tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61868022011-08-21T05:00:48.710-07:00Vijay's BlogThings I like to talk aboutVijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-36215324592824017642009-11-25T23:05:00.000-08:002009-11-25T23:10:03.577-08:00Remember, remember - the 26th of NovemberA grim anniversary approaches, and us pessimists will not fail in pointing out the lack of progress made in ensuring the security of Indian citizens. The perpetrators of the attack on Bombay remain unrepentant, un-prosecuted, and at large - ready to plot their diabolical plans and unleash havoc at their command. Nor have the real culprits of the 1993 Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-71213534175146062152009-05-18T21:55:00.000-07:002009-05-18T22:33:13.333-07:00Analysis of Predictions vs ResultsWell, I'm certainly pleased with the Indian election results, mostly because I wanted the Manmohan Singh government to return, but also because my pre-results predictions proved to be remarkably good (see post below for full predictions). Obviously I made some major howlers, but on the whole, I think I called this one correctly. Read on for the analysis and my Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-30427860457453127332009-05-11T05:07:00.000-07:002009-05-11T05:46:44.034-07:002009 Indian Parliamentary Elections PredictionsRight, so the elections are coming to a close and we find out on May 16th what the results are. I've decided (in a significant bout of folly) to predict the unpredictable and to call the Indian election results before they're announced. I've read the tea leaves, consulted the stars, ruffled through wikipedia and a few websites of Indian news Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-78437384924132824652008-12-02T07:05:00.001-08:002008-12-02T07:05:27.595-08:00Doom and GloomThe information age is hyper-real. Bloody images and 24/7 television coverage on all major international news channels, banner headlines across the world, web video uploads, blogs, everything else. The amount of media "content" generated by the Bombay attacks is staggering.And therein lies the motive. To borrow a phrase, our terrorists mean to "shock and awe." It's working.This Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-77781986582687348402008-04-03T11:55:00.000-07:002008-04-03T11:57:37.601-07:00A little politics, perhaps?Firstly, I’m thrilled that John McCain has won the Republican nomination. I volunteered for his campaign in New Hampshire in 2000, and really believe he’ll make an incredible President (he has to win).Now, to the more interesting Dems (they’re interesting the way a multi-car pile-up is interesting). It looks like Obama will win the nomination, but only naïve fools will Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-69918933809711264812008-03-21T13:14:00.000-07:002008-03-21T13:35:19.483-07:00Back in BlackOk, not quite black, but I haven't blogged in a while so I figured I'd write about something controversial. I've been thinking about this since I recently watched "Jodhaa Akbar" (a great movie with great music by the way), so here goes.What are A. R. Rahman's top five movie soundtracks?Obviously this is an impossible question to answer, but I'll attempt it anyway. So, here are Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-61103247901122120862007-09-10T16:05:00.000-07:002007-09-10T16:21:06.572-07:00Conflict and MessagesA grim anniversary is upon us, and I'm in New York. I've been shuttling back and forth between here and DC this month and will continue to do so for some time. I wouldn't have it any other way. There's talk of surges and draw downs, and on the whole I'm cautiously optimistic. But think of the missed opportunities. Compare the two messages below that America received Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-9639517072323880592007-07-10T05:33:00.000-07:002007-07-10T05:45:09.373-07:00HorrifyingDon't read this if you have already eaten lunch today. Barbarism like this knows no bounds. To think that people are seriously calling for America to retreat in the fight against such villains is horrifying.Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1175602368898318762007-04-03T05:11:00.000-07:002007-04-03T05:22:34.523-07:00Attack of the Brahmin Adjuncts!!Read this book: No Onions Nor Garlic by Srividya Natarajan. Outrageously Hilarious!Written in a style that would impress P.G. Wodehouse, the master himself, this book is laugh-out-loud funny. The author populates Chennai with a cast of zany characters that can rival a Blandings or Malgudi (she also prefers to use ‘Chennai’ instead of ‘Madras’, which I favor, so forVijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1158656545280663292006-09-19T01:44:00.000-07:002006-09-19T02:02:25.296-07:00Benedict and the ByzantinesCheck out this speech given by Pope Benedict XVI earlier this week. He quotes the 15th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus who was debating "an educated Persian"."