Browsing: POINTBLANK

A clay idol of Ganesha and a carved wooden cross are thrown into the muddy pond under the sanguine supervision of a white-robed gentleman. As the throng of illiterates inhabiting the remote hamlet watch with bated breath, the clay idol sinks without a trace, but lo, the wooden thing floats for all to see.

‘We will not permit Sanskrit hegemony’, thundered Congman Peter Alphonse from the precincts of St. Andrew’s Church, the venue of the anti-ordinance protest a few days back. But in the secular din that emanated from that very religious premises and the subsequent furore over MK’s ‘thiruda thiruda’ revelation on Hindus, Peter’s Sanskrit-phobia virtually passed unnoticed, barring a casual mention in some newspapers.

It is difficult not to be bitten by the brigand bug, though the whole stuff reeks of being a huge humbug. Howsoever one tries to ward him off, the barbarious but magnanimous bandit keeps popping up on the front pages, forcing himself with his usual brusqueness down the throats of discerning readers who are in any case eager to know what his latest plans are.

No politician today is voted to power owing to his or her merits. The rise of a politico is directly related to the fall of his or her antagonist from grace. Politicians as a tribe are a discredited lot, but people who have no choice tend to pick out the rag with the least stink from the garbage and instal it for use.

No matter who rules the States of TN and Karnataka, Veerappan continues to rule the jungles bordering them. In yet another episode in his seemingly endless saga of crime, the brigand has coolly walked away with a high profile victim, evoking once again painful memories of his past escapades and their sickening fallout.

At the end of the day, there is a Rs 65,000 crore business empire. At the beginning there was nothing. Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani literally built this monolith of a corporate fiefdom out of thin air, by his sheer wizardy and indomitable will power, a combination that was on stark display right through his tumultous life, even during the last ten days when he was fighting his terminal battle.

At the end of the day, there is a Rs 65,000 crore business empire. At the beginning there was nothing. Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani literally built this monolith of a corporate fiefdom out of thin air, by his sheer wizardy and indomitable will power, a combination that was on stark display right through his tumultous life, even during the last ten days when he was fighting his terminal battle.

The hallmark of the profession of journalism is the spirit of inquiry. You remove the curiosity-itch from a journalist ‘ s psyche and his place of work becomes a mortuary with he being the lifeless resident there. Of course, there is the other extreme of this urge becoming a raging obsession so much so that objectivity and credible evidence are thrown to the winds and the printed words take on a yellow hue.

These days, the secular politicos, the super-secular minoritiy leaders and of course, the secular than thou media invariably begin their day with the invocation: Modi must go! And non performance of this ritual in whatever public forum that one finds himself in, be it Parliament or Prime Time, is automatically construed as an act of utmost barabarity, worse than even Modi ‘ s alleged atrocities.