Curiosities

I’ve been itching to write you more about the happenings in India for a week now. TGIF. Because issues started to rain down on us right from last Friday evening. A stand-up act first triggered an hour long debate on whether India had lost its sense of humour. All because a stand-up comedian made jokes on pregnancy and defecation. Imagine!!! Humour and India! Unthinkable!

The latter, involving a grimace, encouraged a Shakespeare fan to quote “Why do you make such faces? When all's done, You look but on a stool” (Macbeth III, iv). 

The former had women’s organisations up in arms. And one young lady asked for her opinion on the negative publicity said, “These things should be taken lightly. After all we have too few chances to smile.” She would soon rue her words.

Because the poll fever saw all sorts of loonies  crawling out of the woodwork, and the second act of l’affaire Khobragade was underway. 

According to a news report an internal e-mail sent by the American School to its teachers here has asked them to be “economical with the truth about their visa status”. More than the suggestion, it is the government’s ability to read an email meant for American eyes that has had our patriots jumping up and down in joy. Parity at last is they cry.

Even as the week was in danger of being overwhelmed by mere politics, joy was in the offing for us. Congress Minister Shashi Tharoor suddenly found himself accused of an extra-marital affair conducted over Twitter with a Pakistani journalist.  BJP was stumped. Do they denounce the affair, or the fact that it was with a Pakistani?

A hectic flurry of tweets by the husband, wife and the other woman, charges of espionage and cyber stalking, threat of a divorce, and finally a happy ending for the couple. Bollywood would have been proud.

But Mr Tharoor would do the world, and specifically me, if he disclosed how he managed an affair on the Twitter. Am really curious about doing the cyber quickie. Mails to him have produced no results.

Meanwhile, India has quietly opened up a new Services Sector. The Govt. has allowed foreign couples to bring in frozen human embryos and rent a surrogate womb in India for the baby to be born. This, the Govt. said, will help increase medical tourism, whatever that is. But please note that as with anything concerning the Govt. a No Objection Certificate is required.

Why the Govt. has claimed its share of glory, and that too in an election year, is largely due to the fact it doesn’t know how exactly to tax the process. Will it be a service tax? Could Value added taxes apply? Maybe both?

Also, huge strides have been reported in the medical field. Our doctor mates maybe bitter to note that their studies may have been in vain. 

A plethora of doctors in Tamil Nadu, without one day of medical instruction, have come up with ingenious ways to cure people. All pain is due to defective a bone structure, one worthy says. You go to him with a migraine, he will say your skull is defective. Back problems- you guessed it, something wrong with your spine. For a paltry Rs 500 (less than $10) he will feel up and down the afflicted area and spit a stone out to be placed there. And voila you are cured. You can keep track of him and this group and advise our mates accordingly.

Our week was also filled with court rulings against a copyright on yoga, restrictions on media coverage of stories involving judges and a mass murder of monkeys.

On the positive side, a new hero has emerged amongst the maamis in TN. Velkudi Krishnan, a Chartered Accountant who renounced his skills to expound the beauty of Thirupaavai, Ramayanam and Bharatham in beautiful Thamizh.