Voice From A 2.5-World Country

For knowing what happens next….

So the first link comes from the Other India, who seems to have hired some kind of newbie who isn’t in the mould as the others. This is a very moderate, tempered article, relative to the usual crud.

And the second link goes EXACTLY according to plan, from our own beloved Hindu. (Link courtesy Recursive Hypocrisy .

What am I going on about? Why THIS, of course!

Can’t think of an Economist-style sub-heading…

In the battle of Delhi vs Bombay (of course, most Bombay-ites pretend there isn’t one. Whatever), Delhi wins on the airport front, because you don’t see the massive slums lining the side of the airport. What you will get to see these days is a broad 4-lane-on-either-side highway, with a few choke points (where the highway is still being built), and other points where the traffic flows at about 120 kilometres/hour (or 60 miles/hour for the cavemen out there).

Now what they also will see is a new airport.

I present this and this to you….

Vindicated

To all the naysayers, I say HA! This blog’s title has for the most part been ridiculed as idealistic.

2.5-world? scoff scoff blah blah burp burp

Well to all of yooz, I say:

BAH!

and

HA!

Notes on the Boy Who Lived, with spoilers

First off, am I the only one who has no life and who bought his reserved copy at 11 am today, and finished the book by 2.15 am of the following day? I see no reviews from anyone else on Google Reader…

There is a vague recollection of some interactions with humanity and the outside world, let me go check my pensieve….argh,never mind!

So to answer the burning question on the potential reader’s mind:

Harry, Ron and Hermione DO live happily ever after, but there were points in the book where I thought one or more of them was definitely set to die and thinking I’d stop reading if any of them did. But they saw the light of day.

Second, JKR was true to her word, and did not do a “Gandalf” with Dumbledore. It would have been nice to have him back. But his death was explained away brilliantly. This woman…she does know some magic. (C’mon, gime some points for getting in so many cliches in such a short period). It still annoys me though, because there was TONS of evidence throughout the books to show that Dumbledore wasn’t dead. The most obvious being the fact that he told Draco Malfoy that a death could be faked, just minutes before he himself died. I’m c’mon people. DOn’t be so unobvious.

You can’t mention Dumbledore’s death without mentioning the Murderer.

Did Snape redeem himself? That was one of the better parts of the story. There are some odd parts, some draggy parts, and parts that I disliked. I thought Ginny & Neville would have a much bigger role than they did. But they were a bunch of sideys. For shame! And I was especially annoyed to see that Prof. McGonagall, being a member of the Order and all, has no role at all to play. For Shame x2!

And I can say I’ve had my fill of death, thanks.

However, in short, the last book was totally worth the wait! But there are a few things - it is definitely written in a more mature style, complete with a few minor cursewords here and there. I can just see some parents getting annoyed about that.

The Meaning of Life (FUQ-Us)

Is 42, but I’d rather 69…ooh did I just say that out loud?

Ok so this is not a post about the meaning of life.

So, TTG, what is this post about then?

Well, lately many people have unasked me lots of questions, so I thought that I’d make up a list of Frequently Unasked QUestions…or FUQ-Us

You lame-ass bastard. Couldn’t you find a better joke to make?

No, Mysterious, Abusive Alter-Ego, I could not.

So get on with it then.

You’re in bold, so… you ask the questions…

Ok, Question 1: What the FuQ-U does your blog title mean anyhoo?

My blog title - Voice From A 2.5-World Country - is a shockingly clever attempt at highlighting the fact that India is no longer a 3rd-World country, but a 2.5-World Country. For some reason this title is too clever (or causes too much disbelief amongst the unwashed masses, ‘typists’ and “don’t-label-me-free-market-hater”s).

I started this blog in 2003, when “The India Story” was just beginning, and there was a lot of negative publicity about India, and severe lack of awareness in the country of my Alma Mater (Sam Uncle). Before setting up this blog, I used to have this circle of friends whom I used to e-mail - I would send them pictures of India which they would not find in the MSM. Pictures of the NOIDA toll bridge, a few malls, GK-1 M Block Market, The whole New Delhi Area (Raj Path, Rashtrapati Bhavan, e.t.c), and of course, pictures of me, complete with the rants. Unfortunately, some of the people I e-mailed were American, and they took offense at some of the things I said, and decided to Reply All to my e-mails, giving me a sound cursing (which was visible to my friends too). So I abandoned the e-mail idea… then when I read about this thingy called Blogging one day, I went to Blogger and set up an account (2003). But I realized I had nothing to say, because I was too busy dealing with a woman who I thought was my girlfriend-but-wasn’t. So the account lay idle for a year, and lack of sex (ok actually, it was the fact that Google was giving gmail accounts to active bloggers..) basically frustrated me enough to start writing in May 2004.

Anyway.. so this blog was meant to give you a “different” take on living in India.

“You take the average of 1st-World and 4th-World” blah blah

I didn’t ask for a whole treatise. Question 2: Are you gay? (not that there’s anything wrong with that)

No. Are you?

No. Question 3: What the F is up with your Alias, and that funny little logo thing?

In my dark past there are a lot of incidents. Some of them I have revealed over jugs of Alcohol, and others I have not. There was a particularly nasty incident involving me in my high-school days, which I will not recount (but will mention that it has something to do with the girls’ bathrooms), that left me with an Ironic Nickname. That nickname was Tarun (The Great). TTG. One day, when me and my friends were not busy making the art teacher cry by drawing boobies instead of pears (and getting -20 on blank pieces of paper), I was just doodling around, and came up with a way of putting TTG together. It was true art, I tell you! So that’s where the logo comes from. I’m sorry if you were expecting a better story. I don’t live to impress YOU, comprendo?

Uh-huh. Question 4: Why do you rant so much?

Why not? We all blog because there’s something lacking in our lives (or so I believe). It could be a Mercedes we’re missing, it could be a boyfriend/girlfriend, or, in my specific case, it could be a lack of people with ears which are strong enough to withstand my ranting, cursing, loud voice.

What do you have against Dilip D’Souza, Deesha.org and the other blogs on your former “Blogs I Dislike/Disagree With” list?

Nothing personal. I started out by blogging less, and commenting more. Commenting and flaming was fun, but it started losing its charm when people started remembering my name. It really lost its charm when they started ignoring my comments. So sulking, I I started posting more often (big mistake!).

Question 5: Why are you so obsessed with Anoushka Shankar?

a) I have nothing better to do
b) She is a ‘Famous Person’ and I was actually only one degree of separation from her
c) Actually, I am in love with Norah Jones (because of her voice, SEXY, DUH), and I figure I could use Anoushka to get to Norah…eventually…

Who is terah475?
I don’t know, but anybody who can write that many poems in my comments section needs to be mentioned.
What kind of a last name is “Pall” anyway? Why the double L?

Sigh. Long story. Pall is actually Pal. But ancient, inherited school-leaving certificates determine your name. So it’s Pall. Further, Pal is actually just the middle name of my long-gone Paternal Grandpa. I won’t reveal my last name, because that would reveal my caste. HA! And no, I am not even remotely Bengali.

Who is John Galt?
Find out for yourself…
Okay now lemme cheat and ask you an FAQ, instead of a FUQ-U. Is there something up with you and eM?

There is absolutely nothing up between me and eM. A really,really,really long post has been written on this…and it’s languishing as a draft, while I await my visa. Once I’ve skipped town, the whole story will out (don’t get so excited, it’s not half as interesting as you think).