Gay People And Us

Quentin Crisp (above) whom Sting immortalised in his song Englishman in Newyork

A few months back while watching a film at Satyam,I saw this guy carrying a handbag, wearing jeans,a girls shirt ,dupetta and glass bangles .Obviously he was gay and I was a little shocked and instinctively repulsed. I kept starring at him in curiosity. Later I realized it’s like treating him like a specimen in a lab and felt guilty about it. A lot of the other people around were staring at him as well and I don’t blame them. We are a conservative city and someone openly admitting without shame that they are gay, which is what this man had done by the way he had dressed, is something that scandalizes us. Whenever I have thought of this incident one thing that strikes me is the tremendous guts it must have taken to come out of the closet about something, which is still considered very unacceptable in our society. There is this song by Sting called Englishman in New York. It is about a gay Brit called Quentin Crisp who in England in the 1930s, which was still under a major Victorian hangover, was a self-confessed homosexual. After being treated as an outcast he moved to New York in the last years of his life, where he was much happier. The plight of gays in India is similar to what it would have been in England in the 1930s.On this reality chat show called Kadaialla Nijam, which used to come on Vijay TV sometime back, this person who was a gay and lesbian rights activist spoke about how there are a substantial number of these people in our city and how they face disapproval and scorn wherever they go. He was talking about how they have to hide what they are, fearing how people may react to them. I think we should all realize that how much ever absurd the idea of same sex couples and attractions might be to us it is something which seems natural to these people. While we have a right to say that we don’t want to have anything to do with them, we have no business passing value judgments on them. We have a right to keep away, but we are nobody to mock, scorn, and ridicule them or call them evil or perverted. The genaralisation that gays try and harass us is being unfair to them. Just like there are men who rape women there may be gay folk who might make a pass at and abuse others. Just like rapists such gays deserve no pity and must be made to pay for their crime. But ostracizing their whole community for this is barbarian.

The situation of the guy I saw at the cinema house is not dissimilar to that of the defiant British gentleman who lived his life without compromise. “It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile, Be yourself no matter what they say.’’-These lines from Sting’s song convey the amazing defiance amdist unthinkable adversity shown by Quentin Crisp, and all people like him who have choosen to live life the way they want to, despite of being thought of as abnormal and wierd . Of course it is not easy for us to accept these people.But lets us respect their way of life and try to be tolerant to them.

If You Witness An Accident

Accident Relief Force provides round the clock service for victims of accidents. If you happen to witness one please do take the effort and call 044-52077777, which is their help line. Due to some of the legal formalities involved we think twice before helping out those unfortunate to have met with an accident. ARF makes our job easier. All we need to do if we see an accident is call their help line and give the details like where it has taken place so that they can reach the scene and take charge of the situation. Once ARF arrives on the scene they take care of admitting the person/s to a hospital, informing their kin and registering the case with the cops. ARF does not take remuneration for these services. They also have an insurance scheme to which you can subscribe to by paying Rs.390 per annum. If you are in Madras make a note of this number.Bringing the situation to ARF’s notice if we see an accident is basic humaneness and something we owe our fellow citizens. Source - Prabu Karthik expertdabbler.blogspot.com

