Litfest in Kolkata Jan 2026

 Went to Alipore Museum -a former jail- for this festival. Great experience listening to academics from US, authors from France and India, and activists who have also written books. Anita Nair, who was at the Bangalore launch of Hari's (my BIL) book, was also on one panel.

France is not very advanced on the female abuse front, according to a participant who was from rural France- Basque country. Now, the law is catching up and the terminology is changing to suit crimes against women. Violence against women was the subject the panel were discussing.

Another session featured Brinda Karat, and Subhashini Ali, both from the CPIM, but with different stories. Both spoke very passionately, and one surprise was to find out that Capt. Laxmi Sehgal who worked closely with Netaji Bose is Subhashini's mom.

The panel featuring Subhashini Ali..

Anita Nair in a panel-above

Subhashini Ali above, and Brinda Karat.

Gallows humour- last pic.

Parallel Governments, Judiciary, et al

That we don't as a nation have much respect for the rule of law is quite well-known. Violation of traffic rules is a small symptom, though wide-spread. Lawless behaviour extends into other areas too, sometimes life-threatening (honour killings, for example).

But what keeps happening with regularity is violence based on some excuse-any excuse at all- where all sanity seems non-existent, and mobs rule our roads. I have seen too many such instances over the years, though personally the most chilling was the 1984 riots in Delhi, because I lived there at the time. Right from the ones at the time of our independence (partition, Bengal etc.) til date, we have not been able to control the urge to settle arguments on the road. It's similar to the need that the U.S. and a few others seem to have, to go bomb someone somewhere when the urge becomes uncontrollable. The excuse does not really matter.

This urge for violence towards a fellow human (sometimes family, as in honour killings), is a worrisome thing, and can be easily exploited by interested parties to keep us fighting with eachj other.. The sooner we learn to control ourselves, the better it will be- for ALL of us. Hoping sanity prevails in Bangalore, Chennai, and elsewhere.

Innovative Solutions to Violence

Violent acts, mostly of terrorist type, have been happening in the past months with clockwork regularity. Regular solutions don't seem to work. Here are some we can try out.

Post Bruce Willis in every place which has any chance of being attacked. He dies hard.

He can't be everywhere. So, post Salman Khan and his six packs in other places.

After him, Sunny Deol with his two and a half (dhai) kilo fist should do the trick.

All the miracle-monger babas should be asked to forecast where the next attack will happen. And put them there, to see them happen (or not). Both ways, society would gain.

Put a Section 144 or equivalent everywhere. If more than four people can't gather anywhere, the casualties will be minimal even if there is an attack. But yes, the Retailing industry will have to take a hit.

Book any terrorist passengers on those airlines which regularly dump their planes in the sea..rings a bell?

Books That Need to Be Written

This is inspired by a book review of a book titled "Let's Be Less Stupid" that I chanced upon somewhere. There are lots of books that should be written, and I am not sure they have been. So here's a call to writers if they are inspired by the suggestions-

1. Colonial Powers Say Sorry for Terrorising Half the World
2. Tolerance? What is That? When was it Ever There?
3. A Guide to Ethnic Riots, Worldwide. 2015th edition
4. Awards-A Who's Who and Why's That and What's What
5. If Russia does it, It's Wrong..
6. Bihar - A State Gone Wrong After Nalanda
7. Maharashtra, ditto after the Cows came Home
8. Telangana, ditto, after KCR/NTR/ANR/IT Boom
9.  Bangalore, a history-from Narayanamurthy to Sikka (film rights titled Khotey Sikkey)
10. IIM A, B, C, ..X, Y, Z. Particularly, Y?
11. All the Answers to Malala's Question- If you can spend on Guns, why not on Books?

Women- The Finer Sex

After all the hype about the International Women’s Day has died out, maybe one can be a little more calm (!) and make a few observations about women, without getting stuck in stereotyping and unnecessary exaggeration. Hype is not needed, because, of all the good qualities embodied in a civilized society, most are found in women.

They are cleaner than men. A survey of men’s and women’s bachelor pads should be able to prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

They are less violent than men. This is not to be mistaken for lack of courage to face adversity. Women in most societies face more adversity than men.

Maybe due to motherhood, but they are more giving or generous.

They are more graceful than men, both in dress and social etiquette, and more common-sensical, in general. Exceptions for the latter are usually in a shopping arena.

They are more capable of multi-tasking. An average man cannot handle more than one and a half tasks at one time. A woman possibly can do at least twice as many.