On the Importance of Reclaiming Chowk
Aniruddha Shankar April 20, 2005
#139 Posted by ntsyed on April 23, 2005 6:22:47 am
Re: # 137
MJ, and you thought you had been beamed to Uranus....... LOL
Nay, my friend...while we drinketh from the same fountain, we simply bleed differently. That`s all!!!
I try to stop your bleeding just as much as you tried to prevent mine. At the end of the day, regardless of our ideals people will say inna-lillah for both of us when we`re gone. Insha-Allah, with His infinite Mercy, together both of us will enjoy the philosophy, poetry, and most of all ultimate freedom, in the heavens. Or who knows, both of us will burn in hell together. Either way, just that thought should keep us from insulting each other and what we stand for, and Rodney Kings of the world won`t have to take a severe beating to say Can`t we all get along?!?!
By the Mercy of Allah, I`ve always been a rationalist. Unfortunately it took me too long to discover that Islam is the most rational transit on earth - not just a set of rituals as commonly ill-perceived. It`s just a matter of time and making an effort to fix one`s compass in life...then it`s the bullet train to eternity.
Regards to you and your loved ones,
M`as-salaam
MJ, and you thought you had been beamed to Uranus....... LOL
Nay, my friend...while we drinketh from the same fountain, we simply bleed differently. That`s all!!!
I try to stop your bleeding just as much as you tried to prevent mine. At the end of the day, regardless of our ideals people will say inna-lillah for both of us when we`re gone. Insha-Allah, with His infinite Mercy, together both of us will enjoy the philosophy, poetry, and most of all ultimate freedom, in the heavens. Or who knows, both of us will burn in hell together. Either way, just that thought should keep us from insulting each other and what we stand for, and Rodney Kings of the world won`t have to take a severe beating to say Can`t we all get along?!?!
By the Mercy of Allah, I`ve always been a rationalist. Unfortunately it took me too long to discover that Islam is the most rational transit on earth - not just a set of rituals as commonly ill-perceived. It`s just a matter of time and making an effort to fix one`s compass in life...then it`s the bullet train to eternity.
Regards to you and your loved ones,
M`as-salaam
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#138 Posted by cayenne on April 23, 2005 2:02:52 am
We in India should thank God for our garden variety politicos, the Laalus, the Modis, the Ahmed Patels, the JJ`s, Fernandes` and the like.We can say what we like, do what we like, eat what we like, cuss , swear, drink ourselves silly, cheat on our taxes a bit and enjoy life as long as we don`t cross the proverbial ``line``.Just like our politicos.Imagine if the indian political system was, in one night, overrun by feminists, homosexuals, bleeding liberals , politicaly correct individuals and honest , sincere persons??. I`d have to move to Bangladesh as an illegal immigrant to escape the stiflement.How boring would life be in india then?.
#137 Posted by malikjahanzeb on April 22, 2005 9:35:42 pm
ntsyed:
for the first time, i am seeing a little rationalist sitting inside you. it`s a good feeling man.
for the first time, i am seeing a little rationalist sitting inside you. it`s a good feeling man.
#136 Posted by delhiwala on April 22, 2005 6:58:03 pm
Interesting to see someone writing about this.
I find that urstruly is attacking Hindus just like that, I am not a Hindu, byt my free spirit wants to defend anyone under attack.
Genetics is the word he is using, is he from Arabia? I wonder. Last I checked majority of Pakistanis were Hindus not too long ago.
I find that urstruly is attacking Hindus just like that, I am not a Hindu, byt my free spirit wants to defend anyone under attack.
Genetics is the word he is using, is he from Arabia? I wonder. Last I checked majority of Pakistanis were Hindus not too long ago.
#134 Posted by ntsyed on April 22, 2005 11:20:52 am
Khoda pahar aur nikla chooha...wo bhi mara hua!
What the author and his proponents desire here can only be achieved if all members and visitors were at the same intellectual and moral level. Like that`s ever going to happen :P
Since there is no such precedent in history, nor is there a hope for it in the future, the best we can do is to learn from these experiences as much as we can.