The King Performs

An instrumental version of paruvame was being played on the speakers as we entered the gates of the Nehru Indoor stadium. After taking our seats the wait for Raaja sir’s entry was really exciting. And then a door opened slowly on top of the stage and we got our first glimpse of Raaja surrounded by little kids. As he started coming down the steps crackers started flying and he started singing janane janane. The King had arrived and we his fans went berserk as Raaja bowed to us in acknowledgment of the applause. And thru the show Raaja was at his spectacular best. His own unique style of conducting the show like for instance, stopping in the middle of a song to correct his orchestra players, was fabulous, in its sheer novelty. The singing demonstration of different folks songs, handed over by word of mouth from generation to generation, was scintillating. The grandeur of the orchestration for songs like sundari kannal oru seidi really came thru listening to them live. While a lot of the singers like SPB,Hariharan,Chitra,Jayachandra or even Mano sang really well, listening to Sreya Ghosal singing live was a huge dampener. She totally spoilt songs like elangatru vesude by skipping whole lines and mispronouncing the rest, and left me feeling she does not deserve to be in the same stage as Isaignani Ilayaraaja.Some of the celebrities speaking between songs, especially Barathiraja, were really irritating. It would have been nice if Raaja had performed songs from Nothing but Wind or How to Name It. Certain joys in life cannot be put in words. The privilege of watching Raaja sir perform is one of them. What makes Ilayaraaja so special for so many of us? I have for a while been trying to figure out the answer to this. I think it lies in the fact that there are very few things and people in our lives, which are a constant and always there to comfort us. My immediate family, those precious people who are my close friends, and Raaja’s enduring music are those invaluable things in my life, which I would call permanent.

Jai Jawan

Major calamities have a way of bringing out the best in us. We have been hearing so many stories of despair after the earthquake that struck Pakistan and India last weekend. Amidst all this both the Pakistani and our jawans^, through some spontaneous gestures of compassion and kindness have put to shame the politicians of both our countries. On Tuesday some jawans near the LoC in Pakistan administered Kashmir had been trapped under debris when a bunker had collapsed. They called out to the Indian jawans just a few feet away, on our side, for help. Without sanction from the authorities our jawans crossed over to the Pakistani side and along with some of their jawans rescued the trapped jawans and returned. There was another incident which Barkha Dutt narrated, reporting from Uri in Indian administered Kashmir. Apparently a few of our jawans had accidentally crossed over to their side during a rescue operation. They were met with neither hostility nor arrest. The Pakistani’s promptly returned them in an unprecedented act of camaraderie. Through these moving gestures the humble jawans have proven once again that,we, the people of both our countries, think of each other as sisters and brothers. ^Jawan - foot soldier

Do visit this site set up to provide help to those affected by the earthquake

The Impact, Relevance And The Role Of The Left In The Age Of Neocolonialism

The defenders of capitalism speak of the fall of the Berlin wall as the symbolic fall of communism.15 years after the German reunification (before which the country had an unemployment % of just 5.1%^), the unemployment rate is 11.6%^. Even more alarming is the disparity between the western part of that country where the unemployment rate is 7.6%^ and the east where it is a staggering 17.7%^.I think it can be fairly said that 15 years is a substantial enough time to conclude that the fall of the wall has only increased the problems of the Germans. Had Germany not adopted socialistic policies subsequently and instead depended on the free market things would have been much bleaker. For the first time since independence the left in India is part of the ruling coalition and has over 60 Mp’s in the Lok Sabha.After the Manhohan Singh government voted to refer Iran to the security council in an act of shameless dancing to the whims of Bush and Co the left has lambasted the Congress. Going back to Europe both Chancellor Schröder of Germany and President Chirac of France were bitter critics and opponents to the U.S led illegal war in Iraq.True the leftist Social Democrats and The Greens may not be able to form a government of their own in Germany this time around. But they have ensured that the pro America, Christian Democrats will not be able to form a government without their support. Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela has been such a strong force against globalisation and American imperialism that right wingers in the U.S.A have been yelling for his assassination. Mr.Chavez has said about the damage capitalism has caused in his country ,“ An infernal machine that produces every minute an impressive amount of poor, 26 million poor in 10 years are 2.6 million per year of new poor, this is the road, well, the road to hell."Here in India Medha Patkar and the Narmada Bachao Andolan have been fighting against anti - people development projects such as the Sardar Sarovar dam.They may be fighting a losing battle.But they have exposed beyond doubt the dubious motives of vested interests at work. From Fidel Castro to Michael Moore to Arundathi Roy, there are leftists at different spheres and levels who are “ a collective pain in the ass^’’ of,the neoimperialists.Sure U.S.A’s diplomatic manipulations through sanctions through its mouthpieces like the WTO and IMF may have forced some leftists to relax their policies(like in West Bengal)to survive.Maybe losing the battle to win the war is not so bad.Like in any other system there are black sheeps, like China’s anti people dictators.But they are not the real lefties.They are evil people who justify their wrongs by claiming to subscribe to a system and ending up misrepresenting and disgracing it. Those who think the Left is dead are doing so at their own cost.It is very much alive,if not kicking.Yes we are certainly the underdogs in this David Vs Golaith kind of situation against the neocolonialist.But then again you know who won that battle.The road ahead is tough and curbing the imperialist forces is no mean task.But we have already taken big steps in the direction of not living as subjects of the American Empire.Like Arundathi Roy says," Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." Sources- ^1-Proffessor Fatemi www.fatemi.com ^2-Official German measure ^3 and ^4- Fedaral foreign office of Germany ^4-Arundathi Roy You can visit Christian's Blog by clicking here

