So India goes down the history as the first nation on earth to document the presence of water on Moon surface. Thank you ISRO!
Flow
Watched this super animation movie at home over the weekend with my son and granddaughter. This is animation of another level. What a delight to watch the flick with a 3 plus little sweetie who thoroughly enjoyed it frame to frame! I could not decide where to focus on: on the antics of my little granddaughter or the picture! The film was an Oscar winner not surprisingly! A compulsory watch! Highly recommended. Imagine a 3-4 year old crooning to Moana and Bare necessities! Pure bliss!
Why not Olympics for the third sex on the lines of Para Olympics.
Is IOA , the International Olympics Association, listening?
I have never been more happier to be an Indian citizen than now, and never been more prouder. Our passport still list three choices for our gender. Our employers do. Our ID cards do. Today is International Women’s Day. Its still March 7th here in the US where only two genders are recognized officially now and the transgenders are in a spot. LGBT however is LEGAL IN INDIA. Recognized in India constitutionally. So on this special day for women of the world, I want to put this question to Olympic organizers and/or the so-called social media influencers or whoever: why not Olympics for the third sex or the LGBT community on the lines of the Para Olympics for the differently-abled. I am of this view after watching the following video:
Not the competent person to comment on this. But had we had sports streamlined for the transgenders earlier on, this situation might not have arisen.
Trump’s ruling is received favourably especially in the sporting world. This perspective requires some serious study. Most of us are in no position to comment on Woke or on LGBT blindly. We need more data. This calls for expert opinion and rethink. However de-recognizing the third sex is extreme in the circumstances. It is not anyway going to be practical solution in Europe or even in India or in most of the world nations for instance. We cannot give up on fellow humanity – the LGBT. Giving the third sex level field to compete with will go a long way in correcting unfair conditions in the sporting arena. Constituting a new and fourth category in sports alongside male, female and differently-abled categories to fit in the third sex will restore equal and impartial justice to all spheres of sports. We cannot bury our necks deep into the mud like the ostrich and live in denial. Then what for are we launching satellites.
What is in our clothes.
Zelensky was asked in the White House why he couldn’t he wear a suit. Why should he? Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji hardly wears a 3 piece suit. He is wearing kind of national official dress for men. Our confidence level is good wearing comfy clothes. There is pride in wearing clothes reflecting our culture and heritage. Plus, wearing the regular national clothes puts you at ease. To give the national dress an official makeover, Modi ji throws a Nehruvian jacket over it. That completes the look. I don’t think Trump ji ever had a problem with that or referred to it. So its not the clothes that can be a problem. Its the personality that you are. Clothes are an external endorsement, that’s all. But we don’t need that if they know who you are.
Smt. Indira Gandhi, ex woman prime minister of India draped saris and never wore the western clothes. She headed India from before Margaret Thatcher arrived on the scene. Her casual elegance in sari is what impresses me the most. As a woman I can appreciate her taste in her saris, the prints, the ethnic motifs, the weaves of India mostly handloom. She was a picture of understated elegance. I adore the statement she made as a woman of India, head of the Indian state and as a powerful presence as a woman. Sadly she was assassinated when I was still in school, after she ruled India already for over 17 years. She made a mincemeat of the US president Nixon and Henry Kissinger and neatly cut Pakistan into 2 pieces. Iron lady, the original one. I miss her era and don’t miss her at the same time because she was authoritarian. But the power she held was immense. For me, its the Nari shakthi – the feline female power that men had to grudgingly respect and even admire. Sari is the unstitched garment of Indian/Hindu women for millennia. It has come under flak for the national fervour it represents from nothing less than NYT. Western clothes are popular but its Indian clothes that rule the Indian heart.