[The Emperor] turns to his interlocutor somewhat brusquely with the central question on the relationship between religion and violence in general, in these words: 'Show me just what Mohammed broughtVijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1138023033771309552006-01-23T05:20:00.000-08:002006-01-23T05:30:33.786-08:00Quick, while they're not looking!With Karnataka's esteemed MLAs taking some much deserved vacation to coastal towns, maybe some actual good governance is possible. It might be best for all parties concerned if these legislators stayed on in other states. Maybe the capital of outsourcing could outsource its pathetic government?Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1133524534898568772005-12-02T02:43:00.000-08:002005-12-02T04:53:14.830-08:00Devanam Piya Piyadasi Laja Evam HaivaCheck out this link from a few weeks back which has a bunch of famous people answering the question "What was the most influential book you read in college?" Responders include Christopher Hitchens, David Brooks and Alan Bloom.Since reading this, I've been trying to answer the question for myself. If the question were "What was the most influential book you'veVijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1133265128923115752005-11-29T03:50:00.000-08:002005-11-29T03:52:08.923-08:00Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-ChangesI've discarded the orange in favor of a more sober tan. And, I've added links. Comments should be easier too. Let me know what you think.Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1131973813274925262005-11-14T05:03:00.000-08:002005-11-14T05:10:13.806-08:00Remembrance DayThe guns fell silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Since then, November 11th has been Remembrance Day, a day when we remember those who died in the trenches of the Western Front, the killing fields of the Eastern Front and the desert of Arabia. World War I was the bloodiest war that had been fought till date, and remains one of the most pointless wars Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1130908277843674012005-11-01T21:09:00.000-08:002005-11-01T21:11:17.853-08:00Blog MelaCheck out the latest Blog Mela, which features two posts from yours truly.Happy Diwali!Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1130243140835874372005-10-25T05:18:00.000-07:002005-12-01T03:05:04.956-08:00The BBC in IndiaThe BBC ran a special series of programming on India recently, and I caught two pretty awesome episodes of HardTalk. First Stephen Sackur drilled my erstwhile schoolmate [Feroze] Varun Gandhi, who came off as genial and well-meaning, but not ready or suitable for politics. Sackur later took the Communist Party's Brinda Karat to task in what was more like a wrestling rumble than Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1130137361013046772005-10-23T23:47:00.000-07:002005-10-24T00:05:42.650-07:00Deve Gowda Must GoThe Times of India sounds the clarion call. Read this from Shekhar Gupta as well. Ever since Gowda has exercised power as the leader of the junior partner in the governing coalition in Karnataka, good governance has taken a major beating. He insisted on a light-weight puppet to be the Chief Minister. He has called for scrapping the Metro rail project. He has thrown a wrench Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1129886130998137522005-10-21T01:38:00.000-07:002005-10-21T04:08:40.680-07:00Gods, Myths and WomenAmit Varma links to this interview with Mallika Sarabhai where she says that Draupadi "is the epitome of the 21st century woman." In the same post, Amit Varma also links to this blogger who disagrees with the above quote and instead says that Draupadi "comes out like she has no personality and personality is what defines a 21st century woman... That was then; this is now."Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1129038172503980322005-10-11T06:21:00.000-07:002005-10-11T06:42:52.546-07:00The Damned and the SavedEarthquakes, Hurricanes, Tsunamis and War: is the end of days here? Has your soul been saved?Well, to help you on your way, you can check out the guys mentioned here by Sepia Mutiny's Manish. Don't miss the discussion in the comments section - very interesting stuff.Anyone familiar with the issue knows that there is a problem regarding Christian missionaries in India (Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1127135695359181922005-09-19T05:46:00.000-07:002005-09-19T06:14:55.446-07:00The (Un)Thinking Indian?In an interesting op-ed in today's Indian Express, Ananya Vajpeyi engages V.S. Naipaul's recent assertion that "there are no thinkers in India," and William Dalrymple's recent comment that good Indian writing in English will "increasingly come to be the preserve of the diaspora." Vajpeyi's article is an important and necessary contribution to what needs to be an ongoing Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1126190229538092792005-09-08T07:35:00.000-07:002005-09-08T07:37:09.543-07:00Did you catch this?An asian country forces European powers to accept the goods it wishes to trade. The irony is too delicious!LinkVijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1125061547439291282005-08-26T06:03:00.000-07:002005-08-26T06:05:47.446-07:00Indian History Education: An email conversationA friend in America recently wrote to me and asked: "yo, what is desaffronisation? taking hinduism out of public ed? is that a big deal right now?"My response:There's a major controversy regarding the education curriculum in India. Essentially, Indian