Soapbox Sania

Granted...Sania plays great tennis, makes money endorsing stuff,is a spokes person for worthy causes etc etc etc. There are tons of other sports persons doing the same and they come from all kinds of religions and backgrounds. So why pick on her like she is responsible for everybody else and his mother`s attitudes or actions? Leave her to play tennis and from the way things are obviously causing too many distractions, how long she will do that if she doesn`t get her focus back is anybody`s guess. Some talented kid tries to excel and makes money doing it and the rest of us (fans`journalists,religious and other leaders) want to dissect her and put her insides under the microscope. This article is feeding off her like a shark in a feeding frenzy, however well-written it is in its own way.

umm, she`s just marketing religion, like all the other ``good`` Hindus and Christians and everybody else.

why ya picking on her! :-)

its big business, religion.
its organised crime, too.

bottom line... pun intended since we talking short skirts and all....she sells.

imagine if all prominent (pun intended, again) Muslims refused to justify their patriotism?

for one, javed akhtar would be out of a job!!

Farzana it was an absolute pleasure reading this article. Excellent piece of work. I must thank you for writing this.

re: #425 by urbashi
``The villagers and patriarchal society vote for her because she`s a white memsahib who actually deigns to speak her own brand of Hindi, and makes them feel good.``
So, any white man/woman with good credentials can become P.M in India. Looks like either u are a moron or the rest of villagers in rural India are.
Villagers in rural India did not see any reason to vote for a party that was out of touch with reality. I am talking about B.J.P. I was one of the few on Chowk who said that the slogan ``India is shinig`` before the elections was a stupid one. It did prove to be the undoing of B.J.P. B.J.P litrally blew a good chance.
Sonia Gandhi, from what i have seen and read, did go to remotest of villages to seek votes. You may have problems with her white skin but the villagers did not.
Still, she has the best man for the job. I think Indians should not complain.
Sridhar

Re: # 430
Villagers never do vote for the BJP, at least in North India - that`s primarily a middle-class urban party. They used to prefer the Congress, now other parties are making inroads into traditional Congress rural fortresses in a big way - not the BJP. though, except perhaps in some parts of MP and Rajasthan. The BJP really didn`t have much of a chance to blow - they were so out of sync. I agree that it was stupid of them to claim that India was shining because the whole of India wasn`t, only some parts of some towns and cities, and it was only too easy to show the huge tears in the NDA fabric. However, although I personally dislike most of the ideology of the BJP. and agree that the NDA Govt was composed of scoundrels and thugs as bad as those in the present UPA one - their inability to deal with Narendra Modi was a crime that didn`t get punished enough - I do admit that in some respects India then did shine more than it did in Gujral, Deve Gowda, etc`s time. (The optimism`s gone now, courtesy the Left, but that`s another issue.) If you are in touch with the cliched ``grass-roots``of India you`ll know that.

Of course the villagers don`t have any problems with her white skin - that`s precisely my point. In fact, that`s her primary attraction, after the Nehru-Gandhi name. You might think that`s moronic - I think that it`s sad that we still haven`t got over the colonial complex and the reverence for white skins. In what way is she the right man for the job? Of course, she`s extremely clever and manipulative, and that`s what one needs to survive in politics - but the right man? First of all I don`t agree with the gender bias the phrase shows. Secondly, surely one needs more than cunning and survival skills to run a country, as apart from a political party - unless you think that the Congress is India. But yes, she`s the right person to lead the moribund Congress party, which, as I said, would fall apart if she weren`t there. We Indians always prefer the outsider to one of us - look at history. But if you said that Priyanka Vadra was the right man I`d agree with you. In more ways than one.

Yes, any white man/woman with the right surname and a suitable amount of shrewdness can lead rural North India, which will worship him/her. I don`t know how much you`re in touch with India at all to think otherwise. And yes, Sonia did come to my town. And no, her arrival didn`t get the Congress any votes. But the villagers who were brought in by the truckload to her meetings were full of her white skin and her attempts to speak Hindi - they were absolutely thrilled by her accent. ``Just imagine, a memsahib speaking Hindi.`` Have you ever spoken to any real villagers? I deal with them all the time. Indians shouldn`t complain because at least she`s very kindly given us Dr Manmohan Singh while her son learns how to become a ruler. And I don`t think anyone could say that Manmohan wasn`t a good man, or the right man for the job. He`s someone we could be proud of. How effective he`s allowed to be is another matter.

The point is that while Manmohan Singh et al are examples of how in India your religious community has very little to do with your acceptance as a leader, Sonia Gandhi can`t be used as one. As I said, she makes much of following Hindu rites, rituals, customs, whatever, wherever that`s going to get her votes, which is very clever of her, but has nothing to do with her religion. In fact, I should say that she`s no real Roman Catholic at all, or Christian - only a politician. That`s her religion. Remember how people used to say that Gandhiji was a better Christian than many born Christians?

Aliya Rasheed is singing along with Gundechas on the 6th May, Delhi at Kamani Auditorium......



Visually challenged Pakistan girl masters Dhrupad


Lahore-based Aliya Rasheed has added a new chapter to the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan.

This congenitally blind girl stayed with the Bhopal-based Gundecha brothers, the Dhrupad maestros, for four years learning the intricacies of their music.