Me, I am an average Indian nari and I love draping the sari. Nothing comes closest to it be it in elegance or the cultural heritage equated with it. Secondly, the salwar kameez dupatta ensemble, the Indo-Mugal dress comfortable work clothes for Indian women next to sari, is my choice. Its the typical office wear of Indian women mostly who ride 2 wheelers to work as staple practice. Its easy and practical and breezy wear. Western clothes I wear so as not to stick out in a group and draw attention to myself when I am abroad. The main purpose of me wearing the jean and the t shirt is that: to mingle with the crowd for my own safety and security. But I do enjoy the western clothes as well. Unless I am comfortable in something I don’t wear it.
Its sickening to read that the sari, that has been around for not less than 10,000 years, is easily dubbed as ‘nationalistic symbol’ by the NYT, promoted deliberately in India (by the BJP).
First you lose your native clothes, then your native languages, your native FAITH, then you lose your native culture, you lose your native cuisine – and then finally you lose your ORIGINAL IDENTITY, self respect, self esteem, dignity, honour and at last the sense of belongingness and nationhood. Just look at Pakistan. Clothes are not mere clothes. Indian netas REFUSE TO WEAR WESTERN CLOTHES IN PUBLIC.
To me, my saris are mostly hand woven, printed with national/ethnic motifs, with vegetable dyes. I am head over heels in love with handblocks.. My clothes are of natural fibres such as cotton or Kanchi or Benarasi or Tussar silk from India, the finest on earth. The cottons and weaves of India are of myriad threads. District to district, state to state, they vary and I enjoy best my Indian cotton. My kurtas are the Indian cotton, bit coarse and at times softest like the mul mul. Anything but the imported lawn cotton from across the border. My Indian clothes cannot stand machine wash or dryer mostly. They need handwash. They will bleed colours initially because of the vegetable dyes used in them – not to be judged for quality by that. They will have imperfections natural to manual labour. But I believe my Indian clothes have a strong unflinching character about them, that is lacking in my expensive branded western attire that are standardly mill or machine made in batches and with not much of uniqueness about them. The finishing of the western clothes is what makes them special. They are neatly tailored and can be least clumsy. The perfect fit of the branded western wear is the other highlight about them. Fast colours lend them the durability. Indian clothes require maintenance care. Western clothes I wear are all synthetic fibre such as rayon, polyester etc. Even if these artificial fibres flood Indian market too, they are not too popular. Western clothes are easy maintenance, no doubt. Their imported cotton can be pricey. Western wear are machine washable and suited for dryers. My Indian clothes are my soul. Represent the real me. My western clothes may be the global contemporary me keeping with times. Its transient me but not the permanent me.
The Bechdel Test
My son told me about this test which is a measure of women’s equivalent participation in anything, especially performing arts such as motion pictures. Bechdel test states 3 basic rules ( this is from Google) :
at least two women are featured, (2) that these women talk to each other, and (3) that they discuss something other than a man.
Unless these 3 basic rules feature in pictures, they cannot be hyped as fair productions. Although this is about pictures, we can use the ground rule for works of fictions/books as well. I used to have this problem about Indian pictures or even fictions I read. Its the male mind that is imagining the scenarios, penning the dialogues, directing the screenplay, editing and finishing and turning out the sum total output. What is the woman’s role in all this? Mere acting skills? Who can imagine the woman’s mind with its complexities. But in Tamil cinema, the thespian screenplay-dialogue writer and director K Balachander had done such a fabulous job. I have done a blog post on him in Tamil. In particular I am in amazement still of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship in the picture ‘Avargal’ produced in the late ’70s. KB was way ahead of his times especially given the plot setting in India. Those were the times we were ultra conservative. Divorces were unheard of. The heroine Sujatha is a divorcee. The mother-in-law comes to her door disguised as a maid servant, cook, and nanny all rolled into one to take care of her infant. That mother-in-law character is one in a million. You have to watch the picture for full import. I can quote more instances from KB.
So very few pictures from India can pass the Bechdel test. Avargal, the black & white Tamil picture from the 70s passes the Bechdel test with flying colours.
Jayalalitha Jayaram: My role model in many ways.