history has been written by a bunch of leftists and unreconstructed marxists since Indian Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1124966699066478502005-08-25T03:36:00.000-07:002005-08-29T01:55:35.303-07:00Mangal PandeyI saw the film last week and was going to write something on it, but Ashok Malik says everything I wanted to in today's Indian Express, and he puts it in a much better way than I possibly could."Mangal Pandey is eminently watchable. True, it is not short of anomalies and anachronisms — Barrackpore looks beautiful, but is not usually overlooked by the Sahyadris; Lord Canning refers toVijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1124434726146100322005-08-18T23:48:00.000-07:002005-08-19T00:30:15.560-07:00Links1. Went to Pondi last weekend. Abhi has the goods here (with pics).2. This is really pissing me off.3. A British former leftist, turned American "neo-con stooge" fawns over Jyoti Basu and, in the same article, says this:"I have come to hope very devoutly that India ceases to think of itself as a 'Third World' nation, and that it makes a strength of its former weaknesses. In practice, this Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1123767289406807882005-08-11T05:43:00.000-07:002005-08-11T06:34:49.453-07:00Rushdie, Naipaul and HampiFirst off, this guy is wrong. Rushdie is brilliant (previous praise for Rushdie on this blog here). I can't wait to read his new book.(link to Amitava Kumar's article via this very interesting post by Amardeep Singh on the amazing Sepia Mutiny)In the same post, Prof. Singh also talks about V.S. Naipaul's recent interview with the New York Times. This leads to a Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1122729009121237782005-07-30T05:14:00.000-07:002005-07-30T06:10:09.160-07:00General Musings on a Saturday1. Check out this Blog Mela - great format showcasing some great posts from bloggers.2. I've been in India a little over a month now. It's exciting and interesting, but I'm a little worried that the work I'm doing might be a little over my head. Otherwise, the social scene here is really awesome, except for the fact that some police comissioner guy thinks everythingVijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1121862270339389052005-07-20T05:14:00.000-07:002005-07-26T05:38:23.856-07:00My quarterly postSo it looks like I only post once every quarter. I'll try and fix that. Not much I want to blog about today though. I've moved back to India; more on that (probably) later.And radical, totalitalitarian Islamists have struck again, this time in London. Were you surprised by the fact that they had a Pakistani connection? Yeah, me neither.Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1111466136676814042005-03-21T20:35:00.000-08:002005-03-21T20:35:36.676-08:00ModiNarendra Modi is a thug and a bigot and should not be encouraged.Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1109089504063691452005-02-22T08:07:00.000-08:002005-02-22T08:25:04.066-08:00Harvard: Free Speech anyone?I can't help feeling that Larry Summers is sunk. He told a group of academics in a closed-door meeting that maybe, part of the reason why there are fewer women research scientists at top universities than men is innate gender differences. Naturally, this started off a fire-storm. Now, I don't know if I agree or disagree with Summers. It's an unproven hypothesis. Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1100902745272713632004-11-19T13:09:00.000-08:002004-11-19T14:19:05.273-08:00Don't worry, we're still losing
I've stopped reading the New York Times, so I didn't see this op-ed by a couple of Dartmouth Professors until Oxblog linked to it. The article is by International Relations Professors Daryl Press and Benjamin Valentino. I don't know Prof. Valentino, but back in my undergrad days I took an introductory IR course with Prof. Press. It was a lot of theory and I ended Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1099678465696186402004-11-05T09:45:00.000-08:002004-11-05T10:14:25.696-08:00The Election
So it's over, and (as they say) the good guys won. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous while watching the returns, despite the fact that I was in a room full of Kerry supporters and they seemed to be getting more and more depressed as the night wore on. But, the result is pretty unambiguous. George W. Bush won a majority of the popular vote and increased his party's share in Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1098201358642590512004-10-19T07:56:00.000-07:002004-10-19T08:55:58.663-07:00Nana Sahib: Terrorist?
NRO has an article up by James Robbins discussing the growing irrelevance of Osama bin Laden. Robbins says, "If he is alive, he will have to prove it soon or suffer the same slow descent to obscurity as his predecessor, Nana Sahib."
Money 'graf:
"Who was Nana Sahib, you ask? Surely, for some he was the Osama of his times, a well educated, Hindu radical who was Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1097251215728901622004-10-08T08:44:00.000-07:002004-10-08T09:06:11.043-07:00And now I'm depressed again
It looks like things are going badly for the Bush campaign again. Man, this is really depressing and nerve-racking. I don't think I can take a few more weeks of this.
