tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281303362012-02-06T02:20:28.946-08:00Not a word more, not a word lessA medley of words, stories and issues.Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.comBlogger1101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-49582533697855833052012-02-06T02:20:00.001-08:002012-02-06T02:20:27.759-08:00My column in DNA on President's visits to Maharashtra
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=6510&boxid=26550470&ed_date=2012-01-10&ed_code=820009&ed_page=3 Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-60902922052123587152012-02-06T02:19:00.000-08:002012-02-06T02:19:11.832-08:00My column in DNA on the drug-resistant TB controversy
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=7757&boxid=26784144&ed_date=2012-01-24&ed_code=820009&ed_page=3Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-32478418870099826912012-02-06T02:17:00.002-08:002012-02-06T02:17:39.669-08:00My piece on finding women for the 50 per cent reserved seats in the Mumbai municipal election
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=8330&boxid=26727650&ed_date=2012-01-31&ed_code=820009&ed_page=5 Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-64415516662638321192012-01-20T02:34:00.000-08:002012-01-20T02:34:01.274-08:00This letter was written to me by an extremely honest and scrupulous retired officer who is pained at the union government's shamless badgering of the army chief to get him out of their way and resume their monetary pursuits. Highly recommended read:
We’re witnessing a very sad day when one of the last bastions of integrity, probity and efficiency in this country is being sullied. The Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-25160796789522179572011-12-22T00:22:00.000-08:002011-12-22T00:22:00.464-08:00My piece in Dna on slum housing on December 6, 2011 http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=3391&boxid=142735598&ed_date=2011-12-06&ed_code=820009&ed_page=5Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-39600598448514988472011-12-21T23:58:00.003-08:002011-12-21T23:58:56.903-08:00My piece on Narayan Rane in DNA on December 20, 2011
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=4699&boxid=26707268&ed_date=2011-12-20&ed_code=820009&ed_page=3Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-88573361345219118612011-12-21T23:58:00.001-08:002011-12-21T23:58:19.314-08:00My piece in DNA on Anna Hazare on December 13, 2011
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=3969&boxid=26688278&ed_date=2011-12-13&ed_code=820009&ed_page=5Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-83564566857506499172011-12-21T23:49:00.002-08:002011-12-21T23:49:52.491-08:00 My piece on providing houses to slum dwellers in DNA on December 6, 2011
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Main&queryed=9&querypage=5&boxid=34058872&parentid=156065&eddate=12/06/2011 Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-61466323908095581622011-12-21T23:49:00.000-08:002011-12-21T23:49:05.794-08:00My piece on coastal security in DNA on 29/11/2011
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Main&queryed=9&querypage=8&boxid=30605646&parentid=155492&eddate=11/29/2011 Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-75267691318242267862011-10-17T03:26:00.000-07:002011-10-17T03:26:43.686-07:00Today, I tried to book a train ticket. I went to the IRCTC website, logged in and waited. It was around 11 am. Two minutes later, the scroll kept going round in circles and was clearly not moving anywhere. Not knowing which way to go, I went at it again. And waited.
The scroll showed it was processing something but I was not sure what. Soon, it stopped, hastily drew up a blank screen with an Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-70585465640306000192011-09-13T05:40:00.000-07:002011-09-13T05:40:33.305-07:00<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
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mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4ptSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-4316735316885635902011-08-31T03:53:00.001-07:002011-08-31T03:56:02.331-07:00
August 29, 2011.
Much has been written about the media blitzkrieg in favour of Anna Hazare. And why not? The media has been the biggest weapon in Anna’s armoury. He hadn’t quite expected it to unleash itself in this manner. To give the devil its due, the media itself had not anticipated the agitation to grow into a movement. The media kept agitation before the public eye and the burgeoning Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-71227710109684834122011-07-08T01:55:00.000-07:002011-07-08T02:09:05.205-07:00Saw 'Bbuddha hoga Terra Baap'. After years, I was watching a movie that left me refreshed, happy and pulsating with life. As films go, it's above average, especially considering the current crop of horrors we are subjected to, like I hate Luv Storys, Three Idiots etc, which are just so juvenile they depress you for days and take away your faith in human ability to make films, never mind their Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-2396485855110566512011-06-10T06:09:00.001-07:002011-06-10T06:09:27.095-07:00 http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Main&queryed=9&querypage=5&boxid=31781456&parentid=142000&eddate=06/08/2011 Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-3403084997493876282011-06-01T08:33:00.001-07:002011-06-10T08:36:44.136-07:00
Kapil Sibal is in this very special place reserved for a few in the Congress like Manish Tewary and Abhishek Singhvi. And, for some unfathomable reason, only Congress boasts of such stalwarts on its rolls who can scalp a few honorable men anytime they wish.
