The Aga Khani

Ref DRUMZ #: 217

[...And the BRAINDEAD masses continue to argue over who has the better country...]

You think there is even a comparison between India and Pakistan? That is a laugh!

[Is it possible for all of you to write your ages next to your posts?]

Harimau, Age 2

[There`s a part of me whoich refuses to believe that anyone over 25 can be this stupid.]

Look in the mirror.

InYourFace #272 You write ``It`s not like something exciting going on in your life (judging by the amout of venom you are secreting on these boards).``

You got that wrong too. Venom is when you post insults about other communities of people, or become an apologist for real-life violence of any kind. I dont do that and in fact go to the trouble of contradicting posters who do this rather than just ignoring them. If that strikes you as venom, then I suggest it is you who have a problem. If you think I have written posts that qualify as being venomous, please cutandpaste them for my information and I will be much obliged for your trouble.

Since I have not gone to the trouble of digging up your post that i thought I saw many months ago on chowk which prompted me to say that you are not so much into ``rainfed agriculture or something`` as into writing posts ridiculing Pakistanis, I will assume you are right in saying you dont write such posts and would rather be discussing the monsoons or something.

saminashah:

[when my grandma cooking keema and aloo gosht isn`t over his house and making seedhi saf behavior possible and seedy behavior impossible...]

-Its the opposite round ours, we all misbehave when my grandma`s in the house, shes a right rascal...

[As for the little bird, he`s a pleasure to have around, hain?]

-He`s the best.

[Have you read Tamberlaine?]

-Sadly no. All the Elizabethan writers outside the bard remain in my mind in synopsis form only. I have been working my way through some of the Greek dramatists recently.

[How long have you been writing for?]

- On and off, for a few years. But have been doing it more seriously recently.

[Btw, for future reference, I`m a New Historicist woman myself...Jean Howard rocks over here, as do Foucault and Terry Eagleton. I really like Foucault actually]

-Ahem, you are really going to hate me. I am not much into critical theorists. If I had to align myself with any mode of literary thought I would say the ideas propounded by Professor Howard Bloom of Yale, especially in his study ``The Western Canon``, appeal to me most. I know that wont be attractive to you (especially what he calls ``the school of resentment``...) but hey we can still be friends?

:)

-h-

Scout,

re: ``yeah i read that one, in the online edition. what these caucasians don`t know is that there is a subtle and gorgeous side of desi clothing, have you seen what some of the Pakistani designers are coming up with?``

- No havent had the time...but I mean to check out whats emerging within the fortnight...

``not everything is gaudy and shiny anymore.``

-Hasn`t been for a while; how annoying that our supremely good taste is being ripped off and made bland on one hand and kitschified with the other...

``mehndi is making a comeback in a new way... i saw some awesome designs in Libaas. the new trend is henna adorned with Swarovski crystals. sounds gaudy but it`s actually quite pretty, especiallly on the wrists.``

-now on the wrists sound lovely, as do the ankles or around the belly, if the work is delicate...has this reached Queens yet, do you know? Or are you in Canada?

In Your Face,

re: ``Aren`t you the one who jumped in defence of that MADAM from New York who used to talk `prostitution` and `Indian women` in same sentence bit too frequently?``

Careful pet or one might think rational and honest discussions on matters of race, gender, economic disparities and sex work are too complicated for your wee little brain. DO step out of the conversation, we understand. But do watch it; you might run into me socially and I would have to kick your assumptions about the room and spoil your dinner.

Harpeet,

Btw, for future reference, I`m a New Historicist woman myself...Jean Howard rocks over here, as do Foucault and Terry Eagleton. I really like Foucault actually...

tahmed321 # 247:

`` ...(and I am not spending time researching ancient posts for you either).``

I am sure. But seriously, why don`t you show some spine ... backup your words with data. It`s not like something exciting going on in your life (judging by the amout of venom you are secreting on these boards).

Aren`t you the one who jumped in defence of that MADAM from New York who used to talk `prostitution` and `Indian women` in same sentence bit too frequently?

Zafar:

About TBS ....

Tarun Bharat Sangh is transforming rural Rajasthan by awakening old memories!



The work of Tarun Bharat Sangh, and it`s founder Rajendra Singh in the districts of Rajasthan can easily be over-simplified as water-shed management whereas, it is in fact a revolution in regenerating life and society in denuded and deserted lands.

It`s a seemingly simple two-step programme. First, revive vegetation on barren hill slopes and second, build small water catchments in the valleys and the plains.

The revival course.

We will see in some detail, how it was done, a little later; but now a quick fast-forward to what happens down the time-line and how nature organises her rewards.

.... dead rivers begin to flow

.... agriculture becomes possible round the year

.... impoverished villagers, labouring in cities return, and families are re-united

.... wearying labour like fetching water, gives way to positive developmental work

.... with enough water and fodder, income from animal-husbandry begins to flow

.... nutrition levels rise and public health improves

.... wooded hills welcome back wildlife, that round off forests` whole-ness

.... people rid of insecurities, come together to address other issues of life, like education and local governance

.... awareness and confidence, enable micro-credit schemes that lower the cost of households and start small enterprises.

