cold, colder, coldest

Today is cold. As we Doha'iites thought that this winter has gone into history, wind blows across chilling the city. Inside the house, it shows a not so impressive 20 deg when, pictures of life at a virtual standstill in many parts of the world especially the U.S are flashed on the tv.
A snow remover(whats the actual word ?)is partially being shown(is the cameraman shooting from inside this contraption?) behind which the whiteness of the Capitol Hill blends in with the accompanying scenery.
In Kashmir, India; snow piled 6m high on an army base camp causing death.
In the face of all this heavy precipitation, a middle east winter is not actually winter.But here I am with sweater & socks, feet tucked in a siddhasana position, typing with exposed, cold wrinkled,nervous hands.Why is it that some feel so cold at so little dip in temp.
I would wonder at the actresses with their bare bodies sitting through award nights as award ceremonies are usually held in the winter in India & elsewhere. Last winter, Bipasha Basu made an entry into Doha in January and walked about in bare back, leg exposed outfits. Are these damsels more thick skinned than me? May not be but they sure are hotter :)

I saw a cute story for kids by jayamadhavan on her blog. Here is the link.Read it.


http://www.mediafire.com/?teu2yo1uzta

Aggressive journalism

I have found that many have a new hobby these days. Journo bashing. It is also one of my faourite topic. Earlier, much earlier... we used to see only Khadi clad politicos (if I can call them that !) and so our ire was turned on them. Whether it be about 'what they said' or 'what they did', we had to comment & brand them all as hypocrites, etc etc . Now, we see less of them and more of a hound of superstars. None other than our T.V journos . So for the amount of limelight they are hogging & getting handsomely paid for it, it is only right that they have to come in the line of fire. Only that they are so bloated that the bullet will get lodged in their skin without affecting them. The more an anchor screams and out-shouts his interviewee, the more he feels proud. It does not matter that interviewers are supposed to do one thing properly and that is to Listen.
Journalists these days are a breed of egoistic, haughty ones who think they know everything and can shout down acheivers and doers in any field who they do not agree with. At least this is what we see on the T.V , the likes of Arnab.. of Times.
Headlines... have their own version in the form of Rahul something....
The trend setters of this 'drama on screen ' ;NDTV have ONLY such 'Experts' who nobody can argue with, whatever be the interviewees point of view !

They are the HE-MEN and SHE-WOMEN (?)of Indian news drama series being played out 24 hrs a day. They decide whom to support, who comes to power; which man to tear apart, which to project as a hero and so onnnn.
And we are either dumb struck audiences falling for all that they say or commentators sitting back and giving them a bashing(o.k, so what if it does'nt touch them)

Journalist with a difference

When I am in Coimbatore, the newspaper Indian Express offers little or no temptation to be read. But there is a writer I look forward to in the sunday magazine section of this paper. A mention of sunday magazine, to those who know this paper will think that the scantily clad heroines and immature articles on the new found hot topic, gay "culture"(How can this be termed culture ,I fail to see) must interest me.

Well, there is a regular column which offers much more than sensual appeal. It is by Swahilya, a journalist with a difference. She has taken us through the paths of Himalayas through her small travelogue and in her main article, through insights into the Self. Currently, she is doing a Yoga series.


For a reader, these may be capsules of the secrets in our Shastras which can be explored through in depth reading and better still ;guidance from our ever willing Acharyas. Anyway such articles lift us from the profane to something meaningful and valuable.