“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 :)
During the last week, it seemed that we were on the edge of eternity! It was Judgement Day… every day. Television anchors were the happiest and the TV Debate regulars must have made a pile (or got piles) sitting on shows for hours on end, on their ends, (seemed like they had an offset contract) that debated the advancement or debasement of human behaviour, as the case may be, rather than the advancement of the cost of a fighter jet, and yet fighting like only those French jets can… With twists and turns that none could fathom or stomach…
At the beginning of the month, Men together, and Women together, but both separately, had cheered the Supreme Court when they said they can go ahead have sex ‘naturally’ but consensually. When similar privates meet, they said it’s a private moment. But KISS they said – Keep it simple stupid – do nothing that can be termed by men or women, or more importantly courts, as unnatural.
The British knew their ‘divide and rule’ very well I’d say. First, they divided men from the men and women from the women through section 377, then via section 497 they divided men and women who desired to contribute to unity in the country.
They said that if a married Indian man does more than hold hands with his (his means His, not his) wife, he can be prosecuted (what was left unsaid was the persecution at home!) and sent to jail and his wife could visit, but whether she would, is a question much like the questions journalists ask of the Rafale deal – one that has no answers.
So, if he did more than hold hands – even though holding hands was enough of an indication – he always did so, like the Government roped in Reliance Defence into the Rafale deal – quietly with a hug! Until now!
Both married men and married women cheered, men, more than the women (women had no need to cheer, only say cheers, and men frothing at the mouth could be either prosecuted (by law), or be persecuted (at home!))when the court consensually agreed that a consensual extramarital affair was natural in law! They didn’t comment on the persecution part! There was one adulterous clause, of course, that bane of democracy – Consensus. This principle was reiterated by the Court consensually while dealing with the subject of adultery.
But there was no consensus on menses! Women of all ages can enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, the Supreme Court ruled without consensus in a majority 4-1 judgement ending an age-old ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years. “The practice of age restriction on women entry to Sabarimala temple can’t be treated as an essential religious practice,” said the court. Effectively, God’s gift to mankind can now, in turn, be a woman’s gift to God! But presents through presence could shortly be reviewed.
But you won’t need your Aadhaar to enter if it’s a private place or if you want to avail a private service like a mobile sim or even though it was passed as a money bill (fraudulently according the minority judgment) to open or operate your bank account. So your money and your identity is comparatively safe if you have nothing to give or get from the government or are not anti-national in any way. (Please do watch the video on the surgical strike) For how long it’s difficult to say as the Government it appears is mulling curative legislation – as a money bill perhaps. They will bill you for the repeat in the next budget – Mind it!
That’s what the Supreme Court said again without consensus. In a majority 4 to 1 judgement, which seemed the fashion this last week, it upheld the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, accepting that the way it was passed as a Money Bill was in conformity with the Constitution’s scheme, but laid down ‘reasonable restrictions’ which effectively nullified the NDA Government’s intent to use it for both Public and private purposes. The court restricted its use to public purposes of tax payment and receiving the benefits of taxation (Subsidies). That would be 100% one guesses given that the former is 3% of the population and the latter is 97% of the population!
On the eve of the surgical strike day, India launched a second very effective surgical strike against its neighbour, at the Dubai Cricket Stadium. They decimated their attack capabilities with launches through and over the loc!
Last Word
I quote from a report by Pradeep Shah in the Financial Express (Online Edition) dated 29th September 2018. “Savji Dholakia, a Surat-based diamond merchant has been into the headlines once again and the reason is the same as earlier. Savji has gifted three Mercedes-Benz GLS SUVs worth Rs 3 crore to his employees. The merchant offered this exorbitant gift to his employees upon their completion of 25 years with the company. All three Mercedes-Benz SUVs were handed over to the employees in a ceremony in Surat. The on-road price of a Mercedes-Benz GLS 350d SUV in Surat is currently close to Rs 1 crore.”
One more diamond merchant in the news. But its good and happy news – for those who were at the receiving end. Not so much for you and me.
But on this happy note let me wish you a happy weekend, even if you have neither a diamond nor a Mercedes, for it’s love that is harder to find than a diamond and, believe me, you have plenty of it or else it’s tough to survive.
Also have a great week ahead.
The author can be contacted at brian@newskarnataka.com