Twenty-four-year-old Aliya has become so well versed with the Dhrupad style of music, that she now plans to promote it in Pakistan.

Aliya came to Bhopal in the year 2001 to fulfil her dreams of learning Dhrupad, one of the oldest styles of Indian classical music.

According to Aliya, the cultural exchange forms an integral part of the peace process and the friendship initiative. She says it would be her endeavour to teach the nuances of Dhrupad to people in Pakistan.

``Teaching Dhrupad to my countrymen would be beneficial for us. Cultural exchange starts at the grass root level. My Guruji and I have tried our best in this regard, and I feel that it will definitely bear fruits. I would tell my countrymen that Dhrupad was sung in the temples in the erstwhile eras but it has nothing to do with any particular religion. It tells us about God, about festivals and everything that is spiritual,`` says Aliya Rasheed.

Aliya`s teachers, Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha, considered her a special student all through the training, not only because she came all the way from Pakistan to pursue her passion for Dhrupad, but also because she was unfit visually.

``There was a difference between Aliya and any other regular student. First of all she had come from a far-away place and secondly, she was visually impaired. Both of these things made her unique. I had faith on her talent from the very beginning and I knew that she would stay with us for 4-5 years and learn the music,`` said Umakant Gundecha.

According to Gundecha brothers, they did not feel any discomfort in teaching her, rather they say that her sharp mind and efforts to grasp everything made her learn the music with more gusto and enthusiasm.

Aliya not only became a favourite student of her teachers, but she became a darling of the whole Gundecha family. The vast joint family treated her as one of their own, which was reciprocated by Aliya well.

``She learnt a great deal. She was not only good in music, but her behaviour was also good. She was very friendly to everyone in the family. We had no qualms about Aliya being a Muslim. We used to take care of her as she was on medication. But now she is leaving, we are very sad,`` said Sunderbai Gundecha, mother of Gundecha brothers.

Aliya leaves for Pakistan next month with all her sweet memories with a promise to promote the Dhrupad in her homeland.

F888 all this sonia/sania bullshit.India beat Uzbhekistan in the Davis Cup qualifiers in Jaipur.Leander Paes is the captain of the india team.I think leander is the hot topic of the moment!!!.NO???.Why??.``Cause he ain`t muslim, and some anti-indian phony writer can`t twist things around??.

#423 by majumdar on May 1, 2005 9:52pm PT


Pakistan`s current PM, Mr Aziz is an Ahmedi, non-Muslim.


No he`s not...he came out and made it clear that he was a muslim..a sunni muslim....

Re: #423 by majumdar


[Re # 399

(Has any minority held an important post in Pakistan/B`desh)

Pakistan`s current PM, Mr Aziz is an Ahmedi, non-Muslim.]

Well done! ( You showed them, you did! Yessir! )

Now, how about hindus?

Re # 399

(Has any minority held an important post in Pakistan/B`desh)

Pakistan`s current PM, Mr Aziz is an Ahmedi, non-Muslim.

Ref Romair #405

In my post # 406, I showed that 3% is indeed the threshold in India (among the Natives, that is; Italian immigrant Sonia proves that 1 in 1 billion is actually the sufficient percentage) to get elected to high office.

Let me now turn to APPOINTED positions.

Kalakshetra in Chennai is the premier cultural institution teaching various forms of classical dance as well as music.

The newly appointed director of that institution (now generously funded by the Government of India and hence under their control) is the accomplished Bharat Natyam dancer originally from Bombay, Leela Samson.

Before you rush off to assign Miss Samson to the Christian religion. I would like you to know that very few persons of that persuaion learn Bharat Natyam compared to Hindus. An even more minuscule population of Muslims learn clasical dance.

Miss Samson belongs to the absolutely smallest religious minority in India.

She is Jewish.

Re: # 421
Add to that, Leela Samson used to teach Priyanka Gandhi dance.
Incidentally, I remember reading about a Christian priest (I think he was a South Indian Roman Catholic) using Bharata Natyam to communicate his religious feelings. Any info about that?

Re: # 421

Thankyou; thankyou; harimou-saheb.

India won!
Hinduism won!
We declare total & unilateral VICTORY over muslims & Pakistan!
Even ``false`` muslims have ducked out! cowards!!
What a MAGNIFICENT way to end this dreary Sunday!

See...I told you...when you explain the esoteric aspects like Bharat Natyam to my katlu brothers...I must say, you do a DAMNED good job!

RE: AlephNull:
``This bizarre system of de jure discrimination and sectarian apartheid is an integral part of the legal and constitutional framework of the Pakistani state. ``

True.

Ref headshrinker #415

[...if you dont keep me busy at this goddamned computer, my mrs is making up a ``things-to-do-today`` list. If she thinks I`m not doing something ...``er`` productive...she`ll make it a honey-do list..]

While she is busy with the milkman!

re:#406 by harimau
IN the real world, Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the majority party in power. She is not someone i admire but this is a fact.
Now, when Condeleeza Rice came avisiting, why did she meet Sonia Gandhi? Time magazine i think called CR as the most powerful woman in the world. Why did she have to meet Gandhi if it was not a politcally correct thing to do.
SG pulls the strings. Manmohan dances to her tunes but she has given him a lot of leeway in economic affairs (about which i am sure she knows next to nothing).
Rest of your post was a gem.
Sridhar