Cashless Carnival

Atleast, that is what the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a lawayer Shruti Singh in the Patna High Court says.

Apparently, Ms. Rai was married to a Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) in Varnasi, with a banyan tree in Bangalore and with the idol of a god in Ayodhya, a practise which is performed before a manglik is married to a non-manglik.

Such marriages of Aishwarya Rai were performed not only in violation of Article 17 of the Constitution — which prohibits untouchability, but also a violation of the fundamental human rights, Shruti said in the PIL. She added that the Bachchan family owed a public apology for subjecting Aishwarya Rai to enter into such false marriages.

I was not aware that such a  stupid practise existed, and what was even more surprising that even the Bachchans (who atleast to me looked like forward thinking people) were smitten by such superstitions.

By any chance, was the idol of god that tied the knot with Ms. Rai the same one that was shedding tears a few days ago?

A few days ago, I had a post about weird things gate-crashing into people’s home .. Now, it is the turn of cars to face them. Yesterday, A mysterious huge block of ice that dropped from the sky ripped the roof a 20 year old’s Ford Mustang.

Do you agree with me when I say “Gods must be angry”? Now, you tell me, If you received fake currency notes in your salary package, would’t you have been furious? ;)

I know .. I mentioned sometime ago that I would not write again about Big brother or Shilpa Shetty, but I could not resist it after reading Mahesh Bhatt’s comment.

The last time when the Goody-Shetty verbal ding-dong happened, Mr. Bhatt remarked

“Shilpa Shetty has paid the price for trying to desperately seek the approval of the West”

and today, when she has won the show, he says

“It’s like a child winning an essay competition”

What’s his problem? What is the point he is trying to make? I agree with him when he says that the entire thing has been blown out of proportion and media must calm down the hype and focus on larger issues at hand, but why slam Ms. Shetty for all this?

And, talking of blowing things out of proportion, I will not be surprised if a few blokes go to the airport with garlands to welcome Ms. Shetty when she lands in Mumbai.

Last Thursday, Ford reported a $12.7 billion loss for 2006, the biggest loss the car maker has reported ever.

Ford has plans to close 16 factories in North America and cut 45,000 jobs.

Today, Ford (in India) has ended the endorsement deal it had with Abhishek Bachchan to promote the Fiesta.

It is quite obvious that things are not very bright at the Ford camp at the moment. Will this elephant be able to dance again? Somehow, my intuition says this car maker will eventually get acquired by one of the Japanese majors, Honda or Toyota. What do you think?

On the eve of India’s Republic Day, I felt the most appropriate thing to post on my blog would be the transcript of India Poised, the video featuring Amitabh Bachchan.

There are two Indias in this country.

One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been recently showering upon us.

The other India is the leash.

One India says “Give me a chance, and I’ll prove myself.”
The other India says “Prove yourself first, and maybe then, you’ll have a chance.”

One India lives in the optimism of our hearts.
The other India lurks in the scepticism of our minds.

One India wants.The other India hopes.

One India leads.The other India follows.

These conversions are on the rise. With each passing day more and more people from the other India are coming over to this side. And quietly, while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic new India is emerging.

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure.
An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods, but buys out the companies that make them instead.

History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions when it’s taking a turn.

This is that rarely-ever moment. History is turning a page.

For over half a century, our nation has sprung, stumbled, run, fallen, rolled over, got up and dusted hurself, and cantered, sometimes lurched on.

But today, as we beging our 60th year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of time’s great precipice.

And one India, a tiny little voice at the back of the head, is looking down at the bottom of the ravine, and hesitating.

The other India is looking up at the sky and saying, “It’s time to fly.”

You could also have a look at the video here.

Pictures Source: The Times of India.