If only things were as simple as Swapan Dasgupta thinks. While i completely agree with him when he holds the Left's regime of more than 3 decades responsible for Bengal's dismal economic and growth statistics, to allege that only by removing the Left will there be any real possibility of recovery and rebuilding, is totally untrue and also quite irresponsible, given the alternative that we have to the Left's rule - the Trinamool Congress. Anybody who has bothered to track the trajectory of Mamata Banerjee's rise will see that her politics is in no way different from that practised by the Left - one of populism, of posing constant roadblocks to any measure of progress, and of deliberately keeping education and progress away from the reach of the rural populance to ensure it stays in power. Much before her famous agitation to the Singur plant, Mamata Banerjee had revealed her true affiliation and colours by leading morchas protesting the ouster of hawkers from the streets of gariahat, from bringing traffic to a stop in the middle of busy Hazra for the government's crack down on demonstrating workers of a famous power plant, and many such instances of willful disruption. To now claim that she is the shining beacon of hope for Bengal is willful disregard of recent history.
Bengal will never change and hope is a mirage for us. We bengalis know this. Things won't change because we exchange old pagan gods for the devil.
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A lot has been written about Amy Chua's controversial parenting discourse 'Battle Hymn of the Dragon Mother.' Read the book recently and it was actually quite funny in places. There is nothing i have to say that's not been said before, save this which most people seem to have missed out - any woman who straddles a high-profile career as a law professor at Yale and routinely travels the globe to attend conferences and present papers and is much sought after for her views on immigration laws and trade barriers and still manages to pursue her daughters' upbringing with such passion and single-minded pursuit deserves a huge round of applause along with whatever criticism folks wanna throw her way. i mean, returning from a 14-hr flight and then checking your daughter's piano notes and ensuring she practices for 2 hours and then teaching the kids maths? All in a day's work. Half the time i was wondering, 'when does she sleep or do recreational reading or watch TV or have sex or manage a pedicure'?
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Mixed feelings about our semi-final clash. The old divide between heart versus head. If one were to discount ICC rankings and all that balderdash, India have been playing miserably in the WC save for their match against Ponting's men. On the other hand, our peaceful neighbours in green have been embroiled in controversies that'd even put Paris Hilton to shame. But they have been fantastic in the tournament. Something yt said the other day struck a cord. I agree that the pakis must be evaluated as a tournament team. They save and showcase their best for tournaments and rarely do well in the other circuits. Perhaps this stems from a feeling of being ridiculed and victimized by the entire world - the usual minority grouse. I dunno why but my heart stays with them this WC. At the same time i'm fairly sure if India were to be beaten by them, i'd go to office with a long face the next day. There's no pleasing some women, i know.
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Bengal will never change and hope is a mirage for us. We bengalis know this. Things won't change because we exchange old pagan gods for the devil.
*******************************************************************
A lot has been written about Amy Chua's controversial parenting discourse 'Battle Hymn of the Dragon Mother.' Read the book recently and it was actually quite funny in places. There is nothing i have to say that's not been said before, save this which most people seem to have missed out - any woman who straddles a high-profile career as a law professor at Yale and routinely travels the globe to attend conferences and present papers and is much sought after for her views on immigration laws and trade barriers and still manages to pursue her daughters' upbringing with such passion and single-minded pursuit deserves a huge round of applause along with whatever criticism folks wanna throw her way. i mean, returning from a 14-hr flight and then checking your daughter's piano notes and ensuring she practices for 2 hours and then teaching the kids maths? All in a day's work. Half the time i was wondering, 'when does she sleep or do recreational reading or watch TV or have sex or manage a pedicure'?
******************************************************************
Mixed feelings about our semi-final clash. The old divide between heart versus head. If one were to discount ICC rankings and all that balderdash, India have been playing miserably in the WC save for their match against Ponting's men. On the other hand, our peaceful neighbours in green have been embroiled in controversies that'd even put Paris Hilton to shame. But they have been fantastic in the tournament. Something yt said the other day struck a cord. I agree that the pakis must be evaluated as a tournament team. They save and showcase their best for tournaments and rarely do well in the other circuits. Perhaps this stems from a feeling of being ridiculed and victimized by the entire world - the usual minority grouse. I dunno why but my heart stays with them this WC. At the same time i'm fairly sure if India were to be beaten by them, i'd go to office with a long face the next day. There's no pleasing some women, i know.
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7 comments:
Wonder what the daughter has to say about her dragon mother . Maybe she would write a book 20years down the road?:)
STP:
Funnily enough the elder daughter turned out exactly as Amy wanted and the younger one thwarted her mom at every step and Chua finally accepted defeat. :)
To choose between the devil and the deep sea? Looks like that. However, the way I look at it, the first step towards course correction has to be in dislodging the left from power. Left has an unholy stranglehold on Bengal, particularly the rural Bengal (there are areas where the opposition cannot even put up a candidate, areas where ppl who dare to support the non-left parties are socially ostracized) -- this has to go. There may be an anarchic situation for a decade or so, but then the mud can be hoped to settle and proper democracy to begin to take root.
Hope, all based on hope!
Dude,
You gotta be talking dementia not because of a few messed spellings but because your heart goes out to those clowns in green!! Really!
S:
Hope is good but it cant be based on a fallacy. I just cannot accept that TMC would do anything positive for the state.
D:
:-) Dil to baccha hai ji
Don't get me wrong. I too don't think Mamata has the will or foresight to deliver. But the left is like Gaddafi -- dictatorial, harmful, arrogant... time they should go and give Bengal some whiff of freedom. It is a choice between two evils really. Sometimes anarchy can be a better option than stagnancy and suffocation.
S:
Yeah, i get your point. Pbably a change is the answer. Let's see.
D:
Boss, the clowns in green topped their group!
p.s. i was dropped on the head as an infant and u know it :)
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