The artistes and the lethargics;
the talented and the molested;
the intellectuals and the imbeciles;
the ghunday and un mein phun[n]si Saminaen and Anaen;
the sensually thrived and the sexually deprived;
the blind spies and the trashy magpies;
the angry nationalists and the unscrupulous antagonists;
the mullahs and the bleeding temporal artery;
the young and the restless as well as the old and the breathless;
intentionally or otherwise, we all offer to each other something to learn from. Learn and move on with your life, for the only bad experience is the one we fail to learn from.
The chowks never belong to anyone, thus none could ever reclaim it.
cela est la vie!
What the author and his proponents desire here can only be achieved if all members and visitors were at the same intellectual and moral level. Like that`s ever going to happen :P
Since there is no such precedent in history, nor is there a hope for it in the future, the best we can do is to learn from these experiences as much as we can.
The artistes and the lethargics;
the talented and the molested;
the intellectuals and the imbeciles;
the ghunday and un mein phun[n]si Saminaen and Anaen;
the sensually thrived and the sexually deprived;
the blind spies and the trashy magpies;
the angry nationalists and the unscrupulous antagonists;
the mullahs and the bleeding temporal artery;
the young and the restless as well as the old and the breathless;
intentionally or otherwise, we all offer to each other something to learn from. Learn and move on with your life, for the only bad experience is the one we fail to learn from.
The chowks never belong to anyone, thus none could ever reclaim it.
cela est la vie!
#133 Posted by MantoLives on April 22, 2005 9:42:44 am
Re: # 131
Dear Harish Hyd,
I would ask you to look at your last 200 posts again, but that would be too troubling. Even on this board you have chosen to take a swing at my name (you write Yasser as if that is suppose to be such a masterstroke), and you were apparently trying to be ``civil`` . On the other board after desperation struck, you started bringing in my family and how I could not defend their honor or something like that. I have frankly not resorted to any such vocabulary with you but it is clear to me that people like you know nothing else.
Nobody is perfect... sure you can find a lot in my interacts that might be insulting, but since I usually have a point, I don`t resort to it on a regular basis, and try not to resort to it at all. You on the other hand can`t carry out a simple discussion without resorting to it. I am wondering if what Urstruly says has some truth to it, though I would hate to believe it.
Sincerely
YLH
Dear Harish Hyd,
I would ask you to look at your last 200 posts again, but that would be too troubling. Even on this board you have chosen to take a swing at my name (you write Yasser as if that is suppose to be such a masterstroke), and you were apparently trying to be ``civil`` . On the other board after desperation struck, you started bringing in my family and how I could not defend their honor or something like that. I have frankly not resorted to any such vocabulary with you but it is clear to me that people like you know nothing else.
Nobody is perfect... sure you can find a lot in my interacts that might be insulting, but since I usually have a point, I don`t resort to it on a regular basis, and try not to resort to it at all. You on the other hand can`t carry out a simple discussion without resorting to it. I am wondering if what Urstruly says has some truth to it, though I would hate to believe it.
Sincerely
YLH
#132 Posted by nb on April 22, 2005 6:45:02 am
Re: # 51
Aniruddha,
Who decides who these boundaries are? This is a slippery slope. Some people are constantly offended, whereas others have the hides or rhinos. If you have strong views, you will almost by definition offend someone.
Aniruddha,
Who decides who these boundaries are? This is a slippery slope. Some people are constantly offended, whereas others have the hides or rhinos. If you have strong views, you will almost by definition offend someone.
#131 Posted by harish_hyd on April 22, 2005 2:57:50 am
#130 by Yasser
[Every single one of your post has some abuse or insult (which is your usual style), which is why Chowk has chosen to give your an interact index of 1 which is slightly better than the worst here on chowk.]
