The (Old) Naive Indian

The Naive Indian Has Moved To His Own Domain…Finally!

Krishna Aradhi — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:31:20 +0000

Yep, it’s done…finally! All future posts will be done on the new blog. The new blog’s URL is: http://naiveindian.in/

All the posts on this blog shall remain. I am not exporting them to the new blog because if I do that, Google may penalize me for duplicate content. You know, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

And yes, it would be great if all the folks who were kind enough to add The Naive Indian to their blogroll could made the requisite changes.

You can subscribe to the RSS feeds for the new blog using the following links:

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Wheeee! Off To Matheran!

Krishna Aradhi — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:46:14 +0000

Yep, it’s a sort of a weekend holiday. I am going to that scenic hill-station where the only modes of transport are on horseback, by man-pulled rickshaw, or on foot. Yes, all vehicles are banned! It’s almost like heaven! A dream come true! And there is also this Toy Train which covers about 20 km in two hours, from Neral to Matheran. I am gonna have a peaceful two days, away from this stifling city environment. A welcome break! You can learn more about Matheran here.

And yes, as for moving this blog to its own domain, it’s almost done. Of course, as I am going to Matheran, it will just take a few more days…

A Small Break

Krishna Aradhi — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:32:48 +0000

Hey guys, I am currently trying to figure out how to get my blog self-hosted and the only way I can do that is by cutting down on my blogging. So I guess I won’t be posting for about 5-6 days now (unless the Dynasty that rules us does something that I just can’t resist blogging about ).

Please bear with The Naive Indian

Earth Hour, Indian Style!

Krishna Aradhi — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:59:32 +0000

Today, the 29th of March 2008, Earth Hour will be celebrated. Which means that around 20 cities across the world are going to switch off their lights from 8pm to 9pm today. This is purportedly to increase awareness about Global Warming. And yes, before you ask, no Indian city is participating in this initiative. Everyone is grumbling over this pathetic response shown by India .

Well, on a less serious note, I really don’t think any Indian city needs to participate in any initiative like the Earth Hour. We already have stuff like compulsory load shedding being thrust on us. We already save tons of carbon emissions by bearing these power cuts. Let us enjoy the wonders of electricity at least when we have it!

As G.Singh fromGurgaon says in a comment on The Times of India website,

We have been celebrating Earth Hour for so many years in India. With electricity being cut off for hours by our State Electricity boards, what is a better way to show solidarity for this cause. I think most of the Indians are life members of this elite club of not using electricity. For a change the world joined us for one hour on March 29th. But we shall carry on our endeavour for this cause without fail for the next few years thanks to our government’s planning on power generation.

Heh. I loved that comment!

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My Article, In The Paper!

Krishna Aradhi — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:34:44 +0000

Yep, remember my post on the IndiBlogger Bloggers’ Meet at Pune. A slightly modified version of that post has been published in a well-respected weekly tabloid called Intelligent Pune (March 28th issue).

They have also printed a few photos of the meet. However, there is one photo which is supposed to be mine. Well, it is not. It is Vineet Rajan a.k.a. Vinni in that photo. I guess it was a small mistake on Intelligent Pune’s part. It happens sometimes You can see my not-so-handsome photo here. I am the one at the extreme right.

However, the point to be noted is, my article got published in a paper

The Lead India Ad: So Symbolic Of India!

Krishna Aradhi — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:14:36 +0000

This one’s from the Times of India. I guess the backdrop of this ad is the day when Mumbai was flooded by almost 944 mm of rainfall in around 24 hours. Yep, you guessed it right. The day is the 26th of July 2005.

Indeed, it is so symbolic of India!

The Pen-Keyboard Analogy

Krishna Aradhi — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:20:02 +0000

We all know the classic adage:

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Yesterday, as I was just brooding (in fact, day-dreaming is a more accurate description ), I hit upon a new adage which is more representative of the modern era. Here goes,

The keyboard is mightier than the AK-47.

Eeeks! I know it sucks, but I felt that I should share it with you guys. I guess ‘keyboard’ perfectly replaces ‘pen’, but I feel that there can be a better word to replace ‘sword’. Any ideas?

Animated Film On Female Foeticide

Krishna Aradhi — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:19:27 +0000

First things first. Whenever you have time, do visit this blog: Unchaahi. It’s a relatively new blog campaigning against female foeticide (and infanticide) and Roop Rai (the blog owner) seems to be really serious about it. For all we know, this may eventually turn out to be a great campaign in the future. The least we can do is to be aware of how the female sex is being systematically eliminated in India. I wish you all the best in your campaign, Roop!

