business negotiation or the other, is always ruthless in those negotiations (the girl injects some emotions here to balance out the ruthlessness; and because she has to do something other than sit pretty all the time) and is just the perfectly tactless multi-millionaire.

8.   Marriage and kids: So, the guy is emotionally stunted. The girl fixes him. He wants to marry her. He wants her to have several of his children. Several. Girl is shocked to her wits that he is willing to commit. And kids? Several of them? $%%&%&, sure! It is not like the girl gets annoyed with the "several" part because she has to pop them out. They get married. Girl with a shy smile tells him “I’m glad you are talking about babies; I am pregnant!”
Because every girl's reaction, once she knows she's pregnant is unbelievable happiness coursing through her veins. And of course the guy is super duper happy that his girl's knocked up because his legacy will remain. I mean, come on, did you honestly expect anything less? People don't just freak out and try to run away from reality, especially when it is pregnancy. That has mediocrity written all over it!

Mills & Boons 101.
You are most welcome!