I have no understanding of how the index is arrived at nor the desire to match or overtake the interact index of a guy fantasizing about mens` orifices and whose choice abuses include calling a person liar, blind, and stupid. In fact, it would be downright insulting. So dear sir, you can gloat over your index while I take it as a compliment.
[The point is that in order to get one`s point across one has to be civil in speech.]
Coming from you, this is really rich. But it would do you good if you if you can practise what you appear to preach.
[Every single one of your post has some abuse or insult (which is your usual style), which is why Chowk has chosen to give your an interact index of 1 which is slightly better than the worst here on chowk.]
I have no understanding of how the index is arrived at nor the desire to match or overtake the interact index of a guy fantasizing about mens` orifices and whose choice abuses include calling a person liar, blind, and stupid. In fact, it would be downright insulting. So dear sir, you can gloat over your index while I take it as a compliment.
[The point is that in order to get one`s point across one has to be civil in speech.]
Coming from you, this is really rich. But it would do you good if you if you can practise what you appear to preach.
#130 Posted by MantoLives on April 22, 2005 2:05:53 am
Re: # 129
Dear Sir,
Thanks for making an appearance and proving me right :). Please review your last 200 posts addressed to me in light of the article above. Every single one of your post has some abuse or insult (which is your usual style), which is why Chowk has chosen to give your an interact index of 1 which is slightly better than the worst here on chowk. The point is that in order to get one`s point across one has to be civil in speech.
Next time you wish to indulge me an argument please choose your vocabulary wisely.
Sincerely
YLH
Dear Sir,
Thanks for making an appearance and proving me right :). Please review your last 200 posts addressed to me in light of the article above. Every single one of your post has some abuse or insult (which is your usual style), which is why Chowk has chosen to give your an interact index of 1 which is slightly better than the worst here on chowk. The point is that in order to get one`s point across one has to be civil in speech.
Next time you wish to indulge me an argument please choose your vocabulary wisely.
Sincerely
YLH
#129 Posted by harish_hyd on April 22, 2005 1:22:37 am
#109 by Mantolives
[I second this article... it is when people can`t argue logically they resort to insults and abuse... Some of them will soon make an appearance on this board.]
But you are already in here :-)
[I second this article... it is when people can`t argue logically they resort to insults and abuse... Some of them will soon make an appearance on this board.]
But you are already in here :-)
#128 Posted by FarzanaVersey on April 22, 2005 12:44:39 am
This post cannot go uncontested...
#91 by harimau:
The problem with people like you is that you expect people like me to sound like people like you. Then we are legit. I do get a lump in my throat when I see such attempts at ‘inclusiveness’, there is a good deal of apnaapan, but I have said his before: Each of us has certain ideas and opinions and we express them. You really do not need to be a sleuth to find out where my sympathies lie. So, why do you want me to lie?
Why have I consistently been asked to write about the Prophet and his nine-yr-old wife, even when I am critical about Bachchan? Where is the connection? And why does no one else go ahead and write? Yes, there will be criticism, but all of us who take positions learn to live with it if it is within the bounds of civilised discourse;heck we live with it even when it is not.
You have asked me to write about the plight of Kashmiri pundits in the “slums of Delhi”. Why? Because I wrote about BD refugees. Why is no one else asked to write on the subject? We have writers based in Delhi…ask them. More importantly, as I had written in an article earlier, the government is seeing these displaced people all the time, what is it doing?
(Incidentally, those sending letters to the home ministry about my ‘anti-national’ stand wrt BD refugees might like to ask the govt. to do something about KPs too…and I think a cc ought to be sent to the Ministry of external affairs as well...just being of help.)
[Controversial topics generate lots of readers and interacts.]
This applies to the print medium and TV as well…I have not seen you on my poetry board or whenever I have written anything sweet and nice.
[Loony leftwingers and pansies suggesting ineffective feel-good solutions tend to generate lots of critical comments.]
I do not know about the others…assuming I fall into this category, there is nothing feel-good about what I say.
[So they get published on the front page.]
