Now there is no need to leave your car at all...

These chowk editors dont reply. Waited and waited... could still have been waiting, but decided to enroll myself with another name and password. Old identity is still around somewhere,

possibly fossilized.

Took me centuries to get out of my body and my brain into a jar. Did these chowk editors really think they could wear me out, make me just go away? Have taken revenge by submitting another article. Clearly not Y2K compliant. That`ll learn `em!

Frightfully good recipe for a Jamiacan Egg Nog:

1 Quart Egg nog (the ordinary stuff)

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp nutmeg powder

1 cup white Rum (say, Bacardi) or more!

Blend.

Cordially all, have a happy holidays. Go easy on the egg-nog and do do be careful of little green men who will arrive on Jan 1 from Mars and make you all listen to another of Musharraf`s tedious speeches.

Panini

``Moksha and the Art of Automobile Maintanence`` ???

-arun gupta

I love it! I`m never leaving my car again. Very well written too, I thought.

Re: #6

Dear Taimur,

Do lighten up and read the article again, this time with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek. Panini`s really not advocating that we install kitchen sinks in our cars and move in permanently. In fact, i think his real point lies somewhere between your own (that we have distanced ourselves from meaningful interaction with other people, and rely on mechanized everything) and his ostensible one (gosh, weddings bite, don`t they?). I agree with both points, although the drive-in wedding does sound incredibly appealing.

Re: #4-5

Shandana, maybe i`m reading too much into it, but are those monks` spider machines obvious metaphors for cars? The detached brains speak for themselves. :)

Dear Panini,

You seem to acknowledge the fact that Birth,marriage and death are probably the three most important events in ones life and still you want to achieve all three of them from within the `comfort` of your car....amazing....to you it might be `comfort` but to me it is a sign of lazyness,of uncompatibility with the rest of the world and of a rejected mind...

Imagine what could be more important than to be there,with the loved ones,when a new member of the family is born,when another ties the knot or a dear one departs for the life hereafter..

What do you think we are all here for...maybe to interact with the species that GOD has created, with humans being the superior race,and marvel at his excellence and greatness....

or maybe you and all those with such BRIGHT ideas are right...

It was just my point of view...

always,

Taimur Malik.

i forgot. when they don`t want to get around, no crawl through weddings to go to etc, the brains are kept on a shelf (which is just another word for window, depending on what it`s facing)

shandana

*grin *
very witty indeed. about that brain in a jar by the window, i was reading `tales from jabbas palace` and the b`omar monks remove their brains from their bodies when they`ve reached enlightenment and proceed to use spider machines to get around. the brain jars are suspended under the belly of the metal spider.
i don`t know if you get `em in different colours though.

shandana

Very funny piece, Panini - thoroughly enjoyed it. Now if only you`d written it in your car...

Don`t know if you`ve heard the radio commercial that shows the joys of college as a drive-in: ``Um, what are your specials today?``

``History, biology, english, and - psychology.``

``Um, i`d like a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and english with extra credits.``

``Would you like to upgrade that to a Master`s?``

``Oh. Sure. Um, could i get fries with that?``

*pause * ``We don`t do that.``

``Consider the following. There are three important

events in one`s life: Birth, Marriage, and Death ...

Hmmm. Ahem. I disagree. I would like to add a few: first kiss, first love, first sexual encounter, very first job, losing a job which is akin to death, I reckon.

Guess it depends on each individual and culture as to what ``important events`` are in one life ...

Soldotna in Alaska

They say if alien astronomers were observing earth, they would consider the dominant life-form to be the automobile.