The Future Is Another Country: 2050 And Beyond

samina

: ) absolutely mortified - and I abs agree with Harpreet - I think you are pretty cool too!!

gupshup w/o chai looses half its fun : )

aicha

scout #513
``i fall into a diabetic coma.``
Nope no danger of that.

tahmed321 #508
``I also realize that men and women have slightly different thought processes, and vive le difference as the French say. So on that note I shall leave you with the choice of having the last word on this board (destined to disappear soon, I think) if you so wish.``

Thanks, but I have nothing more to say. Though if you donot mind expanding on what the different thought processes of men and women have to do with it all?
For eg, with respect to the general point being made by others here, for cultural reasons, women often know less `gallis` than men and are less able to neatly answer `galli` with matching `galli`. For this reason perhaps women may choose to hit back in more general terms. But then I`ve not noticed men abstaining from generalities either..

sadna #500, ``You haven`t be interacting as frequently, hope it means that things are getting interesting and going well.``

you care about me? you sweet thing you.

stop it before i fall into a diabetic coma.

sadna #499 I dont ``dislike`` you as you think, and am sorry if I have created that impression. We are after all mere shadows of our complete selves on chowk and so can only judge each others posts, not our complete personalities. I mean no more than what I have written in posts below, which does not add up to liking or disliking anyone. I wish you and all other chowkies a happy, healthy ``real`` life. This includes urstruly and jay to whom I have yet to write a post that is not critical or downright mean, and quite rightly so I think. I am not trying to change your (or anyones) behavior (I have a full-time job minding my own behavior in real life) as you say, but will use my ``chowk-given`` right to write a critical post when I think it appropriate.

On a positive note, we both agree on the principle that it is unacceptable for anyone to disparage other people`s faith, nationality, ethnicity etc. I also realize that men and women have slightly different thought processes, and vive le difference as the French say. So on that note I shall leave you with the choice of having the last word on this board (destined to disappear soon, I think) if you so wish.

suxena #502, ``sadna can wash her fingers with soap and water for uttering those words (i won`t repeat them), but shouldn`t you wash your eyes out for reading them? didn`t bert & ernie warn you about not repeating words like those?``

hi moron, i missed you. i did wash my eyes out, with bleach. and they still feel dirty.

so can you sit on the toilet seat without crying now?

correction:

SOME self id.`ed Indian interactors have written stupid things about Pakistan...of course, they are in the minority. My apologies for the typo-just reviewed yesterday`s post.

soundmeister,

Forgive my intrusion into your conversation with Zafar, but I don`t quite follow your logic.

If you use the same kind of language with both genders thats fine. However, one would assume that you would say the equivalents to each gender. Therefore if you say to Adnan:

``I don`t agree that Enron has had extremely unethical practices in India. You are a lap dog of the godless Communist party``

the female equivalent I`d argue, has more loaded connotations in terms of language and cultural associations. These associations cannot be simply divorced from language.

regards

Hydra

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide which personality youre going to be? Do you rub your eyes, look in the mirror and say ``I feel very Kim today!``? Or is it ``Sunny days mean Aamir, rainy days mean Fatima``?

Veereesh,

I`m afraid our lines are at crossends (is that a completely mixed metaphor)...let me say I appreciate your posts and your walks among us mere interactor mortals!

Could you or anyone else like to write about the Enron/India connection? It seems rather timely...

regards

...traveling General 2nd Class without reservation on the Mumbai-Chennai Express upto Kirkee, Pune ...

Veeresh Unkil, yeh to hamara elakha hai!!

Stuka #490 you listened to Musarrat Nazir while commuting. This morning, while commuting, I listened to Lata part of the way (yes, I am still not done listening to the CDs I mentioned a few months ago on chowk!), and western classical music part of the way. Traffic was s-l-l-ow, but I was in no rush to get to where I was going, and was in my own little seventh heaven for the one hour it took to get where I was going.

Some people build walls around themselves, as defined by national boundries or whatever. You and I know better - unrestricted by such walls, we enjoy whatever comes floating our way - be it music or art of science or deep thoughts on the internet or the company of friends.

The language debate here reminds me of the graffiti I saw on railway wagons delivering wheat in Canada in the late `70s (yes yes, Unkil it is OK) . . . it said ``All Hindus eat cow Pakis out out``.

Whatever.

+++

Interim, on a very interesting train ride from Bombay VT to Poona earlier today, traveling General 2nd Class without reservation on the Mumbai-Chennai Express upto Kirkee, Pune . . . I struck up this conversation with a group of about a dozen hijdaas on their way to Madras for some sort of convention . . . these looked like fairly decent sorts since they were not on their collection prowls not making a noise and they also had tickets with reservations . . . well most of them have single gender non-specific names like ``Bobby`` or ``Pintoo`` or female names like ``Rosy`` or ``Shabbo`` or whatever . . . (the railways incidentally very graciously places an asterix against their names in the column which marks gender, this is what I find amazing even in the midst of babudom . . .) so anyways we are sitting together and drinking tea and chatting and the talk gets around to this recent phenomenon of more and more eunuchs standing for elections in India, winning and doing well too . . . and one thing they came out and said is that since they don`t have a specific religion they feel they are superior to those of us who do.