Take a look at what gets published on FP…tsunami, quantum physics, djing at desi weddings, critical analyses, boy troubles, girl troubles, mangoes, fights with fruitcakes, poems, more poems, and even more poems.
I don’t see you on these boards – not even on some of your own!
[The day FV-ji writes about how good her Hindu neighbors are to her and her family, she will get axed by Chowk. However, if she writes about the poor Muslims who are under the tyrannical heel of the majority, she will get thousands of interacts from Urstruly, Ali_1, etc., supporting her and another thousand from Indians condemning her.]
Who was complaining earlier about ‘feel-good’ solutions?? If writing these treacly things is not feel-good, then what is? I have written about Diwali and meditation and the missing POWs…when I write about Indian subjects, not too many Pakistanis visit the boards. Except for Kashmir and Gujarat. How many Indians visit Pakistani boards that talk about, say, Edhisaab? But we are there when they talk about Hudood, honour killings, LoC, the bomb…this is to be expected from both sides.
Btw, would you care to ask certain Indian publications why they did not find me palatable, why I was asked to go slow on some people? Is journalism about being a domesticated pet?
[Even FV-ji had to wonder why nobody commented on her series of photographs.]
I made the mistake of equating the art gallery with any other board. Few people interact there anyway, but I did manage a decent number after all the emotional appeal I made. And what was it for? A series of pix about tortured Muslims? Or FVji gloating about Kashmiri pundits being homeless? No. It was a pictorial tribute to my country. I called it ‘Ibaadat India’. I guess it does not make much sense to you.
It would have been nice had you said something there. But whenever I write what people like you might find palatable, you stay away. Or I get to hear the standard: “I cannot believe this is happening, but I actually find myself agreeing with FV”! For god’s sake, this is not even funny…
#91 by harimau:
The problem with people like you is that you expect people like me to sound like people like you. Then we are legit. I do get a lump in my throat when I see such attempts at ‘inclusiveness’, there is a good deal of apnaapan, but I have said his before: Each of us has certain ideas and opinions and we express them. You really do not need to be a sleuth to find out where my sympathies lie. So, why do you want me to lie?
Why have I consistently been asked to write about the Prophet and his nine-yr-old wife, even when I am critical about Bachchan? Where is the connection? And why does no one else go ahead and write? Yes, there will be criticism, but all of us who take positions learn to live with it if it is within the bounds of civilised discourse;heck we live with it even when it is not.
You have asked me to write about the plight of Kashmiri pundits in the “slums of Delhi”. Why? Because I wrote about BD refugees. Why is no one else asked to write on the subject? We have writers based in Delhi…ask them. More importantly, as I had written in an article earlier, the government is seeing these displaced people all the time, what is it doing?
(Incidentally, those sending letters to the home ministry about my ‘anti-national’ stand wrt BD refugees might like to ask the govt. to do something about KPs too…and I think a cc ought to be sent to the Ministry of external affairs as well...just being of help.)
[Controversial topics generate lots of readers and interacts.]
This applies to the print medium and TV as well…I have not seen you on my poetry board or whenever I have written anything sweet and nice.
[Loony leftwingers and pansies suggesting ineffective feel-good solutions tend to generate lots of critical comments.]
I do not know about the others…assuming I fall into this category, there is nothing feel-good about what I say.
[So they get published on the front page.]
Take a look at what gets published on FP…tsunami, quantum physics, djing at desi weddings, critical analyses, boy troubles, girl troubles, mangoes, fights with fruitcakes, poems, more poems, and even more poems.
I don’t see you on these boards – not even on some of your own!
[The day FV-ji writes about how good her Hindu neighbors are to her and her family, she will get axed by Chowk. However, if she writes about the poor Muslims who are under the tyrannical heel of the majority, she will get thousands of interacts from Urstruly, Ali_1, etc., supporting her and another thousand from Indians condemning her.]
