Weekly Round Up

These are the articles and issues that have caught my attention this past week.

OXFAM, Scarlett Johansson and BDS

On Scarlett Johansson and 'Blood Bubbles': "The Scarlett Johansson scandal has taught us this much. One cannot stick to her inane ideological liberal guns in the fight for a single issue (ecological responsibility, or clean air, in this case), while mystifying the same system that makes ecological racism a big part of the Israeli apartheid policies and Zionist settler-colonialist project in Palestine.

Johansson's progressive politics, including her charity work for Oxfam, cannot harmoniously co-exist with her endorsement of an oppressive system that promotes capitalist enterprises built on ethnically-cleansed land. These two issues are not disconnected; rather, the struggle for ecological responsibility and conscious consumerism in the region won't be over until the Palestinians are free."

JOHANSSON STEPS DOWN AS HUMANITARIAN AMBASSADOR: "Johansson was chastised by some and praised by others. Barghouti said in a statement that she "reminds us of the few unprincipled artists who during the struggle against South African apartheid sold their souls and stood on the wrong side of history."

The World Jewish Congress praised her as "a role model for others confronted with insidious anti-Israeli pressure."

Lonely dinners in South Korea

Gastronomic voyeurism: The South Korean trend that means you'll never eat alone:  

"Western media and bloggers have dubbed it ‘food porn’ or ‘gastronomic voyeurism’, but in its home country of South Korea it’s known simply as meok-bang: ‘broadcast eating’.

This trend from the world’s most connected nation sees solo diners live-streaming their evening meals to audiences of thousands. In a country where a quarter of households are occupied by just one individual, a sit-down dinner with a familiar face can be a godsend, even if it is virtual." 

Signing Off E-mails

Calling Miss Manners: "Moving up the ladder of formality, I guess the new “Cheers” comes next, though I always feel that the writer was at a loss for something better. Also, “Cheers” already has a very specific meaning as a toast, and I don’t believe in laying new cargo on old words. Sometimes you can use a valediction that signifies something in addition to “goodbye.” I’m thinking of sign-offs like “Hopefully” (when you’ve asked for a favor but want to ask some more), or “Apologetically” (when you’ve said you’re sorry but you think you should say it again), or “Yours in Christ,” or “Till soon.”

Pope Francis made the cover of Rolling Stones! 

Mama CAR

Central African Republic's 'Mother Courage' fights to bring peace where the men have failed: I don't completely understand what is going on in CAR but I found the suggestion amusing that a woman President will do the trick in terms of bringing peace to the land. 

Scandinavia is not the political and social utopia we think it is!

Dark lands: the grim truth behind the 'Scandinavian miracle': "Whether it is Denmark's happiness, its restaurants, or TV dramas; Sweden's gender equality, crime novels and retail giants; Finland's schools; Norway's oil wealth and weird songs about foxes; or Iceland's bounce-back from the financial abyss, we have an insatiable appetite for positive Nordic news stories. After decades dreaming of life among olive trees and vineyards, these days for some reason, we Brits are now projecting our need for the existence of an earthly paradise northwards."

Servant Culture

Masters and Servants in South Asia: 9 Questions for Jannatul Mawa: "The photo series is about class and gender relations in family life. It’s because of class differences that we can hire girls and women from other families to come and work for us, and although the space, which we inhabit, is very close and intimate, the class distances are huge.

Housemaids don’t cross class boundaries because house owners won’t welcome it if they do, and this behavior is part of the system of inequalities. Naturally, when I asked them to sit side by side, it was awkward, to say the least. In most cases, the house owner had to ask her domestic maid to sit beside her. The household helps were reserved. Many of them sat only after they had been repeatedly told to do so."

Great commentary on Urdu in Bollywood

Dedh Ishqiya and Urdu in India Today: "As Mukul Kesavan has pointed out, Bollywood with its fantasy, musicals and location (Bombay) was an almost direct successor to Parsi theatre. And like the theatre, the new film industry adopted Urdu, given that it was the only language at the time which had any sort of pan-national appeal. To churn out words for this new industry, were recruited large numbers of Urdu writers and poets from North India. Bollywood’s Golden Age from the 40s to the 60s was studded with Urdudāns such as Kaifi Azmi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Saadat Hasan Manto, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel Badayuni and, most relevant to this movie, Ismat Chughtai. 

In a mark of the intelligence of the film though, one of the themes of Dedh Ishqiya is this very hollowness of Urdu in India today. 

In 1947 though, the sharp politicisation of the Hindi-Urdu issue meant that this “School Hindi” was adopted as India’s official language. Suddenly, in places like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, the birthplace of Urdu, Urdu stopped being taught and used in government. This lack of patronage had little effect on the everyday Urdu (or Hindustani) of spoken speech, a large portion of the language which was shared in common with Shudh Hindi. It did however have the effect of severelycurtailing the sphere of influence of High Urdu. A high or literary register without patronage is, by definition, not going to get very far and that is what happened. Post-1947, Urdu atrophied dramatically."