She is no more but she will always remain iconic to those like me and millions of women in Tamil Nadu and around India. The ex CM of Tamil Nadu was that kind of rare breed. Bold, fierce, intelligent, dynamic, well accomplished in academics and performing arts, winning in the all men’s world, and at the same time caring, she defined the epitome of women power. I miss you Amma. JJ is the face of the Indian Nari. Like typical Indian woman, JJ neglected her health. She could have easily lived another 20 more years. JJ’s last few lonely and mysterious years also underscore the significance of family in everyone’s life. HEALTH AND FAMILY: these are our real wealth.
And how she shut up Karan Thapar !
US can consider waiver of taxes for dollars repatriated by Indian parents.
Many Indian parents are in a fix when their children migrate to the US. Real estate in India is expensive. They would want to transfer dollars/ savings/ investments/ insurances and also terminal benefits to their kids in the US. But they face double taxation that will drain their finances. 35% of capital gains taxes in India, followed by equal taxes by the US may not leave much for the kids, in case the parents want to dispose of their real estate in India and want to transfer funds to the US to their children. Its hopeless trying to get the Indian govt to lower the taxes. But the investments are going to go the US permanently. The US can consider waiver of taxes on investment capital from Indian parents to their kids in the US. We have this scenario prevalent in the case of most of the parents based in India with their children working/living in the US. Presently, the Indian govt allows tuition fees in dollars with nominal charges, to be paid by Indian parents to the US universities when the kids enrol in varsities abroad, but even this has a ceiling.
What shall happen if the taxes are waived off by the US for investment transfers from Indian parents to their grandchildren either for education fund or for assisting in housing for their children? There can be much more inflows than happening now. The US can also allow transfer in kind such as gold and diamond jewelry that are left back in India by migrating children as they are highly taxable in the US. A ceiling can be fixed for the quantum of transfer. Many Indian immigrants opt for OCI card in India (equivalent of the green card) on acquiring US citizenship that can help retain their inheritances in India. (India does not permit dual citizenship for security reasons). But after a generation or two, they may lose touch with the base. They can benefit from repatriation of funds. Just a thought!
What about India’s gold with foreign countries.
The Golden Mahalakshmi Temple, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India: No I haven’t been here. So close to home. A temple made of solid gold.
We are aware Modi govt got back part of our gold with UK sometime back in 2 installments for security reasons. That’s only a portion. To quote from Google,
Other than the Bank of England, which is known for its stringent security provisions, India also stores its gold reserves at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, as well as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the United States.
Now I am shocked to watch this video:
Indian women unofficially own and hold in their possession maximum gold in the world to the tune of approximately 25,000 tonnes exceeding gold reserves of all world nations put together.
Hindu temples may hold many more times that kind of gold and precious antique and diamond and other jewelry. Golden vimanas or golden towers thousands of temples raise to the sky. Most old golden chariots for deities. These are just the popular two:
Its high time India got back her gold from the US. Its our gold and I can’t understand how they can refuse to give us back our gold if that is true. That is why I don”t trust investments made by India in foreign countries.
After the losses India had to bear at Lehman bros, this comes as a big shock.
British looted most of our wealth after the Islamic invaders. Yet after 1500 years of onslaught we are here. Our top scientists starting from Homi Bhabha, father of our nuke programme, got assassinated (died under mysterious circumstances) – this nation of mine reportedly has lost over 5000 scientists in last 5 decades to mysterious deaths/assassinations. Otherwise we would have been in space and in nuke front and in research must earlier and as much advanced. India continues to pay a heavy price for minding her own business which is sad.
The golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab is the first golden temple of India. About 100,000 guests are fed FREE wholesome satwik nutritious yummy food in the temple every single day. Temples of India feed millions free everyday. This is why we can never be as ruthless or single minded like China or the US. Some cultures have lived well for MILLENNIA. Been prosperous for thousands of years straight. In Tamil we say, Nirai Kudam Thalumbaadhu.