.... people with leisure, turn to crafts, reviving folk practices like herbal medicine and community welfare

.... when small communities like these succeed, the government itself wakes up and development becomes what it should be: ground-up, instead of top-down.

Utopia? ...

(http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/inspirational/tbs.html)

Harpeet bhai,

re:``...When are you going to write a research paper on ``Singh in the Pub: Getting drunk as Political and social resistance in modern day Southall, England`` huh? I can give you some help on that topic if you like...``

Sounds marvy! I like the title ``Singhing in the Pub: The Semiotics of Bally Sagoo, Curry Fish and Chips in the New Global Saddam and Gommorah`` a bit more...as for your help, I have good reason to believe my rock god little bro might be able to compare notes from America, when my grandma cooking keema and aloo gosht isn`t over his house and making seedhi saf behavior possible and seedy behavior impossible...

As for the little bird, he`s a pleasure to have around, hain?

Have you read Tamberlaine?

How long have you been writing for?

saminashah #262,

yeah i read that one, in the online edition. what these caucasians don`t know is that there is a subtle and gorgeous side of desi clothing, have you seen what some of the Pakistani designers are coming up with?

.....

not everything is gaudy and shiny anymore.

mehndi is making a comeback in a new way... i saw some awesome designs in Libaas. the new trend is henna adorned with Swarovski crystals. sounds gaudy but it`s actually quite pretty, especiallly on the wrists.

re: saminashah

{Did you see last Sunday`s NYTimes Styles Section? (okay, yes, I read that piece of fluff, yes I am embarrassed to admit it-but its all for Pinkyfeld!)}

...yup, read it...that section always makes for good sunday morning entertainment...

{1. HELLO! This is SOUTH ASIAN CULTURE that we are talking about, not just India. What are the rest of us- haleem?}

...it`s just that india is a lot more active on the international fashion scene than pakistan...from local designers in india co-hosting shows with yves saint laurent to sandy dalal bustin on to the new york circuit (seems he`s got a his own gig at barney`s), all people see and hear is india...even though some of the motifs derive from shared indo-pak heritage...

{2. The misbegotten writer of the piece actually used the ``E`` word; yes folks, ``exotic`` and whats more, the ``G`` word-``garish`` to describe Indian aesthetics! Hud ho gaye! How dare they?}

...maybe exotic and garish is IN these days?...and indian (sorry, i mean south asian :) ) IS exotic to them...

{3. Someone compared the God/Goddess Hindu pantheon as ``Disney like``. Salt on paper cuts! Someone should write them, Rsax, Sadna and take them to task...}

...no way...even if i cared for religion, i would be more secure about it than to freak out over this...and in reality, hinduism is akin to greek mythology in the creativity, theatre, and drama associated with it...goras dig that stuff...they don`t mean to offend...let them have their fun...i`ve met too many dutch named vishnu to get alarmed about this stuff...

re:Reply #: 258

cutandpaste,

Gujarat should be put under army rule until all these unwanted elements creating communal problems are weeded out. Gujarat is putting India to shame. I wish along with the entreprenial skills, Gujjus also had some basic decency.

Sridhar

re:Reply #: 263

Chunkey Pandey,

you will make a lot of enemies from across the border if you keep saying that. You are asking the Pakistanis to adopt something they have been trying hard for 50 years to give up viz Indian culture or any semblance of it. As for as most Pakistanis are concerned, India is Bharat. Indians in India and abroad need to make sure that BJP and Sangh Parivar does not thrust the same ideology down everyone`s throat. For us, India is Bharat + Hindustan + India, all put together.

Sridhar

saminashah;

[Sssssssshhh yaar! I`m supposed to be writing research papers entitled ``Moll in The Roaring Girl: Crossdressing as Political and Social Protest in Renaissance England`` (do you like that title?)]

- Do I like the title? I am still trying to work out what it means...

When are you going to write a research paper on ``Singh in the Pub: Getting drunk as Political and social resistance in modern day Southall, England`` huh? I can give you some help on that topic if you like...

[Lets just say a little bird told me...I have friends in high places you know..or rather, high friends in places...]

- ooooh wow

I think I know who...trying to play a trick on me eh??

Get back to studying cassocks as gender differentiated modes of resistance to patriarchal tropes of communication in light of Foucault and Barthes deconstructionist theories with reference to Sapphic references in Romeo & Juliet. Was she really a lesbian?

(lets hope so)

:)

just kidding

-h-

ps: Thanks for the appreciation! So kind.

sarwar #257 You write ``How can Islamic republic... ``

I ask: What is an Islamic republic if not a contradiction in terms and an imposition of a dictatorship on the pretext of Islam?