These three gentlemen specialise in a genre of attack which could perhaps be called chew-till-mince for want of a more suitable coinage. Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-71284239047118348792011-04-28T04:38:00.001-07:002011-04-28T04:38:43.615-07:00http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=5237&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=1&valid=true
Bhrasht media sceptical of Anna’s fight
All media were plugged into the fast from the word go and stayed there till the last sip of lemon water went down the throats of the protestors. Both scepticism and enthusiasm marked the frenzied coverage of Anna Hazare’s fast at Jantar Mantar. SEEMA KAMDAR Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-23957033456906144632011-03-25T08:04:00.000-07:002011-03-25T08:04:13.761-07:00http://thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=5186&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=1&valid=true
Yes minister, we are with you’
It’s nobody’s case that the environment minister is not clean. We don’t know. But it's our job to ask uncomfortable questions of the man who has gone back on his word repeatedly. Why does the media not do its job in a level-headed way, asks SEEMA KAMDAR
Posted Sunday, Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-35430930739666397272011-03-19T01:33:00.000-07:002011-03-19T01:33:29.559-07:00
I am a reasonably compassionate person. I feel for the plight of a wounded animal or bird though not as much as my mother and sister. They love all living beings. My sister has the unique ability to admire a scary crow cawing grossly on the window pane, watch a repulsive lizard's movements with awe and run to the SPCA animal hospital with an injured crow in a cab. It is common to find her Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-80843687702352141952011-02-24T04:33:00.000-08:002011-02-24T04:33:54.719-08:00
In the last one week, I met two amazing individuals. Both have been known to me for over a decade, or close to two decades but this was the first time I had the opportunity to meet them at leisure for two hours.
One is a retired IPS officer, a thoroughly fine, refined and gentle human being. The other is at the top echelons of the one of the country's foremost corporate group. Both are in theirSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-19860471873095724952011-01-28T04:21:00.000-08:002011-01-28T04:21:22.996-08:00Sorry for having been away for so long.
Life was a maze. And yes, Pixie was a crucial part of it. How can it be otherwise. Without her, life's rather static, the same chores at home and work. Work, of course, has improved and I shouldnt complain. I had feared I would be back in journalism in a flash considering its symbiotic hold over me. But this time, I have persevered well, thanks to some Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-69151672883099547192011-01-28T03:44:00.000-08:002011-01-28T04:32:24.095-08:00Have thought of writing a million times but simply never get down to it. Not for want of ideas or issues or general chatter but the futility of it all.
All through my life, right from college, I have wondered at the worth of all our labours. The way we hold such store by our everyday activities -- brush, bathe, eat, dress, learn, talk, work and even sleep. Of these, many will count as daily Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-70082450169812329902010-11-22T04:57:00.001-08:002010-11-22T04:57:20.701-08:00for a lark.. fun.
Free-IQTest.net - IQ Test For FreeSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-41916286567158966332010-07-06T04:55:00.000-07:002010-07-06T04:58:43.031-07:00
This is Pixie, pretty as a picture!Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-8809539064190054162010-07-05T04:52:00.000-07:002010-07-05T04:54:41.297-07:00Television channels are tut-tutting the bandh and sermonising about lodging a protest in other (undisclosed) ways. Facebook has a string of comments from educated friends condemning the bandh call and making corny jokes on politicians in 'bandh' galas etc. As I have said in a previous post -- quite some time back now -- education makes us snooty and stupid and far far removed from reality. And Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-73234859500722182742010-07-05T04:27:00.000-07:002010-07-05T04:57:04.998-07:00Time for pupdate!