A glorious lazy Sunday on the rooftop

I spent all of yesterday cleaning the rooftop. Correction, I bossed lots of people around who cleaned up the rooftop. 

For some strange reason, my trusty and very sweet gardener, Ben, has been missing in action and, I never got a chance to go to his nursery in Sinkor to see what's up with him. Meanwhile, I asked my housekeeper, Christiana, to find a gardener for me. She lives on Old Road and, said there was a place to buy dirt and, she would look for a gardener. Christiana was as usual quite efficient: found the gardener, bought the dirt and, was ready to help me do some work upstairs. 

The gardener from Old Road helped Christiana to mix our home-made compost with the dirt to feed the plants. I was so happy to finally use my compost! Months of saving vegetable and fruit peels, used tea bags and egg shells finally paid off and, my plants got to enjoy some fertiliser. The gardener also trimmed and cleaned up all my plants, did some re-potting and also planted some new stuff in all the tin cans I have been also saving. 

My other staff Emmanuel and Samuel cleaned up the rest of the rooftop. There was some junk lying around which we had thrown out. Glass and plastic bottles and other re-cyclable items which I have been putting away were sent to the Recycling Center in Sinkor. I really need to visit that place to see for myself how they run that shop. 

I was quite pleased with myself and, today we lazed around on the rooftop. See some pictures! 

Thank You Cards

I decided to make my own thank you cards for everyone who attended Kavita's birthday party rather than sending an SMS or e-mail. 

I had fun since it is so rare than one sits down to write or draw anymore. I tried to be as creative as I could with simple construction paper, crayons, pencils and, newspaper bits. 

Kavita's first birthday party

My daughter is now 1 year old. Kavita, a 13-year old dream come true, named after my late childhood friend, is of me and from me. She was part of me for nine months. My body created and nurtured her until she was ready to be born from me. My daughter conceived in Africa by desi parents and born in America, you are my first born, my child. 

I love your little toes and your eyelashes. I love your little tummy and I love your little fingers. I love how you smile as soon as you wake up. I love when you want me to pick you up in my arms. I love it when your little face scrunches up into a crying face. I love how you love to play and explore. I love how you are now learning to be naughty and, run away after you mess up my bookshelves. I love how you bring so much fun to our daily, mundane office lives. I love how you don't want to play with your own toys but want to bang on everyone's computer instead. I love how curious you are and, how everything fascinates you. I love scooping you up in my arms and, kissing your little toes. I love how cute you are and, think you are the cutest one in the world. 

I can't wait to share my hobbies like movies and reading with you. 

I love knowing that you were inside me and, I gave birth to you. 

I am also amused at seeing my pictures and, realising I look so much like my mother now. And, I want to celebrate the fact that one's body does change after pregnancy and giving birth. Sure, many women spring back into their former slim and fit bodies. But for some, they change and, become more womanly or just plain bigger. And, they start looking like their mothers. I appreciate those ladies who work so hard to shed the baby fat and, looking like they never got pregnant nor gave birth. Good luck to them and, their efforts to look like teenagers all over again. I am not saying one should let oneself go. I'm saying I just want to take a moment to celebrate the moment of me looking like a mother and, as much as I try to stay fit and healthy, I will look like this. Life is about change and, enjoying every new phase of life.

I love knowing that you were really born out of love and, how two utterly different people randomly came together and, did all we could to safely bring you into this world. 

My dearest Kavita, you are who are born out of such specific circumstances, you are in another way, a love child who renders borders, religions, passports, and social boxes completely irrelevant. 

Happy first birthday, Kavita, and, I look forward to another year full of laughter, learning, growing and, love. 

The goodie bags. Everyone got a really cute toy car, a picture, a couple of lollipops and baby-sized pringles. 

We got the birthday pineapple cake from Pandora's Basket. It was a bit dry but I'm sure I was assured that they do know how to make good cakes. I was so sick of Donna Maria's cakes and, the Royal Hotel's cakes were overpriced so I decided to try something new. Maybe I need to learn how to make a cake by myself. And, question, will I have to succumb in the future to getting those ridiculous, over the top 3-D cakes in the shape of the latest crazy? 

And, here is Kavita eating someone's shoe.

Jonathan, our chief techie's kid, also named Jonathan, fell asleep for this photo. 

Kavita showing Grandma Becky how to use a mobile phone.

The three wise ladies having a coffee after the hectic festivities of organising a birthday party.

We celebrated Kavita's first birthday party at Mama Susu's on Sunday, 5 January 2014. We got the place decorated by Elite Rentals, the same folks who did the decorations for our Office Warming back in 2012. It was a bit of a drama though because the lady didn't arrive until 30 minutes before the party and, the decorations were a bit lame. But Kavita had a great time playing with the 10 helium balloons as did all the other children.

We brought all the balloons home and filled the baby room with them.