Pot an idea sirji!

There wasn't much action happening outside the agency's loo. So I got up to something inside it.

Oh fish, it's Trish!

Look who I met in a store in Pondy Bazaar.

Patriotism finds a new flavour.

Or leftovers from the restaurant's Independence Day celebrations?

Notes for nought, and lines for free

Friends, Romans, countrymen, NRIs, others; lend me your ears. Then lend me a vote on your favourite song. There's something new in the pipeline, and those I hear from will get it first.

Click here for all my recorded music thus far: http://www.ilike.com/artist/Manoj%20Jacob

The youngest CEO?

The Prime Minister's busy running after a nuclear deal
And everyone else is trying to put a spoke in the wheel.
Forgetting India's biggest crisis - a daily square meal,
And the task of giving this boy a slightly better deal.

The Big Bangalore Protest hits a few wrong notes

This was and should continue be a protest against musicians being denied their right to a livelihood. Somewhere along the way, the agenda took a slight deviation and started to focus on the pub clientele's rights rather than the musicians'.

Here are some links to news reports. Not too many mentions of a musician's right to earn a living.


http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?Id=NEWEN20080060932&ch=633540058795655000

http://broadband.indiatimes.com/videoshow/3348616.cms

I'd also like to point out the description of the Facebook group created for the protest. Again, no mention of a musician's fundamental right to be allowed to earn a dignified living.

"Citizens..its about time we come together..and protest the right to our freedom..Freedom is our birth right! Lets have them lift the mindless ban on live music bands..the 11:30pm curfew ..lets have our nightlife back..lets get Bangalore back..lets make the right noise..not a commotion.. Who the people??? We the People!!! And we can change it ! Come together everyone!!!"

Bangalore bleeding from many more wounds

After 32 years in Bangalore I moved 2 years ago when a job came calling. My new station was just a few hours away. I've therefore managed a visit every month with reasonable regularity.

Some time back, I'd posted on this blog in support of the Big Bangalore Protest against the ban on live bands and other entertainment. I strongly support the movement as it infringes on my fundamental rights, but I've started to see things in a different light after my visit to the city last weekend.

First on my list of things to do in Bangalore was to join the 'Protest March' slated for August 15. On my arrival I discovered that the Protest was out of town on vacation. It was a 3 day weekend, and even a fight for one's rights needs a break. I guess that sounds reasonable.

First priority being out of town, I moved on to the others and around the city. And was quite aghast by what I saw. Potholes, ravaged roads, garbage dumped anywhere and everywhere, dividers overgrown with weed, sidewalks that are less walk and more trip 'n' fall, streets with no lights, a CMH road that's been run over by the Metro Rail project, a Koramangala that's lost its trees and everything residential about it... The city is rotting, and nobody seems to give a damn. Not the Government. Not the people. Think about it. There's a serious problem when malls come up overnight and a public utility takes years; when people fight for better drinking conditions rather than better living conditions.

Burn me at the stake for saying it if you want, but I do find the Big Bangalore Protest rather trivial considering the other wounds Bangalore bleeds from. I can't understand people taking to the streets to fight for their right to drink, dance and listen to live music under one roof, when the city's infrastructure resembles a scrap dump. Ironically they do believe that they are fighting to save Bangalore. Even worse, the protest congregates at the Mahatma's statue on MG Road.

I think the Big Bangalore Protest must rewrite its vision statement. There's more to our fundamental rights than the freedom to drink, dance and sing beyond 11pm.

Chilli chillin'

Service with a smiley

Media takes the 'MALT SATYAGRAHA' national

This is absolutely fantastic. Last Sunday a few people braved a light drizzle to kick off a protest against the Government's moral policing. This Sunday it's gone places. All of the below.

Here.

Here.

Here.

And here.

Pics of the protest meeting are HERE.

Keep in touch with the movement HERE.

Please feel free to add links to any other reports you are aware of. And spread the word. Post on your blog, forward links etc.

i - i - yo!

The iphone will be out in the market on August 22, and in all likelihood out of people's reach as well. While AT&T and O2 subsidised the new Apple product in their respective markets, Airtel and Vodafone aren't likely to do so in India. So the 8GB version is projected at between 16000 and 18000 INR, and the 16GB at approximately 28000 INR.

Now I'd like to take the opportunity to rub it in. The iphone is free in the UK from O2, and T-mobile puts it at 1 Euro in Germany.

I use a Nokia N82. Have a good day.

Details here.

The butler strikes again

Stephen Bates and his little boy were granted an audience with royalty after the little fellow topped a nationwide talent search.

All was well till the butler ushered them in.

"Your Majesty", he said, "may I present Mister Stephen Bates and his son Master Bates".

"How did you know?" asked an astonished Simon. "The barn's been deserted for years."

Rajni can. In fact, only Rajni can.

Simply superb. I wonder why they say Rajni Kant.

'Malt satyagraha' in Bangalore

The law under Section 31 of the Karnataka Police Act sends the alive and kicking, running and packing at the stroke of eleven. Bangalore however refuses to go to bed like a good little boy.

The froth has finally risen to the mouth of this wonderfully beer bellied city. And spilt out on to the streets in protest. Cubbon Park it was that saw singers chant slogans and guitar players wield placards, demanding the right to earn a livelihood. The crew was completed by employees of pubs, lounges, discos, folk from the world of entertainment and events, and just about anyone else who cared. Like Vinod D'Sa.

Click here and a news article covering the protest will spring up. Man on the extreme right, blue jeans, red shirt, fading hairline and flowering beard. That's him. ("VD, say aye.")

He sent me a link to the online gathering on Facebook today. Sign up if you care two hoots. Namma Bengaluru has been taken hostage by the moral police, and a freedom struggle is in order. The protesters convene at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Cubbon Park every Sunday to register peacefully their difference of opinion. Join 'em.

Will their Gandhigiri beat back the system's gaandugiri?

A study in contrasts

India pining? Or shining?