Pixie has learnt to shake hands. Hubby, who feeds her more often than me, has taught her to raise her right paw which she gives readily. But contrary to her heightened animatedness, hers is a dead shake. The paw is held out limp, as if to tell the shaker she is not too interested but aap itni zid kar rahe ho to, here goes!
This morning, we were a little late in giving her Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-63732369359801468742010-06-29T02:37:00.000-07:002010-07-05T03:48:39.615-07:00Turns out Pixie is two months old.
Took her to the vet today who kept telling us, "She is very cute!"
Pixie lay frozen on the examination table- a glistening sheet of steel, too smooth for her to have any grip. More than the lack of a grip, the new surroundings scared her. She stood stiffly hanging on to the slippery floor by her long toenails for a good half hour. The vet looked at us Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-45825590846401054952010-06-25T08:46:00.000-07:002010-06-25T09:08:04.737-07:00Pixie update:
Looking at Pixie is just so refreshing. It also makes me very philosophical.
The little thing doesnt care for who I am, what my status in life is, whether I am rich or poor, educated or illiterate, good human being or bad, ugly or pretty, popular or painful, smart or dull, intelligent or dumb. She simply likes me. Period.
Each time she sees me, she wags her tail fast and hard Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-27858390195550707462010-06-23T23:58:00.000-07:002010-06-23T23:58:09.164-07:00The latest on my pup is it is a girl! We were so frazzled by her sudden presence in our lives we didnt notice all this while! Now, our naming process has travelled from Thambi to Rajee to Rashee to Pixie. And Pixie it is right now. At least for now.
She is now in the parking lot with two other dogs for company. We had mistaken one she-dog there to be her mother because of her black patches. ButSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-67921472936511460632010-06-19T05:35:00.000-07:002010-07-05T03:36:51.264-07:00This is the link to my piece on The Hoot. The story has been turned around a bit and for those who are interested, I have pasted my original story too.
http://thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=4631&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=20&valid=true
It hit me in the pit of my stomach just when I was having lunch. A brief Times of India report on an inside page talked of hundreds of farmers and Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-61939494381618342562010-06-18T02:10:00.000-07:002010-06-18T02:10:45.342-07:00Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-84901036887886156252010-06-18T00:46:00.000-07:002010-06-27T05:15:42.017-07:00Today, we sent the pup-- we have named him Thambi, (Tamil for small brother) typifying cute and small for us -- out in the open.
Yesterday, it rested all day peacefully and drank some milk after some effort. He would nibble at the plastic container assuming it's edible. And then, I would have to make his tongue somehow make contact with the milk to make him understand. After two tries, he Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-16697142008511031812010-06-17T03:52:00.000-07:002010-06-18T01:24:06.793-07:00He entered our home in our hands.This morning, my husband told me about a pup in our garden who was apparently yelping in pain all night. I saw him hunkered down in the one-foot-wide nullah in the garden. He was a cute, black foot-long fellow, with pinkish paws. He was shivering and sat immobile. Water was trickling into the nullah making him further wet. But the poor soul had no idea how to getSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-7477758480058641632010-06-11T07:21:00.000-07:002010-06-19T05:18:59.622-07:00
I have finally begun believing in destiny. Why else would someone with an incredibly unclassy language like Shobha De (or is it Shobhaa De or Shoba De? Given her affection for numerology, one can never be too sure) survive in this day when India has so many good English writers?Offering little of value, her ‘columns’ inevitably snap and sneer at people who cannot defend themselves. They Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-85319472938129626592010-04-16T07:22:00.001-07:002010-04-16T07:22:35.410-07:00http://thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=4451&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=19&valid=trueSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-2141396288942999712010-03-02T06:02:00.000-08:002010-03-02T06:41:39.139-08:00We put so many labels on people.. hot-tempered, cool, lazy, conformist, rebellious, smart, go-getter etc. The very first sight of a person immediately relays some signals to us, wittingly and unwittingly. The basic ones concern her appearance.Then, when we exchange hellos, we make the secondary assessment. This, again, happens entirely unconsciously so much so that it is almost