Tesla over F35
Tesla anyday because its EV and it can give good competition to Mahindra and Tata in the same segment that are local manufactures. India does need foreign investment and participation to optimal level. Whether Tesla is necessary I am not sure. But we do have some foreign brands, that adding Tesla to the list cannot hurt. In fact it can give good value for money for the Indian consumers by forcing others to update themselves. Yesterday there was news that Tesla was looking for plant locations in Maharashtra. Its better than selling 100% imported cars in India. No worries about tariffs. High end customers in India do not bother. Voting for Tesla only because it is environment friendly. It may not fit the middle class budget but there is a huge market in India for this kind of premium automobiles. If they have long term plans, they must come to India, not otherwise. As someone put it, India is not a car country – rather motorbike country. But I have relatives and friends who will lap up Tesla from Chennai whatever the price. Business community people. We the regular salaried class just can’t afford the luxury.
Presently carless, we are looking for a hybrid though for our next. Prefer Tata or Mahindra because they are easily serviceable in the country. For highways in India, Mahindra and Tata are the best with proven track record. Use local steel. Honda, Hyundai, MG etc., have carved their own space in Indian car market. I am sure, Tesla too will. I don’t have the car fetish. Just something comfy and parkable in our street will do for me! We of all things look at the turning radial! Just watched a Tesla in Doha for the first time on our way to airport. Did not even imagine in my dreams even then that Tesla would make a foray into India. It looked huge on Doha roads like a boat! Its just 2 weeks back! Never in Indian history foreign investments happened so fast, to my knowledge! Tesla is win-win for both America and India, in case they are to enter India.
Pollution in India is mainly due to stubble burning. Stubble burning by farmers in neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab is the reason for Delhi air pollution. 2030 is our deadline to go electric or hybrid totally I guess. So its a wise move to have Tesla EV in India. Water pollution is a different thing already.
Hyundai made in India have an export market. In the long run, this is a distinct possibility for Tesla. May be they will be in India forever like Suzuki and Honda. While at it, is it even possible for Mahindra or Tata or Tesla to make an EV within 15 lac rupees budget? I know its asking for too much! Hopefully Tata can make it for us. I am saying this because this is our maximum budget ceiling for our next car! If they can, they will be runaway success even with the burgeoning middle class. Even in Chennai, we have the 2 or 3 car owning middle class families mostly.
I got this from Google:
* In 2022, India exported $6.68B in Cars. The main destinations of India exports on Cars were South Africa ($1.24B), Mexico ($941M), Saudi Arabia ($579M), United Arab Emirates ($400M), and Chile ($355M).
*Leading the Made-in-India export vehicle charge is the PV market leader Maruti Suzuki India. Between April and December 2024, the company has shipped 245,642 vehicles, up 21% YoY (April-December 2023: 202,786).
*Indian car export to the US: Mahindra, the only brand.
They say India is not a car country. Our highway network is good but in-city roads are pretty bad. Luxury cars have scope only outside city limits. Yet look at what stats reveal: This stat is from the link from below. This is November 2024 figure alone which is festival season in India. A total of 351,592 cars got sold last November in India. Festival season in India peaks with Ganesh Chaturti, Navratri and Diwali – the three grandest Hindu festivals. Car sales are maximum at this time.
F35 not advisable. Or India must take her time to study the pros and cons. The next US govt if it is to be Democratic, won’t cooperate with intelligence. Won’t even deliver on time and would go back on the agreement. I don’t know specifics but is it true that you need a daily password for F35. I am also aware that never will a Democratic govt offer F series to India. This is rarest of rare chance. Its also expensive and may burn a hole in India’s pocket. May India take her time to decide on that.
I welcome anything that is green energy into India. We want less pollution, less damage to environment and least usage of fossil fuels.
21 million $ cut to Pappu Gang!
That’s the best news for India coming out of America. That much was funded for affecting voter turnout in the last year’s Lok Sabha elections. BJP still won the elections but not as a single huge majority. Its highly disturbing to note how much the ‘breaking India’ forces are at work. Rahul Gandhi of Congress reportedly has had links with George Soros and even China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd9Ng92828U&t=16s
USAID also must publish the list of NGO recipients of the fund.