Point to ponder?

Aicha,

You really are one of the lovliest interactors on Chowk! (hope I`m not embarrasing you) I mean it; you are actually a pleasure to read on a consistant basis and your points are well taken.

You, Tamed, Dost Mittar and Prem are an example of whats so compelling about Chowk.

(And scout, anNy, sadna are wonderful as well)

Anyone up for some gup-shup?

best,

Re: spout

sadna can wash her fingers with soap and water for uttering those words (i won`t repeat them), but shouldn`t you wash your eyes out for reading them? didn`t bert & ernie warn you about not repeating words like those?

Everyone`s putting their Rs. 0.02 in, so why not...

Zafar-bhai.... your argument, forgive me, is really stupid. Even assuming you are right in saying that more Muslim bhais do gaali-galochh on Hindu behens than vice-versa, that doesn`t make ``us`` any better than ``them``. Reasons:

1. In a truly liberated society, you should be as profane to a woman as a man, ideally, because you are beyond social niceties and speak uninhibited. Example would be the way i converse with really close friends, regardless of their sex.

2. The fact remins that the composition of this site`s visitors is largely Pakistani, and the kind of Indians who DO patronise are more or less from the same stratum, not to mention, they are intimidated by the sheer Paki-ness of it all :))). Add to that mix the fact that anonymity on this site is rather a thin veil, compared to other sites, because the interactors are by and large the same people with a few changes over time. So forgive my co-religionists for being more polite than they intend to be.

anNy.....

Soetimes a little introspection works wonders. Why shoot from the hip.... if someone has a point, at least listen and acknowledge the fact that he has a point. if you have to srgue, argue. But what is this you-can`t-do-that-waaaaaaaah kind of reply? Childish.

BTW, I feel a lil sorry for the poor author. 500+ replies and hardly 10 on her actual article :)))

Zafar #496
You do realise that your argument constitutes a strong argument against your own argument..

scout #488
I am glad you think these things donot need to be taken seriously, (except I suspect sometimes when they are said by `some Indian woman from NJ ` :)).

``there are more interesting things in life to deal with``
Yes definitely. You haven`t be interacting as frequently, hope it means that things are getting interesting and going well.

tahmed321 #483
``Pukistan`` and ``Pukistanis``: I believe it is very rude to address anyone - even complete strangers on chowk``

I am sorry if the term offended you or other Pakistanis who were not making rude remarks at the time. And you are luckier than many other chowk interactors, not just women, who are addressed in much more debasing terms on a daily basis and without apology.

And given all the rude remarks flying around, take as example this very board, its also obvious you choose to apply very different standards of rudeness to myself whom you dislike and to others whom you donot.

``You or anyone who does not respect such basics of human interaction can then go on and say very knowledgable and clever things, but I for one have no more interest in what that person has to say. ``

As I see it you have a clear double standard when deciding who respects basic standards of human interaction and who doesnot. But its your choice entirely, please feel free to ignore my posts, I myself have urged you to do so on many occasions.

And while you state a worthy principle, you are not being quite honest here, IMO, because you seem to be doing more than demonstrating lack of interest in what I have to say. I rarely express my agreement or disagreement with your posts(I mostly agree) but you on the other hand, have repeatedly taken the trouble to intercede in my interactions with others, including my replies to abusive remarks about Indians or myself, to remind everyone what a bad person I am inspite of saying `knowledgeable and clever things`(thanks, btw ).

No, I don`t think you are quite disinterested, I think you are trying achieve a first for chowk namely force an interactor to perhaps stop interacting on the forum due to her expressing views and using language which you have decided are entirely unacceptable here. This is something even chowk staff has chosen not achieve so far where myself or other interactors are concerned. Well goodluck to you and your less polite humkhayals.

PS: Let me confess the other terms I have used apart from `Pukistanis` were `baby ghaznis` and `dispossessed Mughals` in response to posts about slave races and 1000 years of slavery. `Dispossessed Mughal` was a term I was quite fond of, alas, until Zafar raised the issue of tradmark violations.

Baap re yeh kay ho raha hai Chowk pay? So much introspection on language shanguage. Why u gud peeple want no aabuse shabuse? ITS BEEYOND SOME PEEPLE TO ChANGe - vaise bhi kai logon ka kHana nahi pachta hai without name calling wether iT iS pukistani or HIndIAN roaches. Sadde Dilli may to kai log baat hi nahi kar sakte hain without respectually remembering Ma & Behn.

It is an anonymous message board, that said, the level of debate and the overall ``politeness`` is far better than most sites. In fact most of us have learnt a fair bit about the ``other side``, those who want to keep their minds closed remain at that level.

Personally speaking, having spent a few years at boarding school have made my hide thicker than most. So if you want to abuse me I`ll understand your frustration, after all I hear that when your mother first saw you, she decided to leave you on the front steps of a police station while she turned herself in.

-Subroto