Sex Maniacs on Women Hunt

Crime against women and children is on the increase in Indian Cities. Statistics of “diminishing” crime is no consolation for the person who had a taste of it first hand. For her, an exemplary and quick punishment to the perpetrators is the need of the hour! Not long-winded speeches and promises!
‘Maybe something like this:(

Exemplary Punishment

And ensuring fool-proof systems in place to prevent this happening again in future …

Recently in New Delhi a girl was brutally attacked and taken advantage of in a moving bus. The uproar that this incident created in Delhi and elsewhere in the country is proof enough of the disgust that public feels towards the feet-dragging Establishment. When driven to the corner with no way to wriggle out of commitment the Government has relented and agreed to set things right but promises are not enough, action is, and quick one at that!

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12-12-12 Biennale

12-12-12 Biennale

Today the 12th of December 2012 is the D-Day for the new Kochi Muziris Biennale in Fort Kochi…The papers are full of it…There is an impressive line up of global and Indian artists who are scheduled to take part in this event which starts today in Fort Kochi.

According to one paper,

“…The Kochi Muziris Biennale will showcase the works of world-famous artists and is expected to give a fillip to the economy and tourism in the state..”

So far so good…

But on a parallel track there is also a strong criticism raging ( as with any event happening or about to happen in this land ). It is alleged that in the name of this event a drastic money swindling had been going on! A thorough investigation into this scam is being demanded by those who deride the Biennale. So much for “fillip” !

Be that as it may, the event will take off this evening! But what took my fancy were a couple of “installation exhibits” among the many items to be “showcased”.

One whose picture was prominantly displayed in today’s papers looked like a giant ostrich’s giant egg, albeit in a skeleton form. Made of bamboo and some such material this is supposed to be hung from the top of a coconut tree for all to see ! The artist is an Indian celebrity. At first sight it looked somewhat huge but a bit frivolous to me , maybe because I am no great artist, with special skills to appreciate this kind of “artwork” in depth:(
Apparently the less you understand any art work, the more is its worth!( The first law of art evaluation and appreciation;) ! Only we should not forget to utter at regular intervals, “Oooooh!” and “aaaah!” while cruising through these art waters in order to be accepted as “art savvy”

The second one is even more bizzare. It is a dilapidated auto apparently cornered from the umpteen ones plying on the roads in Fort Kochi , with an equally dilapidated old-world gramaphone with twin speakers of the horn type mounted on it and belting out old Indian numbers…the whole set up looked like an eye-sore to me . That it has any art value is hard to believe , maybe because I lack the requisite skills as mentioned earlier! But it comes with awesome credits, e.g the perpetrator of this monstrosity is a world-famous Italian Artist 😦
Imagine foreign and native art lovers spending their hard earned money and trekking to the venue to witness this kind of art…it beats me!

These two incidentally are termed “Installation Art’ according to the organisers and the participants…This is a special beast and such exhibits appear in many art exhibitions that are worth their salt, or so it is believed . Whatever it may be, these leave me cold…at least the ones above did!

So much so, in order to shake off the disgust rumbling inside me , I drew this kar2n…

12-12-12 Bienalle

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The Shame of Shah Jehan…

“The Taj Mahal is ( or shall we say, ‘was’ ) a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.( these emperor guys do get around, don’t they! They must learn from the Emperor Penguins! One wife and no roving eyes!)
The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”-
So says Wikipedia!

At the end of the last century the Indian Government noticed the growing polution problem caused by the tanneries in and around the area in which the Taj is situated . This was threatening the health of the structure!

So it started a program to save the monument’s shiny white marble façade since it was showing a strong tendency,( most monuments have a mind of their own;), and turning yellow. Over $150 million were spent on restoration but it did not help much. I fervently hope that money really went into the project and not into someone’s pockets;)

Corrosion has unfortunately continued and acid rain in that area has also caused a change in the color of the façade. Some years ago restoration experts started putting mud packs around the façade to bring back the building’s shiny white color. For all the good it did, however, the government might as well have used all that face packs on the faces of all those old women coming to the beauty parlours all over the country , with much better results!

In fact if Emperor Shah Jahan were to resurrect himself he , after one look at his poor wife’s monument would have started to look around for a convenient rafter to hang himself from…that bad it is now!

The following kar2n sums up the situation , albeit a bit exaggerated !

Father, son and Taj

Long Live Taj, white or black!

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