Imagine the country going into the Indi gang hands. One day it can actually happen, I am not ruling that out. God save India then. Even some protests in Tamil Nadu etc, got funded. We don’t hold proofs but we were dumbstruck when protesters turned out in thousands and would not stop until Vedanta closed their copper plant (Sterlite Industries) in our state. This part of the state Tirunelveli is under church mafia influence with conversion missionary working at full throttle targeting the poorest and the tribals. In fact there were nuns in uniform (!) who were spearheading the protests. Where did the economic incentives come from? In India, every single mass protest such as farmers’ rallies, etc., receives funding to raise banners against Modi government. The timing would be so perfect to peak during our general election times. The Times of India etc., are church owned and have Malayali christians, the most toxic communists in their payroll for journalists, who spew venom on Hindus in general. MOST TOXIC COMBO: MALLU CHRISTIANS AND MALLU MUSLIMS HIDING UNDER THE GUISE OF INDIAN MEDIA AND MIXING VENOM AMONG MASS MENTALITY. They can totally change the narrative and present you with completely wrong picture. We Tamils can call out their bluff anywhere and everywhere. Look at their screeching bylines trying to misinterpret the fundings with attempt to generalize the illegal resources. TOI etc., should give credit to exact journalist who is planting the story. You will know who exactly is behind the misinformation: INDIAN MALLU CHRISTIAN/MUSLIM OR INDIAN MUSLIM. Cancer of India. Anything out of communist Kerala is suspect. Remember Krishna Menon who kept Nehru under the dark about China posted there that led to the surprise Indo-China war that India lost in 1961. These same communists from Bengal and Kerala have lobbies in the US to receive funds to sponsor anti-national activities in India. The USAID funding IS NOT FOR INDIA. It was for anti-national Indian activities.
How many fronts should a Hindu fight. We have to fight the violent muslims funded from the middle east and also through agencies from the US. We have to fight the christian missionary mafia aiming at destroying our Hindu roots. We have to fight Pakistan, China, Bangladesh everyone. And we have to fight the economic wars. What a great work Modi ji is doing in tandem with Shri Jaishankar ji literally and still seeing to that we tick at a nation. Its a tremendous job really.
During last year’s Lok Sabha elections, I knew my househelp hid something from me. Some people came door to door distributing cash. She took it but refused to admit it to me. For years this is happening in India. The poorest people do that. For them that sudden cash gift matters so much. Its marvellous this very dangerous funding is now put to a stop.
BJP’s Annamalai must have won from Coimbatore. But DMK, the state govt and anti Hindu party, saw to that, many thousands of Hindus did not figure in voters’ list inspite of holding voter ID issued by central govt. It is only through rigging that DMK won the seat, not by fair means.
India has chance only until the muslim population of India hits 35-40%. After that, Hindus be ready to commit mass suicide. That will be the end of Dharma. Regarding this, I wanted to write something, I thought about it last week and went to sleep. Normally when I wake up in between I go back to sleep muttering Lalitha sahasranama or ‘raam raam.’ I wake up with Lalitha in my lips.That day when I was to fly out in the late night, I woke up with ‘masha allah’ at 4 am that completely stunned me. From where did I get it? Its something middle easterners utter like a greeting. Like a hello. It crossed my mind that probably Allah was assuring me that my fears were baseless and India, my Bharat, will have Hindu soul to eternity. That is how I take it.
I am from Chennai where everyday I see how the poorest and weakest are approached by the christian lobbies with cash incentives to convert. Suppose you give a street hawker 1 lac rupees, it is still a big amount for him. He can never repay but he has to attend church as new born christian instead. This is how they convert vulnerable Hindus in India. Shame on church. For them quantity matters over quality. The funding is from America and we Hindus have no means to fight this system. We have nothing to offer our poor except free meals in our temples.
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