Who was complaining earlier about ‘feel-good’ solutions?? If writing these treacly things is not feel-good, then what is? I have written about Diwali and meditation and the missing POWs…when I write about Indian subjects, not too many Pakistanis visit the boards. Except for Kashmir and Gujarat. How many Indians visit Pakistani boards that talk about, say, Edhisaab? But we are there when they talk about Hudood, honour killings, LoC, the bomb…this is to be expected from both sides.
Btw, would you care to ask certain Indian publications why they did not find me palatable, why I was asked to go slow on some people? Is journalism about being a domesticated pet?
[Even FV-ji had to wonder why nobody commented on her series of photographs.]
I made the mistake of equating the art gallery with any other board. Few people interact there anyway, but I did manage a decent number after all the emotional appeal I made. And what was it for? A series of pix about tortured Muslims? Or FVji gloating about Kashmiri pundits being homeless? No. It was a pictorial tribute to my country. I called it ‘Ibaadat India’. I guess it does not make much sense to you.
It would have been nice had you said something there. But whenever I write what people like you might find palatable, you stay away. Or I get to hear the standard: “I cannot believe this is happening, but I actually find myself agreeing with FV”! For god’s sake, this is not even funny…
#127 Posted by FarzanaVersey on April 22, 2005 12:43:51 am
This post cannot go uncontested...
#91 by harimau:
The problem with people like you is that you expect people like me to sound like people like you. Then we are legit. I do get a lump in my throat when I see such attempts at ‘inclusiveness’, there is a good deal of apnaapan, but I have said his before: Each of us has certain ideas and opinions and we express them. You really do not need to be a sleuth to find out where my sympathies lie. So, why do you want me to lie?
Why have I consistently been asked to write about the Prophet and his nine-yr-old wife, even when I am critical about Bachchan? Where is the connection? And why does no one else go ahead and write? Yes, there will be criticism, but all of us who take positions learn to live with it if it is within the bounds of civilised discourse;heck we live with it even when it is not.
You have asked me to write about the plight of Kashmiri pundits in the “slums of Delhi”. Why? Because I wrote about BD refugees. Why is no one else asked to write on the subject? We have writers based in Delhi…ask them. More importantly, as I had written in an article earlier, the government is seeing these displaced people all the time, what is it doing?
(Incidentally, those sending letters to the home ministry about my ‘anti-national’ stand wrt BD refugees might like to ask the govt. to do something about KPs too…and I think a cc ought to be sent to the Ministry of external affairs as well...just being of help.)
[Controversial topics generate lots of readers and interacts.]
This applies to the print medium and TV as well…I have not seen you on my poetry board or whenever I have written anything sweet and nice.
[Loony leftwingers and pansies suggesting ineffective feel-good solutions tend to generate lots of critical comments.]
I do not know about the others…assuming I fall into this category, there is nothing feel-good about what I say.
[So they get published on the front page.]
Take a look at what gets published on FP…tsunami, quantum physics, djing at desi weddings, critical analyses, boy troubles, girl troubles, mangoes, fights with fruitcakes, poems, more poems, and even more poems.
I don’t see you on these boards – not even on some of your own!
[The day FV-ji writes about how good her Hindu neighbors are to her and her family, she will get axed by Chowk. However, if she writes about the poor Muslims who are under the tyrannical heel of the majority, she will get thousands of interacts from Urstruly, Ali_1, etc., supporting her and another thousand from Indians condemning her.]
Who was complaining earlier about ‘feel-good’ solutions?? If writing these treacly things is not feel-good, then what is? I have written about Diwali and meditation and the missing POWs…when I write about Indian subjects, not too many Pakistanis visit the boards. Except for Kashmir and Gujarat. How many Indians visit Pakistani boards that talk about, say, Edhisaab? But we are there when they talk about Hudood, honour killings, LoC, the bomb…this is to be expected from both sides.
Btw, would you care to ask certain Indian publications why they did not find me palatable, why I was asked to go slow on some people? Is journalism about being a domesticated pet?
[Even FV-ji had to wonder why nobody commented on her series of photographs.]
