Affair: Book fair

The last time I went to the Kolkata book fair was 10 years ago. Since then, I have stayed outside Kolkata, and each year I would come to Kolkata in December, and find it impossible to manage leaves in late January / early February (when Book fair is held each year). Last year, I was here in the city, but circumstances were gloomy this time last year. So, this year, I had to go. After all it's a Kolkatan tradition!

Now, if you don't know already, Kolkata book fair used to be held in the central open area of Kolkata, known as Maidan. But due to environmental reasons, it has been shifted to a new location, which most of us consider as outskirts and 'odd'. But once inside, I don't think the spirit is any different from what it used to be.

It's still full of passionate people moving from one kiosk to another stall, with loads of pamphlets in hand. Still, bunch of college kids hang out together there, tired from all the walking, looking for a place to sit and a sip of water. The 'intellectual' Bong (in Bengali, we call them 'Antel') searching for one particular book in every stall. The small publishers employing someone outside their stall to get people to visit their stall. The odd romeo, with no inclination towards books, but just happy to see all the pretty ladies. The odd announcement for 'little Ruma' who got lost in the fair, and whose parents are waiting outside the official kiosk. The rare foreigner, trying to soak in all the chaos and frenzy. The grumpy parent scolding the disgruntled kid to stop asking for more books. The sketch artist, oblivious to surrounding onlookers, replicating a face on paper. The young jobless lamenting the lack of money to buy all the books he wanted. It's still the same old Kolkata book fair.

It is ironic that the same old Maidan ground was used for a political rally on the last day of book fair; and cooking, eating, littering and all associated acts were performed liberally there. One bus even got smoldered by a gas cylinder burst. Why was the Book fair shifted, again?

Anyway, I bought a few books, and can't wait to read them. Thank heavens, there's such a wonderful tradition here.

Who wants to be a reporter?

On 4th February, 2009, Kounteya Sinha in Times of India reported this: 'Indian cooking oils unfit'. Gyst of the story: A study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found all cooking oil brands in India to contain unhealthy trans fat, many times above the recommended level. Interestingly, the study found Amul butter to be the least harmful of the lot. As a result, choosing a lesser evil, the popular sun flower oil that we have been using was thrown down the drain and all cooking at my home was done with butter that day (naah, just kidding).

On 5th February, 2009, the same Kounteya Sinha in Times of India reports this: 'Indian refined oils safe for cooking'. Gyst of the story: A study by CSE has found refined Vegetable oils in India have negligible trans fat hence are safe.

For a pack of Amul butter, here is your question: Which report is correct?

a) Report saying all oils are bad
b) Report saying all oils are safe
c) Both the reports
d) None of the reports


The only reason I am writing it here is because a few months ago there was this article in TOI (Kolkata) about a a few bikers reaching Everest base camp in Khardungla!!! I wrote a scathing comment to the editor (online), but it was not published. I wrote a comment on this article too, but I don't know if this is going to be published!

Brushing up on my Hindu Mythology

Reading all the headlines and breaking news about what happened in Mangalore recently, a thought hit me: Shri Ram's Sena (army) during the attack on Ravana / Lanka was comprised, almost exclusively, of monkeys. Wasn't it?

SlumK9 Millionaire

I finally watched Slumdog Millionaire. I don't know what's the big fuss about the movie and it's criticism.

I don't get the objection about depicting poverty. It is not the only India, true. But it IS India. They are all real life scenarios, except maybe the "potty" scene. Just that, all of it may not happen to one person. But it's a work of fiction. No one claimed this to be a biography of anyone!

Talking of real world, how realistic is a scantily clad lady with a bare chested, 6/8 packed man singing and dancing in open spaces? Or better still, with rows of similar dressed ladies dancing in the background? Or villains doing Olympic level spins in the air before falling after being hit by a hero's punch? Or cars rotating in the air, and rolling before exploding in flames? If I can handle those, I can handle depiction of poverty.

The big question is will it get the Oscar? Should it? When I think of Oscars, some of the movies that come to my mind, are the ones I can see anytime, anywhere, n number of times. I don't think this movie belongs to that category. Still a decent watch.

P.S: Another reason why I liked this movie... I knew the answers to all the questions asked, except for the 100 dollar bill question. Then I would have used "phone-a-friend" and called one of my US based friends.

Reality health-check

It happens so many times that we talk about getting a health check-up done, and then we forget all about it and get on with our lives. And in unfortunate cases, one fine day, without any warning, a pain in the arm and someone finds out he has a heart condition. Classic example - my father. My father was a top class footballer who played for Mohun Bagan and Bengal, didn't smoke / drink / party, slept / woke early, avoided spicy / oily food, had a lean body mass, in short - a model "healthy" person. Yet he suffered from a heart ailment in his early 40s, and carried a pacemaker later in his life. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anybody.

Proud to announce that yesterday I had a lipid profile test done to check my cholesterol level, and all is well here. So, my friends, do the right thing - get yourself checked, specially if you are over 30.

The list grows

I don't trust most politicians for obvious reasons. When approaching a police official, I don't know if he is a rare honest and hardworking law enforcer or the more frequently found corrupt one. When going to a doctor, I don't know if the medicines he prescribed is what I need or they are prescribed because he gets cut money from the medicine companies. When seeking justice, I don't know if the lawyer only does lip service to his "noble profession". It's a long list, but there were still a few sectors / industries which I believed won't join the list.

But, when one of the top IT companies in India, whose shares determine the fate of the Indian Stock Market, with numerous awards including a recent award for corporate governance, with a blue eyed boy of Indian IT sector with several "Entrepreneur of the year" award as it's CEO, with one of the top ranking auditor firms auditing it's accounts, is involved in a humongous financial scam, I just don't know what's next in the list.

New Year Resolution: To have fun

A very peaceful new year to all. Hope you had fun ushering it in.

It's been a nice extended weekend for me. First, I had to spend a day visiting distant relatives to invite them for my cousin's wedding later this month and quite liked it.

Second, the school gang met up after a long time for a nice dinner. This, despite the fact that much of the conversation revolved around my marital status and chalking out an action plan to "rectify" it. Good luck guys :)

Then I spent a day accompanying friends on a whirlwind tour of Kolkata including spots I haven't been to / haven't been to in a long time. How I wish that all my friends came with places like a cemetery, and a boat ride on Hooghly river on their must-do list, instead of malls and "Someplace else". I guess, all of us can't have common interests. But one common interest which almost all my friends have, is good food sampling, and I sure can't complain about that. Kolkata, in my humble opinion, is still the best place to have food in India. The only regret is one needs a few days to try out the different delicacies Kolkata has to offer, and almost always, my friends leave before I am satisfied they had even 10%. Anyway, doesn't matter, if they had a good time here...

Final report
Week: 1, Year: 9, Millennium: 3 - Fun; resolution fulfilled.