involuntary. As Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-67912340919860196612010-03-02T06:01:00.000-08:002010-03-02T06:02:16.595-08:00http://thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=4370&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=1&valid=trueSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-80292286852667107562009-12-20T06:05:00.000-08:002009-12-20T06:06:41.062-08:00Revisiting an old post ...the sentiments being the same again :-)We visited another world last week.It was dense with tall, green trees, the earth was red and pebbled, the horses hawed and neighed and galloped all the time, and an army of monkeys walked along chirping continuously. The majesty of the mist-capped hills held us spellbound, the gentle nip in the air teased and titillated, the snowy Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-52944160957801452562009-12-03T01:23:00.000-08:002009-12-03T01:50:23.411-08:00Are we ever going to live down Vinita Kamte's book or Hasan Gafoor's alleged inefficiency or the mystery behind the three officers --Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar --taking off in one police car?Vinita is an amazing lady. She made it a point to show everyone why exactly her husband went in the same car after having some seriously gross and unthinking people question her about it.Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-2149458467332503782009-12-03T00:32:00.000-08:002009-12-03T01:22:43.953-08:00I know nothing about cricket and am immune to the fuss over Sachin Tendulkar. (God! have I committed blasphemy!)Still, to get it out of the way, here goes:"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with SachinTendulkar on it."- Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards aflight."Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-69189175684211012292009-09-22T05:10:00.000-07:002009-09-22T06:45:52.882-07:00Today, I want to talk about my mom. Again. Because she is just so amazing. Its based on some random recollections. Have taken care to ensure it reads straight but if any gushing sounds emanate from the narration, kindly pardon.My mother sometimes visits this garden which is frequented by an assorted variety of women -- mothers bringing kids to play, old ladies accompanied by nurses, middle-aged Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-91947348493783273232009-09-03T05:25:00.000-07:002009-09-03T05:39:18.949-07:00The media sickens.The Congress flag is flying at half-mast at the party headquarters because of the accidental death of the Andhra CM. So, the Star News anchor wants to know from his all-knowing reporter colleague, "Tell us, when does the flag fly half-mast?" I flipped, and flicked the remote before getting a sermon on the circumstances under which a flag should fly low.Ajit Doval, formerly of IBSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-77244136592382089562009-09-03T04:54:00.000-07:002009-09-03T06:00:11.875-07:00I have been ODing on Hollywood movies these days. And practically, each one has so many swear words it is not funny. Many of these movies are downright idiotic, some are limp, some others are tacky and some more are spaced out.There are good ones too but I squirmed through so many of them I marvelled how their societies survive. Our much-condemned Hindi movies of the old, if you dilute their Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-36727266021786854662009-09-03T04:15:00.001-07:002009-09-03T06:05:30.577-07:00I know, I know. Its totally not on. I cant simply hope to resurrect myself in your esteem by materialising on this blog every few years.Unforgiveable.I couldnt agree more. But all I ask is your forgiveness and I'm sure you will forgive me. Let's look at it this way. Between each post, I'm evolving and growing. And that helps me give you additional value with each post. Ok, I'm going to stop here Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-89486272591210973902009-07-26T07:33:00.000-07:002009-07-26T08:10:06.437-07:00The army had decided to observe Vijay Diwas, July 26, when the Indian army won the Kargil war for us. There was no sign of the government even pretending to remember the martyrs. It got into the picture by fluke - in one more incident that demonstrates the power of the media.How it unfolded: A couple of television channels relayed the causal comment by a former navy chief in the course of anotherSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-56808459019403517332009-06-26T05:54:00.001-07:002009-06-26T06:18:03.476-07:00'You'll remember me somehowThough you dont need me nowI will stay in your hearts..'Mourning Michael Jackson.This is one of his lesser known numbers, written before he got famous. But, to me, this was his best.Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-39164915702646855192009-04-17T06:53:00.000-07:002009-04-17T06:54:39.240-07:00<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-78576177391158699312009-04-17T04:28:00.000-07:002009-04-17T04:29:57.411-07:00One more follow-up to my story on MLAs' scandalous medical reimbursements-- check out Mumbai Mirror's Front page of edition dated April 16, 2009.Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-87620617317230558262009-04-11T06:31:00.001-07:002009-04-11T06:42:01.019-07:00This is a PS to my last post :-)Check out Page 2 of Hindustan Times, Mumbai, of April 9, 2009. It's about half a page follow-up to the PIL I have mentioned in that post..Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-18920641553541897232009-03-28T02:35:00.001-07:002009-04-11T06:40:47.942-07:00How would you feel if you manage to save crores of rupees from being plundered by politicians in the future? It is common for a journalist to get appreciation for a story, to make impact by influencing changes in an immediate situation but its perhaps the most satifying moment when she gets to impact policy making in a big way.A journalist gets to write several stories in her career that make an Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-38863978320008578342009-02-21T05:57:00.000-08:002009-02-21T06:21:08.075-08:00Mahatma Gandhi's personal effects are being auctioned and the government is maintaining a Sphinx-like silence over it. Sometimes, I think the Congress president should have been born in Egypt instead of Italy though I grant that she certainly understand the second culture better.Each time there is an issue revolving around Gandhiji, it devolves upon his immediate family to do something about it. Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-58153008803046818942009-02-07T00:31:00.000-08:002009-02-07T02:22:57.537-08:00Of terror attacks and white bondageI haven't seen Slumdog Millionnaire and dont plan to.But the best way to rest this controversy whether it does discredit to India is to ask foreigners if the movie changed their perception of India. Far better than tearing ourselves up over how oh-so backward and narrow-minded some protestors can be, and wearing the veil of sophistication over ignorance.Many Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-76723802871766983692009-01-03T00:09:00.000-08:002009-02-21T06:25:20.245-08:00Cynical as it sounds, Mumbai is back to putting its best foot forward, and that foot is generally a self-serving one. We are back to rejoicing and having fun. After all, nobody we care for has died.Of course, we shed tears for Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar (always in that order) and ah, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, and then some others such as a certain Tukaram Ombale. We pledged to make their Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-34690559649702382062008-11-26T05:38:00.000-08:002009-02-21T06:22:19.023-08:00It's so easy to become a celeb. You merely have to get a pic in the paper --any paper, any page-- only once and you earn the right to strut around town with the aura of an important living thing. That pic means someone somewhere could possibly recognise you in the near or far future and God, that makes you soooo important.TV stars, for instance. Each one is in transit to the big screen but ends Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-58894385638270585272008-11-26T05:21:00.000-08:002008-11-26T05:35:41.021-08:00Saw 'Wednesday' the other day. What a movie! Scores eons over the others of commercial make. Take 'Fashion' for instance. I usually like Madhur Bhandarkar movies. But this one was too laboured and too endless. One felt fatigued and helpless. Maybe a shorter version, a more realistic ending, and a better actress. Ha! I wanted to physically extricate Priyanka Chopra from the screen, especially Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-89087341428787962622008-11-26T04:58:00.000-08:002008-11-26T05:38:39.263-08:00Each day, I write a post here. Seriously. Except that I forget to type it out and publish it. Each day, something happens which makes me think, must write this on the blog. It is then consigned to Deletable Memory, that fantastic storage space for everything you WANT to remember. DM ensures it is out of your mind in no time.No, I dont believe in the theory that you remember what you want to Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-18748946795390443152008-10-10T07:33:00.000-07:002008-10-10T07:36:14.809-07:00Are you equally confused about what the hell is happening to the country? Inflation is an an all-time high, bombs are bursting everywhere and communal riots dot the sub-continent.In the middle of all this, we have a nuclear deal pushed by an Italian head ..i mean party president... and her cohorts in government.somebody, please give the country a break. We deserve it.Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-31615628542377959062008-10-10T07:22:00.000-07:002008-10-10T07:29:41.434-07:00Had written this piece in Manushi 10 years ago or so.I can still touch the seething anger and see the fire in my belly.If you ask me whether I still turn around on men who misbehave, I do, mostly. But there is no fire in my belly any more. Life trains you.Can’t Feel FreeI am not sure if in this society, any woman can actually feel free. Yes, we wear what we like, do as we wish, but are we free ofSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-14583535295259019802008-09-17T06:35:00.000-07:002008-09-17T06:56:30.726-07:00Now, have you got over the blasts? The Delhi one, I mean.or even the Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad ones? Arent we supposed to forgive and forget? I mean, every nation has explosions happening all round. So what? Look at the US. It had 9/11, didnt it? It's another matter that it attended to it big-time and made sure that it didnt have another one.Look at even good old Pakistan. Each time someone Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-91938548159405670662008-08-12T01:16:00.000-07:002008-08-12T01:40:07.575-07:00Education creates egos.Yes, I firmly believe that. Of what worth is an education that deters you from doing something mainly because you fear how you will be viewed if you do it? havent you encountered such situations ever?There are any number of NGOs engaged in spreading 'knowledge' and we all applaud it as the worthiest motive. But of what good is sine, cosine if it robs you of your compassionSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-17136167726879635512008-08-12T01:07:00.000-07:002008-08-12T01:16:19.610-07:00"Kamyabi ke baad jab palat kar dekha, Toh mere kadmo ke nishaan na the, Unki jagah jo dekha to dung reh gaya; Weh the hathileyon ke nishan, Tab samjha woh sahare hain, Jin par chal kar yahan pahuncha, Mere mata pita ke pawan kar kamal."What does one say about a guy who writes like this? Abhinav Bindra, who stole a billion hearts on Monday, August 11, 2008, had written this in his home at one Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-22803913038448383222008-07-27T04:11:00.000-07:002008-07-27T04:45:38.817-07:00Jaipur, Bengalooru, and now Ahmedabad. Next destination/s: ________.And what does union home minister Shivraj Patil, second to PM in internal security matters, say immediately after those sickening explosions in Ahmedabad? "I dont want to say that someone is to blame, or that someone should have done something. That's not what I want to say. I wont say it's because someone didnt do their job. Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-19316946297930297612008-07-27T03:52:00.000-07:002008-07-27T04:11:40.095-07:00Here's a piece from Le monde. To me, its mostly mumbo jumbo. All I can recognise are two names: Tushar Gandhi's and mine.If anyone cares to translate, she will get a favourable mention on this blog. (What else can a journalist offer?)Tushar Gandhi, profession arrière-petit-fils Gandhi, c'est lui. Lui que les journalistes appellent pour obtenir des informations sur la vie du Mahatma. Lui qui Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-32146060047148028472008-07-25T10:03:00.000-07:002008-07-25T10:39:45.722-07:00What is a human being that does not hurt?I am extremely hard-hearted about people without a heart and all heart for people who are soft and sweet. :-)This is not my interpretation about myself but what everybody says about me and I think this is more or less true. Whether right or wrong, I am terrible with people I dislike and I am quite nice with people I find genuine.I am a reasonably good Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-58258926582738697402008-07-24T07:16:00.000-07:002008-07-24T07:22:05.341-07:00You guys are going to call me absolutely `middle-class' (I love Ratna Pathak Shah for the way she says it in `Sarabhai vs Sarabhai') for this. But I genuinely believe DD National is the best Indian channel we have. IT has some singing shows, but the bulk of its programming is super stuff--series of cartoonists, how they work, series on rural issues, programme on health issues, educational Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-18218165161285990622008-07-24T06:50:00.001-07:002008-07-24T07:16:24.263-07:00It's that time of the year again when we worry about a drought-like situation in Maharashtra, and probably many other parts of the country.For a Mumbaiwalla, scarce rains means water cuts in the last four months of the year. For a farmer, it means debt and depression. He has spent all his expensive capital (at an interest rate of 30 to 40 %) on the seeds, and has sweated and toiled to sow them. Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-11376848103135232332008-07-23T23:54:00.001-07:002008-07-24T00:12:48.949-07:00It's incredible how so many people are giving the clean chit to Manmohan Singh. "He is a good man," goes the refrain. But hello? Whom was all the horse-trading for? All the Rs 25 crore-50 crore getting wheeled into different corners of the world and all those heavy duty abstentions, cross-votings were intended to bail out this man who has somehow emerged dudh ka dhula even after sitting on this Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-78293816080325299322008-07-02T06:52:00.000-07:002008-07-02T07:08:57.927-07:00So many people have been asking me why I quit mid-way. And a small number is also curious to know why I refused to take up a job for a while.Let me begin at the beginning. And this is one record, off the record, whichever