I made the mistake of equating the art gallery with any other board. Few people interact there anyway, but I did manage a decent number after all the emotional appeal I made. And what was it for? A series of pix about tortured Muslims? Or FVji gloating about Kashmiri pundits being homeless? No. It was a pictorial tribute to my country. I called it ‘Ibaadat India’. I guess it does not make much sense to you.
It would have been nice had you said something there. But whenever I write what people like you might find palatable, you stay away. Or I get to hear the standard: “I cannot believe this is happening, but I actually find myself agreeing with FV”! For god’s sake, this is not even funny…
#91 by harimau:
The problem with people like you is that you expect people like me to sound like people like you. Then we are legit. I do get a lump in my throat when I see such attempts at ‘inclusiveness’, there is a good deal of apnaapan, but I have said his before: Each of us has certain ideas and opinions and we express them. You really do not need to be a sleuth to find out where my sympathies lie. So, why do you want me to lie?
Why have I consistently been asked to write about the Prophet and his nine-yr-old wife, even when I am critical about Bachchan? Where is the connection? And why does no one else go ahead and write? Yes, there will be criticism, but all of us who take positions learn to live with it if it is within the bounds of civilised discourse;heck we live with it even when it is not.
You have asked me to write about the plight of Kashmiri pundits in the “slums of Delhi”. Why? Because I wrote about BD refugees. Why is no one else asked to write on the subject? We have writers based in Delhi…ask them. More importantly, as I had written in an article earlier, the government is seeing these displaced people all the time, what is it doing?
(Incidentally, those sending letters to the home ministry about my ‘anti-national’ stand wrt BD refugees might like to ask the govt. to do something about KPs too…and I think a cc ought to be sent to the Ministry of external affairs as well...just being of help.)
[Controversial topics generate lots of readers and interacts.]
This applies to the print medium and TV as well…I have not seen you on my poetry board or whenever I have written anything sweet and nice.
[Loony leftwingers and pansies suggesting ineffective feel-good solutions tend to generate lots of critical comments.]
I do not know about the others…assuming I fall into this category, there is nothing feel-good about what I say.
[So they get published on the front page.]
Take a look at what gets published on FP…tsunami, quantum physics, djing at desi weddings, critical analyses, boy troubles, girl troubles, mangoes, fights with fruitcakes, poems, more poems, and even more poems.
I don’t see you on these boards – not even on some of your own!
[The day FV-ji writes about how good her Hindu neighbors are to her and her family, she will get axed by Chowk. However, if she writes about the poor Muslims who are under the tyrannical heel of the majority, she will get thousands of interacts from Urstruly, Ali_1, etc., supporting her and another thousand from Indians condemning her.]
Who was complaining earlier about ‘feel-good’ solutions?? If writing these treacly things is not feel-good, then what is? I have written about Diwali and meditation and the missing POWs…when I write about Indian subjects, not too many Pakistanis visit the boards. Except for Kashmir and Gujarat. How many Indians visit Pakistani boards that talk about, say, Edhisaab? But we are there when they talk about Hudood, honour killings, LoC, the bomb…this is to be expected from both sides.
Btw, would you care to ask certain Indian publications why they did not find me palatable, why I was asked to go slow on some people? Is journalism about being a domesticated pet?
[Even FV-ji had to wonder why nobody commented on her series of photographs.]
I made the mistake of equating the art gallery with any other board. Few people interact there anyway, but I did manage a decent number after all the emotional appeal I made. And what was it for? A series of pix about tortured Muslims? Or FVji gloating about Kashmiri pundits being homeless? No. It was a pictorial tribute to my country. I called it ‘Ibaadat India’. I guess it does not make much sense to you.
