Found: There's No Place Like Rome.
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I have a holiday in Rome coming up, so I'm sharing all the places I can't
wait to see, shop, and, of course, eat. My annotated map included!
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Or if not that, then they have to face Accusations of them being of 'Loose Character'. When would people learn that Manipur is not a City("yaar, it has a 'pur' naa, as in Nagpur and Kanpur
(photo taken from here.)
Ignorance is Bliss. That has been one of My Many Mantras that I use when needed. Life is a Little Too Complicated to be Governed by a Singular Thought. But this particular Mantra need not apply regarding Your Knowledge about Your Own Nation. It really is Dis-Heartening to know that People of Our Country know Peanuts about other areas in The Same Republic. When a Huge Uproar is being made about Indians being Attacked in Aussieland, it would also do Well to do a bit of Introspect, regarding the Prejudices people have about Both Foreigners and their Own Countrymen. Its Bitter, its Un-Pleasant, but its An Hard Truth that Decades of Dirty Politics and Prejudices have Succeeded in making Absolute Strangers out of Indians .
A south Indian is Perennially a Madrasi(though after Lola Kutty, one M has been Almost replaced by another, Malayali) and Santa and Banta are supposed to be the Official Representatives of Sardars. Worst is the case of North Easterns . They are outrightly ruled as Non-Indians("are unki ankhien dekhi hai naa"). So much so that a Khasi or Nishi(and I expect you know Who Exactly they are) would be made to feel like An Alien in the Capital of his Own Country, his Own Land
I am from the North East. Ethically I belong to the Mainland, but This has been my family, my community's land for Generations. I am supposedly 'Lucky' that I have 'Normal Features’. That I look 'More Indian'. That I don’t have to be mistaken as a Chinese or a Japanese everytime I visit New Delhi
And until That Day arrives, my NE Friends would continue to be called 'Chowmein Walley Chinkies' and would remain a Foreign Bunch of Peoples in their Own Country and among their Own Country(wo)men.
***
It is always a Social Service towards The Greater Good of the World when you Recruit some one New into the Ever Growing Club of Book Worms. Recently, I have done the same. My pal, Mr.XYZ, always wanted to be 'In'.
Time was when Harry Potter was THE Rage. Few Read the Books and Most Saw the Movies. The 'Readers' were Termed The Coolest Ones Ever. We had Our Own O.W.L.s Tests. Our Own fan Fics, with us Gliding and 'Magicing' in them. We knew All the Spells and Potions, and even Invented a Few of Our Own. And All were Awed.
So Mr. XYZ was (and still is) in Our Group, and incidentally All except Him had read the Books. It was Such a Shame, and Mr. XYZ felt Booed. So he asked for My Copy of ‘Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone’, and he was Determined to finish it. A Week Later, I found that he was still on Page 2. I felt Vexed, and Instantly took My Beloved Book away, while his Pleas echoed in the School Corridors left far behind My Back. I had Saved a Great Book from Disgrace. I was The Last Lost Templar Knight, and the Book was my Sangreal.
Cut to 2009. A few days back, while One of My Most Annoying And Closest Friends was browsing My Tiny Collection of Books (I had Borrowed his Borrowed 'Mein Kamf', which was in Very Plain Terms, Very Plain), Mr. XYZ felt an Urge again. He borrowed My Only Copy of 'The Adventures Of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys' and read it All. And I was Scandalised. That was the First Book he completed in My Knowing. Next went 'Dracula', which wasnt similarily Admired. Blood Suckers out, Hormonal Detectives in.
After that he Read and Lost an entire collection of Drew and the Hardys. And then Another. When I was going to suggest 'White Fang', My Inner All Knowing Self warned against it, and I Heeded. And later I knew Why.
Weeks later, he came and asked for Chetan Bhagat's 'The Three Mistakes Of My Life'. Then 'A Night @ The Call Center', and last mein 'Five Point Someone'. Now I dont have Anything Against Bhagat. I like His Books, albeit on a Different Level than others. He Writes, well Okayish and I Do own All of his Works. His words are first analysed for their Commercial Value, and then Inked on the Paper. At Rs. 100, his books are like those Mass Produced Chinese Products. No High Performance, just Temporary Entertainment.
So Mr. XYZ fell in Love with Bhagat, and then He let Me know that I read Boring, Thick Books (hello, 'The Godfather' is NOT boring. The only Boring Books that I ever read were My Textbooks and Jerome K. Jerome's 'Three Men In A Boat'). But that’s what happens to Obsessive Bhagat Lovers, they begin to Lick those Chinese Goods-Like Books only.
Khair chodo, the Good Thing is that he finally began to read Literature other than those Dry, Un-Refreshing Refreshers. Any thing Other than that is Welcome.