OK, now let’s get back to the animated film the headline of this post talks about. This film has been made by Mr. Hardeep Singh of the Pumpkin Academy of Digital Arts. It is arguably the first animated film on female foeticide. I came to see this film on Roop’s blog here.

And the same video has been embedded below.

It’s heart-rending I wonder how anyone can have the heart to commit such a heinous crime as female foeticide. I for one, can at the most kill a mosquito. You give me anything bigger than that, and I can’t do it. Against this backdrop, I have heard that in a few villages, newly born female babies are drowned in a cauldron of milk. Savages!

And yes, you guys may also like to see this video. Unchaahi: An Introduction.

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Cricket, Hockey And The Administrators

Krishna Aradhi — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:05:43 +0000

OK, I know you guys may have already read tons of material analysing India’s shameful failure in qualifying for the Beijing Olympics (this happened for the first tme in 80 years). That was the one reason I was hesitant to write on this topic for a long time now. But a speech at the India Today Conclave by Bishen Singh Bedi compelled me to write on this topic.

This is how he started his speech,

I would like to take you back to a time when India beat New Zealand in a five-day Test match. In those days Indian used to get Rs. 50 a day for a Test match. But Indians won the game in four days and the Indian Board deducted Rs.50. That was the incentive of winning the game in four days.

Heh. Rs. 250 for playing a Test match? And money deducted if the match finishes in less than five days? Incredible! But of course, that was years ago. Now, let’s get back to the present. When India recently won the triangular series in Australia, Team India got a bonus of Rs. 10 crore! That is over and above their usual match fee (which in itself is quite a large amount).

If cricket could be such a money-spinner in India, we can only imagine how much money-spinning potential sports like hockey and football must be having. Let’s be honest, one-day cricket is a dreadfully drawn-out event. Each innings lasts for a never-ending three and a half hours. I mostly fall asleep in the middle overs. They are damn boring. Effectively, we end up spending no less that eight hours seeing a match. Almost a whole day wasted! And still we love cricket

Contrast this with hockey. Each half lasts for 35 minutes and the match is over in under two hours. And to top it all, every moment is filled with excitement and adrenaline. There are hardly any sleep-inducing moments. And of course, there are almost no adverisements; unlike in cricket, where we are force-fed advertisements every five minutes

So why isn’t hockey the money-spinner that it could be in India? The answer to this question can be found by analysing Indian cricket’s success story. Cricket has had great administrators like Dalmiya, Bindra et al. They have done a great job in promoting cricket. They are the guys who have raked in the moolah, so to say, for Indian cricket. And therefore, Indian cricket is where it is today.

On the other side, we have K.P.S. Gill doing the best he can to kill hockey in India for the past 14 years. I wonder why he is still hanging on. Has he become so shameless? What hockey needs is great administrators who can ensure that talented youngsters get a platform where they can display their skills. Merit (not stupid internal politics and regionalism) should be the only criterion for selecting a player in the national team. Everything else will follow; sponsors, money, crowds in stadiums, everything…

If only we could kick Mr. Gill out of the Indian Hockey Federation for a start…

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Chappals In Pubs

Krishna Aradhi — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:20:02 +0000

Sometimes you read a political news story which at the very first look, doesn’t make you cry (most of them do). First you read it, then you feel like laughing out loud (which you do), but as you think more deeply about it, you feel frustrated and become angry when you realise how the hard-earned money you pay as taxes is wasted on frivolous grounds.

Well, I just read such a news report two days ago. DNA reports,

Chappals have often been the cause of controversies at five-star hotels. Now, the Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council Vasant Davkhare wants a committee to study why sandals are not allowed in pubs.

Davkhare on Monday asked the state government to constitute an all-party committee to study the rules and regulations laid by the restaurants, pubs and discos in the city.

Last year, a few Marathi actors were stopped from entering a suburban five-star hotel’s pub because they were wearing Kolhapuri chappals.

Speechless, I read. An all-party committee to study why chappals aren’t allowed in pubs? Heck, even I (a naive Indian) can tell you that. It’s because chappals ain’t the ‘in’ thing. They ain’t hip, they ain’t fashionable.

And no, the story doesn’t end there. You didn’t read the reply of Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil to that demand, did you?

He replied,

The rules are set by the hotel management taking into account the safety of consumers. Chappals are not allowed since they are unsafe for the consumers as well as others on the floor of the pub. The actors were offered the shoes, but they refused them.

Honestly, do we really need to discuss all that in the State Legislative Council? Aren’t there far more pressing and important issues that need to be discussed? Please end this farce, dear politicos!

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