It would have been nice had you said something there. But whenever I write what people like you might find palatable, you stay away. Or I get to hear the standard: “I cannot believe this is happening, but I actually find myself agreeing with FV”! For god’s sake, this is not even funny…
#126 Posted by cayenne on April 22, 2005 12:24:32 am
#124 by FarzanaVersey on April 21, 2005 11:35pm PT
Please prove the veracity of the statements you have made maligning an entire nation and a majority of its` inhabitants in your essay ``The Sweltering Sky`` before you ask this site or anyone else to follow accepted norms of behaviour.Is ``jaffer`` a real person or a figment of your imagination?.If not, provide documentary evidence.Is ``Reena Bhadhuri`` an ``expert on islam`` at calcutta university, and if so, do you have proof of the statement made by her?.Do you have a tape of an interview or a recording of a speech regarding this matter made by her, a lecture or a written article or statement?.Please provide sources and i will gladly accept your essay and debate it.Otherwise i will assume that it is nothing but one big bold-faced lie with a hidden agenda to malign an entire nation and its` majority inhabitants.I have passed on this essay of yours to the authorities and it is for them to decide course of action.If this site does not have proof of author`s sources before they publish articles and essays they are as complicit in this matter.I am just a responsible citizen doing my duty.
Please prove the veracity of the statements you have made maligning an entire nation and a majority of its` inhabitants in your essay ``The Sweltering Sky`` before you ask this site or anyone else to follow accepted norms of behaviour.Is ``jaffer`` a real person or a figment of your imagination?.If not, provide documentary evidence.Is ``Reena Bhadhuri`` an ``expert on islam`` at calcutta university, and if so, do you have proof of the statement made by her?.Do you have a tape of an interview or a recording of a speech regarding this matter made by her, a lecture or a written article or statement?.Please provide sources and i will gladly accept your essay and debate it.Otherwise i will assume that it is nothing but one big bold-faced lie with a hidden agenda to malign an entire nation and its` majority inhabitants.I have passed on this essay of yours to the authorities and it is for them to decide course of action.If this site does not have proof of author`s sources before they publish articles and essays they are as complicit in this matter.I am just a responsible citizen doing my duty.
#125 Posted by malikjahanzeb on April 21, 2005 11:45:52 pm
Re: # 124 FV: this might disappoint but will surely convince people here who want to turn chowk into an `anjuman-e-sataaish-e-baahmi` (a mutual flattering organization).
i am glad that chowk editorial - the perdah-nasheen - are in touch with reality.
i am glad that chowk editorial - the perdah-nasheen - are in touch with reality.
#124 Posted by FarzanaVersey on April 21, 2005 11:35:55 pm
Aniruddha:
Chowk staff does not follow at least one of its own guidelines – about plugs! One columnist had written an article about another website and another one plugs his own site. One can see this as openness…
And since no one from the Chowk staff has appeared on this board, let me post an excerpt from one of the threads I had started in the feedback section where they have replied. Perhaps, it might help…
http://www.chowk.com/show_forum_topic_post_list.cgi?tid=00012771
Chowk staff, speak up
Started by FarzanaVersey on September 12, 2004
12:29pm PT
I know you are doing your best to make things
easier for people, but I have said so earlier and
I repeat, please come forward and say who you are
and where you wish to go with Chowk...
This is not about editorialising, but clarifying
certain things because you have a lot of knee-jerk
interactors who assume that with one liners they
can decide who is what…
There may be newbies and cheer leaders who need
approval, but I should imagine that Chowk would
have a certain policy. I am also tired about this
constant railing against `regular` writers. You,
the Chowk editors, need to explain what a column
is. Why it is there, you know best.
#1 by chowk-staff on September 13, 2004 0:35am PT
There are 2 questions that you have asked:
1/ The first one is ``who you are and where you wish to go with Chowk... ?``
2/ The second one is ``You, the Chowk editors, need to explain what a column is. Why it is there, you know best.``
Answering 1:
We have never hidden who we are and where we wish to go with Chowk. A lot has been written about our identity and our names. On Chowk itself there are at least a couple of articles that talk about us - here is one:
http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00002455&channel=chaathouse&start=0&end=9&page=1&chapter=1
The more important question you ask is where we wish to go with Chowk?
Chowk is a not-for-profit media initiative. It is the independent voice of the people of Indian-Pakistan sub-continent in particular and the extended South Asia in general.
