indiascribe satire

For ages, Delhi has been trying to get or at least commuters have been pining for an efficient public transport system. The Delhi Transport Corporation, despite two or three name and livery changes continues with all the inefficiencies associated with a public sector operation. The fares are kept low to ensure that it meets the so-called "social justice" objectives. This could range from running unprofitable routes to places where the janta do not believe in paying the fare to the ridiculous pampering of the student community with an all route pass for just Rs 12.50, set way back in mid-1970s! No wonder that the behemoth could never hope to break even, let alone think of making a profit. Into this scenario came the Delhi Metro, a state-of-the-art rail-based transport network that makes it mandatory for everyone using it to pay and travel and no concessions to any sections. This offers clean efficient air-conditioned train service. It may seem to be a relatively expensiv

Phew! the country's honour has been saved by our good leaders, who are always on the alert against any act that ever so slightly soils our pristine reputation. They certainly do not want the people, who, at the very sight of a raised hemline turn into monsters. So, the cheerleaders have been told to get an extra cover and police voluteering to decide on obscenity levels! The same logic applies in banning advertisements of liquor and cigarettes. So the guys and gals are shown to be getting high on plain soda water or the Red & White guy jumping off a cliff to save a damsel in distress with nary a trace of smoke, let alone fire.Whom are they trying to fool? the people or the nanny State that has brought things to such a pass. For all the trouble taken to keep people away from such evils, does any of it work in actual practice? No is the answer. Otherwise, how do you explain the frequent incidents of misbehaviour with foreign tourists. When the government grandiously touts t

Finally, Taslima has had enough of "athithi devo bhava" of the "incredible" Indian government. She has decided to choose the cooler climes of Canada or the US than remain in the hot house in Delhi. She feels her creativity is wilting by the day, in fact, every hour she spends away from her beloved Kolkata. Fair enough. Our Taslima may have her faults. She may not be anywhere close to the best writers in Bengali and pushes her point a bit more forcefully than the "Bhadralog" would have liked. But that doesn't quite explain why the left barons felt that she has to be kept out of the city for good with just one loony protest against her. The question is, why should governments turn weak-kneed the moment a mob hits the streets protesting against this or that? Especially works of art, literature or cinema. Instead of laying down the law to protect fundamental rights of speech and action, why should the ill conceived views of a few hold majority opinion

Fashion shows at one time was all about the latest rage in Paris, the colours, silhouettes and what not. Stony-faced models sashaying down the catwalk, most of the time adorned in outlandish and impossible to wear costumes were the staple of such shows. If something unmentionable was revealed, everyone took it in their stride. All this changed the day Janet Jackson suffered a wardrobe malfunction. The entire global media zeroed in on the incident as if it was the first landing on the moon or a revelation paralleling "discovery" of a lone woman in Mars. The event was analysed as if no one has ever seen such a fixture on a woman in the entire history. Ever since, every media person worth his/her salt has been specifically asked by their bosses to keep an eagle eye on such possibilities. Once it happens, they are to click pictures, post videos and report highlighting it/blurring the strategic part/condemn it as deliberate, attention grabbing tactic. Of course, it is a deliberate

The problem with cartoonists is that some of them tend to take themselves too seriously. So much so that they end up looking like a caricature. That seems to be what has happened to the old codger in that rotting city by the seaside. One fine day, he throws down his brush and decides to become the self-appointed guardian of his community. He then proceeds to appropriate the legacy of a great warrior and forms nothing less than an army goons and the image of a big cat as the party symbol. Now, finding himself as endangered as the animal on the party logo, he spews his venom yet again at a community that had done him no harm. In trying to regain lost ground from his nephew, he has made himself look ridiculous and out of touch with reality. The world has changed Mr T. Your kind of politics will soon lose out as the country is progressing towards a knowledge based society. Of course, there would be disgruntled elements and people who want to fish in troubled waters. So it would an act of m