way you look at it because there is none other. I was fed up. I was fed up of what I and everybody else around me was dishing out in the name of journalism day after day. We Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-24689255630044382222008-07-02T05:34:00.001-07:002008-07-02T06:49:48.664-07:00I seem to be making it a habit. And now, its positively embarrassing. So I shant apologise for the hopeless delay in writing to you this time. I would rather say thanks for bearing with me. Ya, believe me, I have been losing fans and friends because of my absolute inability to write here.Now, cant afford that for too long. Guys, please come back. I promise to behave next time.Am going to be Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-91305719108163164702008-03-15T23:25:00.000-07:002008-03-15T23:52:38.950-07:00Sorry for this belated posting. Thanx a million for noticing and plodding me to get back. The thing is I get word-weary. Have had too much of words from childhood to a career that grew on the strength of my words. That’s one of the reasons I simply upped and quit a full-time job, and don’t feel inclined to do a column. Imagine churning out 1,000 words week after week not because you have Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-89933797115117138592008-01-30T01:10:00.000-08:002008-01-30T01:14:24.006-08:00In the film `Gandhi', Kasturba has a dialogue which goes something like this, ``Our people are starving because we are wearing clothes made by foreigners.'' Mahatma Gandhi then makes the historical exhortation sparking a bonfire of Lancashire mill cloth that could supposedly be seen right up to England.Even as we continue to debate the relevance of the epostle of peace and non-violence in these Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-34630651318307017782008-01-04T09:05:00.000-08:002008-01-04T09:08:33.058-08:00This is a must-read. Saw P Sainath on the Lok Sabha channel on TV the other day talking about something extremely close to my heart.Listening to him was such a novel experience, wired as the brain is to expect trite and more trite baloney from all channels these days, whether they peddle soaps, news or reality. And here was a senior journalist who has travelled across the length and breadth of Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-33822141297887801872007-12-21T03:02:00.000-08:002008-01-09T03:03:21.619-08:00Hi everyone!Came across a senior citizen recently whose cataract operation was botched up by a charitable eye hospital in the city. An all too common occurrence no doubt, but that's precisely why we need to take a close, hard look at what ails our delivery systems.If you ask me, there's only one word for what's wrong with all our work-- we're too damn unprofessional in our attitude and behaviour.Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-51403004404879562702007-12-21T01:09:00.000-08:002007-12-21T02:59:23.773-08:00We visited another world last week.It was dense with tall, green trees, the earth was red and pebbled, the horses hawed and neighed and galloped all the time, and an army of monkeys walked along chirping continuously. The majesty of the mist-capped hills held us spellbound, the gentle nip in the air teased and titillated, the snowy sky dropped dew even as the moon slithered away with practised Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-59976171946444056092007-12-05T22:29:00.000-08:002007-12-21T01:09:19.044-08:00What is the point of all we do?Hey, does it ever hit you that we are all caught in a web of our own making, that we strive and strive endlessly to meet ends that we need not have set in the first place. And at the end of the day, what's the fuss all about?I often wonder about the number of people who go around saying, ``I was determined to do this..'', ``This..award..post..blah blah.. means the Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-33384477017252721162007-12-05T02:04:00.000-08:002007-12-05T02:09:34.081-08:00All my endearing Anonymouses!I didn't know there were so many people in the world called Anonymous. If you take a name poll, you'll probably find this name dominating the list. There are at least a dozen on my blog, all with interesting comments to offer but for some reason, anonymous.All my life, I have been told the temptation to see your name in print, like Adam and Eve, is primordial. But, Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-86948362088981019862007-11-20T06:14:00.000-08:002007-12-05T02:04:41.944-08:00The typical victim can sometimes be the stereotypical villain..There are so many default victim categories entrenched in our minds-- the poor, the downtrodden, the worker, and of course the woman. In any given situation, we readily believe that the rich and mighty are the villain. No CBI inquiry is needed to establish their guilt, nor can it change our minds on the matter. The guilt is firmly Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-74555992727398679452007-11-14T06:42:00.000-08:002007-11-14T06:48:46.228-08:00Here's a long agony-ridden SMSHave a voice