Chowk has been around for over 7 years. We intend to stay around for many more. We intend to change more in the next 7 years than we have in the previous 7. And we intend to do this independent of corporate or other sponsorships.
Chowk is a site dedicated to bringing awareness on issues that plague our society – our method to produce that awareness is to have the good, bad and ugly present itself in all its beauty, venom and horror – as much as the Internet medium permits us to do so.
We editorialize but not rigidly. We will often let so-called “poor” content go through because the underlying idea is deemed useful, powerful, and/or worthy of discourse. We also believe that the InterActions! enrich the original idea and is an integral part of the Chowk experience. Hence, you will often hear us say – At Chowk Ideas and Identities collide to create InterActions.
Our future goals are to publish books, make rich content for television and radio, support those initiatives that help our people and our society learn about each other – we openly claim and commit ourselves to peace, democracy, religious freedom and non-violence.
Answering 2:
Chowk columns are a special section for ‘selected’ writers to write a regular column. Like all Chowk members, columnists are not paid for their work. However, columnists are individuals that have a special place in Chowk because we believe they add quality to Chowk.
Chowk staff does not follow at least one of its own guidelines – about plugs! One columnist had written an article about another website and another one plugs his own site. One can see this as openness…
And since no one from the Chowk staff has appeared on this board, let me post an excerpt from one of the threads I had started in the feedback section where they have replied. Perhaps, it might help…
http://www.chowk.com/show_forum_topic_post_list.cgi?tid=00012771
Chowk staff, speak up
Started by FarzanaVersey on September 12, 2004
12:29pm PT
I know you are doing your best to make things
easier for people, but I have said so earlier and
I repeat, please come forward and say who you are
and where you wish to go with Chowk...
This is not about editorialising, but clarifying
certain things because you have a lot of knee-jerk
interactors who assume that with one liners they
can decide who is what…
There may be newbies and cheer leaders who need
approval, but I should imagine that Chowk would
have a certain policy. I am also tired about this
constant railing against `regular` writers. You,
the Chowk editors, need to explain what a column
is. Why it is there, you know best.
#1 by chowk-staff on September 13, 2004 0:35am PT
There are 2 questions that you have asked:
1/ The first one is ``who you are and where you wish to go with Chowk... ?``
2/ The second one is ``You, the Chowk editors, need to explain what a column is. Why it is there, you know best.``
Answering 1:
We have never hidden who we are and where we wish to go with Chowk. A lot has been written about our identity and our names. On Chowk itself there are at least a couple of articles that talk about us - here is one:
http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00002455&channel=chaathouse&start=0&end=9&page=1&chapter=1
The more important question you ask is where we wish to go with Chowk?
Chowk is a not-for-profit media initiative. It is the independent voice of the people of Indian-Pakistan sub-continent in particular and the extended South Asia in general.
Chowk has been around for over 7 years. We intend to stay around for many more. We intend to change more in the next 7 years than we have in the previous 7. And we intend to do this independent of corporate or other sponsorships.
Chowk is a site dedicated to bringing awareness on issues that plague our society – our method to produce that awareness is to have the good, bad and ugly present itself in all its beauty, venom and horror – as much as the Internet medium permits us to do so.
We editorialize but not rigidly. We will often let so-called “poor” content go through because the underlying idea is deemed useful, powerful, and/or worthy of discourse. We also believe that the InterActions! enrich the original idea and is an integral part of the Chowk experience. Hence, you will often hear us say – At Chowk Ideas and Identities collide to create InterActions.
Our future goals are to publish books, make rich content for television and radio, support those initiatives that help our people and our society learn about each other – we openly claim and commit ourselves to peace, democracy, religious freedom and non-violence.
Answering 2:
Chowk columns are a special section for ‘selected’ writers to write a regular column. Like all Chowk members, columnists are not paid for their work. However, columnists are individuals that have a special place in Chowk because we believe they add quality to Chowk.
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