Many Thanks To THE KING Of Song! Just back from Landmark where Vatsan and I bought tickets for the Ilayaraaja concert! Yes Ilayaraaja is actually doing a concert! It is a dream come true for me. How often is one lucky enough to be born in the same era as one of the all time great musical giants? And then to be able to watch him perform is a privilege not many have. It doesn’t get bigger than this! It really doesn’t! How many Beatles fans would have got too see John Lennon perform? How many lovers of western classical music would have wished they could have been alive when Mozart or Beethoven lived? On the 16th of this month the huge load of us who are going to be at the Nehru Stadium are going to have the rare privilege of watching one of the pillars of world music perform in front of us! The crowd is going to go absolutely wild! I can’t even comprehend how euphoric it is going to be when rakkamma kayatathe is on! Or the mesmeric spell we will be under if Raaja performs kadhal oviyum. When Sridhar and I went for the release of Tiruvasagam in Music Academy the sheer adulation and frenzy for Raaja was breathtaking. It was so packed that people were sitting on the wall outside!Raaja says that it is this response from us,his fans, which convinced him to do something which he has not done in over a decade - do a concert in Madras!Thank you Raaja!

Short Story/The Old Couple And The Touring Marriage Party

Installment 3 Apart from having to sleep on the floor Poniah and Susheela had to endure Baskar’s constant commentary on various subjects from what they would name Raju and Mini’s 1st born to why PMK leader Dr.Ramdass was unfit to be a politician. As the old couple tossed and turned trying to sleep, Baskar announced that he had fallen asleep through his loud snoring. They heaved a sigh of relief and eventually fell asleep. Morning came and both the bathrooms in the house were bombarded as each member of the touring party had their baths. It seemed that the sound of water coming out of the tap daba, daba, daba would never stop. Soon the guests started placing orders for breakfast. The bride’s nieces wanted puri masala and Lakshmi started fussing asking for cakara pongal*.Raju the groom speaking as a spokesman for all the adults said,"Perimma* you know I love masala dosai and since it is my wedding we are celebrating you can prepare it for all of us. Also don’t forget to cook meedu vadais”. Susheela was too stunned to even protest and went into the kitchen straight and started cutting potatoes. With a little help from Poniah and Nirmala(who was sent as the sole cooking representative of the guests)Susheela finished preparing this princely breakfast within two hours. Finishing breakfast Baskar announced,”We are leaving for Darmapuri now”, and Poniah heard himself whispering,"appadi*".Since they wanted to be at their destination by lunchtime they decided to leave immediately. The driver Parameshwaran took the luggage back to the mini bus. The youngsters, including the newly weds prostrated and took the blessings of Poniah and Susheela.After everyone except Baskar had got on to the van,he turned to the old couple and said,”Poniah and Sushi we are so sorry we could not stay longer.We would have loved to stay for a few days.We will try and come back while returning from Darmapuri.” *cakara pongal-south Indian sweet delicacy *Perimma-aunty *appadi-a sigh of relief THE END!!!