This is a war election, so essentially it is a referendum on how the incumbent is conducting the war. The question on the ballot this year is the Bush Doctrine of pre-emting gathering threats and Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1096408130181113902004-09-28T14:47:00.000-07:002004-09-28T14:48:50.180-07:00Bose and the Nazis
Interesting. Newly released documents show that Subas Chandra Bose recruited Indian soldiers from German POW camps before he did from Japanese ones. They were of course betrayed and became wretched tools of Himmler's SS during the retreat from France.
One can make a parallel analogy to what's going on today - people may dislike America, but perhaps we should identify the Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1094243883182223882004-09-03T13:20:00.000-07:002004-09-07T11:53:52.120-07:00What, me worry?
Ok, so close to two months have passed since my last post. This week saw the Republican National Convention, and let me just say, that the President is finally playing ball. The Repubs showed what we're capable of, and we've finally started defending our position with vigour. Zell Miller's critique of the modern leftists is spot on - they're uselessly trying to fight old wars in Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1089303044229261972004-07-08T09:01:00.000-07:002004-07-23T12:30:22.530-07:00Am I wrong to be worried?
This weekend I met a friend who's working for the Bush re-election campaign and I told him that the faithful are worried. He told me I was wrong to be worried, and that the election is in the bag. I'm still worried though. Am I wrong?
This is the first election since September 11th. This is the equivalent of the 1944 election, when Roosevelt kicked ass. The whole Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1088630232522184632004-06-30T14:16:00.000-07:002004-06-30T14:20:36.720-07:00I've enabled comments. Let's see if anyone actually reads this blog.
UPDATE: To post a comment you have to click on the little # sign and then click on "Post a comment."Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1088629642700836512004-06-30T13:40:00.000-07:002004-06-30T14:07:22.700-07:00"I'm from South Asia"
I'm quite bothered by this business of labelling things subcontinental as "South Asian." I first came into contact with this term during my freshman year at college, when I was asked to join the "South Asian" ethnic group (oh, sorry cultural group) on campus. I couldn't really tell what bothered me about it, until my dad put his finger on it - what is this South Asian Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1088112233672120942004-06-24T13:55:00.000-07:002004-06-24T14:24:55.676-07:00I shook Salman Rushdie's hand!
Last Friday I met Salman Rushdie at an event hosted by the South Asian Journalist's Association. The event was at Columbia University, and speaking were Rushdie and his wife, actress Padma Lakshmi. The event was set up rather poorly (my opinion). It was basically organized as a press conference with all the excited journalist types pushing to the front to ask Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1071866370806867472003-12-19T12:39:00.000-08:002003-12-19T12:39:45.226-08:00The Indian's Calling
Someone recently suggested to me that the phrase "White Man's Burden" is still relevant today, but that the term "White Man" must be broadened to include (in his words) "rasam-swilling, tech types in Silicon Valley with names like Kondaswamy Mokshagundam Thathatachariar." I responded that Indians have no business going on worldwide civilizing sprees, when civilization is Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1071785127533117532003-12-18T14:05:00.000-08:002003-12-18T14:05:42.190-08:00Oh man
It was awesome!!!Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1071623061261680692003-12-16T17:04:00.000-08:002003-12-16T17:04:35.403-08:00Return of the King
I have tickets to see the latest Lord of the Rings movie tomorrow night when it opens in New York. I'm going with ten other people, including my roommate Tim, who's also a major fan. I first read the book (it was meant to be published as one volume, and interestingly, I read it as one volume) back in the 7th std. in R.V. (I was 11 years old). I still remember carrying Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1071438002471236222003-12-14T13:40:00.000-08:002003-12-14T13:40:15.553-08:00Remeber today - today is a good day
And so the vile, tyrannical, evil dictator of Iraq has been caught! It's more than ten years too late, but as they say, better late than never. This is good news for the beleaguered people of Iraq and the rest of the world. We all owe the Bush administration and the American military our thanks.Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1071260403436788902003-12-12T12:20:00.000-08:002003-12-12T12:20:54.826-08:00Current Reading
Right now, I'm reading a book called The Face of the Tiger by Mark Steyn. Steyn's my favorite current columnist, the George Orwell of our times. His insight is amazing, and he can pick up on significant trends and details from any news item, and use them to highlight his brilliant opinions (as you can tell, I'm a fan!). Here's what he has to say about the "massacre" in Jenin Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6186802.post-1071007191956688202003-12-09T13:59:00.000-08:002003-12-09T14:00:03.426-08:00Welcome to my new blog. I'm not really sure what I want to do with this site yet, as I started it on a whim. I'll update it as and when I see fit. Hope you like it.
Cheers.Vijayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02121815935994041985noreply@blogger.com0