Taslima Talisman
Are we a tolerant society? If I am to go by the recent events of Kolkata, it is unlikely that we can profess to be anything but tolerant. Historically, Kolkata has been a city sensitive to communal riots and calling –in the army earlier this month once again proved that bongs love to create upheaval without any cause. The very essence of secularism is limited to political pursuits of leaders whose myopic views have succeeded in creating a communal mess in urban India. I was left bewildered to fathom what threat could Taslima pose to the civil society by residing in Kolkata! Ironically the government saw in her a threat to peace considering it was hand-in-glove with the mayhem and murder of democracy in Nandigram. So now we have a feminist writer being pushed and shoved in various guest houses for her and the society’s security. Add to it the demand by the ultra right RSS to make Taslima a bonafide citizen of India. RSS seems to have mixed their religion….come-on when we have the trumpeted secular party of India CPI (M) branding Taslima as threat to peace, how can any other party think otherwise, least of all the RSS. Prakash Karat should have publicly admonished the RSS chief for committing treason. I will not be surprised if CPI (M) includes Taslima bashing during their debate on the utterly unclear Nuclear debate in parliament! The (pseudo) intellectual Chief Minister of Bengal can now pen a play “Taslimar Bonbash” eulogizing the ceremonial banish of Taslima from Bengal. Am I a bong? Yes I am, but ashamed to say so because I belong to a state that is being led by fascists.
News from the capital
Winter is descending thick and fast in Delhi. Men, women and even dogs have starting sporting winter wear in all hues of colour. With it has arrived the fabled shordi (cold) and jor (fever) for the true bongs. A walk around CR Park gives a feeling of being in Switzerland. Resplendent in their monkey caps and mufflers, the bongs have started strolling to their favourite hangout – macher bajar (fish market) to buy the prized catch.
Teenagers, young ladies and old aunties are all making a beeline to the nearest movie theatre to catch a glimpse of SRK’s six pack ab in OSO. Well, I think he resembled murgiwalas from Park Circus and Kidderpore areas of Kolkata. While Deepika Padukone was sensuous, my dear old Rekha took the cake and ate it too…she is sizzling and oozes the oomph factor that is certainly amiss amongst the new breed heroines. Between OSO and Goal, I would pick the latter not merely because of Bips but the movie is a shade better than OSO.
Does a PR agency need an agency to manage its image? If the media decides to pin-down a PR agency, other agencies with competency in crisis management and reputation management should start pitching. Believe you me, the account can be quite lucrative and also you can proudly say in your agency’s credentials “We also service Communication Experts maintain Desirable Reputation.”
Are we a tolerant society? If I am to go by the recent events of Kolkata, it is unlikely that we can profess to be anything but tolerant. Historically, Kolkata has been a city sensitive to communal riots and calling –in the army earlier this month once again proved that bongs love to create upheaval without any cause. The very essence of secularism is limited to political pursuits of leaders whose myopic views have succeeded in creating a communal mess in urban India. I was left bewildered to fathom what threat could Taslima pose to the civil society by residing in Kolkata! Ironically the government saw in her a threat to peace considering it was hand-in-glove with the mayhem and murder of democracy in Nandigram. So now we have a feminist writer being pushed and shoved in various guest houses for her and the society’s security. Add to it the demand by the ultra right RSS to make Taslima a bonafide citizen of India. RSS seems to have mixed their religion….come-on when we have the trumpeted secular party of India CPI (M) branding Taslima as threat to peace, how can any other party think otherwise, least of all the RSS. Prakash Karat should have publicly admonished the RSS chief for committing treason. I will not be surprised if CPI (M) includes Taslima bashing during their debate on the utterly unclear Nuclear debate in parliament! The (pseudo) intellectual Chief Minister of Bengal can now pen a play “Taslimar Bonbash” eulogizing the ceremonial banish of Taslima from Bengal. Am I a bong? Yes I am, but ashamed to say so because I belong to a state that is being led by fascists.
News from the capital
Winter is descending thick and fast in Delhi. Men, women and even dogs have starting sporting winter wear in all hues of colour. With it has arrived the fabled shordi (cold) and jor (fever) for the true bongs. A walk around CR Park gives a feeling of being in Switzerland. Resplendent in their monkey caps and mufflers, the bongs have started strolling to their favourite hangout – macher bajar (fish market) to buy the prized catch.
Teenagers, young ladies and old aunties are all making a beeline to the nearest movie theatre to catch a glimpse of SRK’s six pack ab in OSO. Well, I think he resembled murgiwalas from Park Circus and Kidderpore areas of Kolkata. While Deepika Padukone was sensuous, my dear old Rekha took the cake and ate it too…she is sizzling and oozes the oomph factor that is certainly amiss amongst the new breed heroines. Between OSO and Goal, I would pick the latter not merely because of Bips but the movie is a shade better than OSO.
Does a PR agency need an agency to manage its image? If the media decides to pin-down a PR agency, other agencies with competency in crisis management and reputation management should start pitching. Believe you me, the account can be quite lucrative and also you can proudly say in your agency’s credentials “We also service Communication Experts maintain Desirable Reputation.”
