“Laughter is an instant vacation.” said Milton Berle. Here at NK, we would like to contribute to lightening your mood in preparation for a meaningful and relaxed weekend. So here’s the tongue- in-cheek look at the events of the week gone by that you’ve been waiting for :)
Mid-February is when two festivals, the Valentine’s Day and the Maha Shivaratri arrive, but usually they take care not to meet each other face to face, given their inherent contradictions. This year they coincided and met overnight. In UP, students of a college in Lucknow, received an extended holiday for two days, viz. February 13th and 14th and this most unusually, much to their dismay. Speculation has it that the College thought it best to avoid the possibility of an unauthorised Human Resources Development seminar in the backdrop of Valentine’s Day.
Even as the fringe made the Valentines cringe, the Valentines continued to believe strongly that it is love that makes the world go around. This drove them underground… where they stayed on the 14th of Feb, to practise the wink… and shooting kiss of Priya Prakash Varrier in Oru Adaar Love (note: Not Aadhaar which would mean that their parents have brought the valentines together). An overnight internet sensation behind only Kylie Jenner and Christiano Ronaldo with 606K followers within a day, this queen of expressions, a B.Com student from Thrissur with 1.7 million followers now, captured the hearts and minds of all young Indians, inviting a complaint in Hyderabad, and perhaps a protest in the near future based on our much celebrated cultural past.
Indeed, a social circular issued in Bengaluru prior to Valentine’s Day, suggested that the practice of celebrating Valentine’s Day is against Indian culture and urged youngsters to protest and protect tradition (of misogyny perhaps?). Their grievance – it is a Christian feast and is being celebrated due to western influence. The irony is that the festival of lights in the US is Christmas – it’s when America is lit up – but every year Diwali is celebrated in the White House no less, against their tradition, maybe because of eastern influence…
If love doesn’t really make the world go around, one may ask why our PM goes around the world spreading love in lands that are inimical to India’s religious and cultural ethos. Given the situation it is perhaps time to recall the lyrics of the chorus of the famous theme song sung by the Power Puff Girls, Bubbles, Buttercup and Blossom in the American Animated Television Series.
La la love makes the world go ’round
You can’t hurt me with the things that you do
I’ll pick up dandelions and I’ll give them to you
This maybe is the only strategy left (Not the political left mind you, their strategy is different) to deal with the right… or wrong, call it what you will. Hate should never be our fate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Gulf and West Asia from February 9 to 12 was his fifth overall, but there was a historical angle to it this time – A first visit to Palestine – technically speaking – a wanna be but never will be state under the now defunct two state theory. This after back to back visits by the PMs of Israel and India to each other’s countries and much bonhomie between the two leaders who stand electorally tall in their respective countries. Incidentally, due to Israeli restrictions, there are no airports in Palestine and the PM chose to bypass the nearest airport in Tel Aviv in Israel, and his good friend PM Netanyahu, fly into Amman in Jordan and then helicopter into Ramallah where he met Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President. The MEA called it ‘de-hyphenated relations’ but used a hyphen in the word! It’s not clear what the two leaders discussed – the defunct two nation theory, that will remain forever as such, or an arms sale (Not the missiles or guns Israel is selling to India of course, maybe those made under a tech transfer agreement?) under a line of credit to show support? That would be de-hyphenation in its purest form!
Incidentally a good friend of the nation since 2014, the PM of Israel is facing the prospect of prosecution for corruption after the police there recommended the same to the country’s Attorney General. However much like in India, the matter is not likely to progress further soon, if at all, as the PM of Israel is a popular figure in his country and can win an election hands down even with those recommendations on his back or maybe on the basis of those recommendations!
Another historical first was the launching of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the for the BAPS Swaminarayan temple on Abu Dhabi – Dubai highway! It’s the first Hindu temple in the UAE and is being built on a generous gift of land by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and reflects UAE’s commitment to tolerance and harmony – This is what twitter had to say. The irony perhaps is that the inauguration was being done or witnessed by a prominent member of the party which was at the forefront of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in India, albeit for a greater cause than tolerance and harmony.
Last week another Modi made it to the headlines because he was abroad – Nirav Modi. Designer Modi the press called him, because he designed and sold diamond jewellery to the rich and famous across the world with your money! In fact, media reports have it that he was in Davos for the World Economic Forum when his more famous namesake laid out the red carpet for investors. While the latter returned immediately thereafter, apparently Nirav Modi continues to be there enjoying the weather and a luxurious lifestyle and may not return anytime soon given that he and his businesses are under the scanner for a fraud on the Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 11,600 crores. The Enforcement Directorate went after him, immediately raiding and sealing his home and businesses as the siphoned money was enough to fund the first year’s premium of the Modicare plan!
According to UN endorsed projections published by the BBC this week, the South African City of Cape Town (it is a clear case of water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink) is facing its worst drought in 100 years. Residents of the city have been told to cut their daily water consumption while the authorities of the city are scrambling to prevent the city running dry as soon as in April this year. Cape Town is far away from us, and doesn’t affect us much, but the Indian Cricket team which is in South Africa currently may have been affected (In India we are used to abundance) as they lost the test match there inside of three days. They however returned to the city for a one day international and made amends with a win.
But closer to home, according to the same report, Bengaluru is second in the list of 11 world cities that are “most likely” to run out of drinking water. Sau Paulo, Brazil’s financial capital is on top of the list. Other cities are Chinese capital Beijing, Cairo in Egypt due to struggling river Nile, Jakarta of Indonesia, Moscow in Russia, Istanbul of Turkey, Mexico City, London, Tokyo of Japan and Miami in the US. As per the report, “a combination of climate change, human action, and population growth” will push the global freshwater demand, exceeding the supply by 40% in 2030.
About Bengaluru, the report notes that not a “single” lake in the city has water fit for either drinking or bathing. Between 2001 and 2011, the population of the city grew from 4.3 Million to 8.4 Million (without celebrating Valentine’s Day mind you) and the population density increased from 7880 persons per square kilometre to over 11,330 persons per square kilometre, says the study. My guess is that water will be rationed by activity – brushing 1 litre, toilet 2 litres, bathing 3 litres and so on. Mafia wise it would be a boon, Corruption wise a bonus and Olfactorily a challenge.
Can I say have a good weekend while you can, especially if you are living in Bengaluru?