and want to sing? Want to dance with two left feet? Aspire to be a leader? There is an easy road to the hall of fame (and fortune, for the unnamed beneficiaries in the fray). All you need is a healthy bank balance or a wealthy family/ friends who can SMS-power your way to glory. There is a mini-revolution happening out there in which, it seems, everyone Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-65245547040714843482007-11-13T02:03:00.000-08:002007-12-05T22:29:04.846-08:00Modi and his nine lives (in the media)The nail has hit on the head. So, the communal riots of 2002 in Gujarat had the unofficial backing of chief minister Narendra Modi, no less. Aha! It's that time of the year again. Tehelka has stung. Only, this time, it has stung at the same place. Ever since 2002 happened, the world and its media have been shouting from the rooftops about the role of the Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-34349659827462736172007-11-13T01:19:00.000-08:002007-11-14T06:38:24.023-08:00The urbane Englishman generates 450 kgs of waste annually, according to a local UK report. Happily, a Mumbaikar generates 260 kgs. Nothing to pat your back about, but good enough to give us the advantage of sniggering at the whites.Come to think of it, though we find it hard to believe, we are actually better off than our evolved cousins in the west in practically every department. We don't sit Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-35589713794235448702007-10-15T07:03:00.000-07:002007-12-06T09:26:42.282-08:00``Young people are more engaged with the Internet.'' ``TV and Internet would leave little time for newspapers everywhere.'' These are the prophetic words of Marcus Brauchli, managing editor, Wall Street Journal.I dont know anyone who will disagree with this fundamental truth. Ever since TV invaded media turf in the early nineties, we were periodically warned to keep pace or fade out. ``We are Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-34023630538319570262007-10-05T00:46:00.000-07:002007-10-05T00:49:37.491-07:00Here's a powerful address by the indefatigable Vandana Shiva which addresses some issues very close to my heart. Please, ppllllease read it. Will post my comments later. How to Address Humanity's Global Crises? Challenge Corporate Power, Embrace True DemocracyBy Vandana Shiva, AlterNetPosted on October 1, 2007, Printed on October 1, 2007http://www.alternet.org/story/63541/Editor's note: the Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-2114750656936892822007-09-26T00:29:00.000-07:002007-09-26T01:05:42.940-07:00India has won the TT Cup. Yeah!To me, TT spells table tennis. That's as much as I understand of cricket. But honestly, Twenty 20 doesn't look like cricket (it's typically decided in the last over or even the last ball) and the TT Cup doesnt look like a Cup. But then, neither does Team India look Indian.What happened to all that cowering under pressure--nervous fielding, dropped catches, drooping Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-51102540255582066712007-09-22T06:13:00.000-07:002007-09-24T22:53:07.852-07:00Nach Baliye or Sach Beliye?I dunno if you are watching Nach Baliye 3. I have watched a few episodes of the first Nach Baliye. (Wasnt that the one with Sachin and wife and Rajeshwari Sachdev and husband?) Whatever little I saw of the latest version wasn't up to scratch. The couples are all oh-so-boring.It' high time someone put out a dictionary meaning of celeb for the Indian audience. Does celeb Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-24032971399052554432007-09-22T04:59:00.000-07:002007-10-05T00:53:43.866-07:00Life in a zoo!!Hi.. apologise for being away for sooo long. I have recently shifted to a place that, for a pucca Mumbaikar like me, can be mildly termed as eye-popping.The place is actually a huge thicket in the middle of which some unlikely structures have cropped up and people like us appear to have encroached, just the way slums have the city. Except that ours is a legit encroachment. We were Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-43765699567314951692007-08-18T06:30:00.000-07:002007-08-18T06:50:35.510-07:00Please check your link (and facts), you!Someone has posted a comment on my blog asking me to check out a link about some `con artist'. The link leads to a general page on a blog and has nothing at all as promised on the `con artist'. Since the person has chosen to remain anonymous (Honestly, I am a bit tired of these anonymous comments. Fellas, if you don't have the guts to be yourself, why existSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-59676578769663297722007-07-27T08:21:00.000-07:002007-12-05T22:26:20.322-08:00Unlike most people who fuss over kids, I have this huge soft corner for oldies. My heart goes out to the aged on the planet, especially India and especially my parents (Ok, I'm in confession mode).I hate to see old men toiling on the roads or their privileged brethren living in denial after retirement. I hate to see old arthritic women being womanhandled by daughters-in-law AFTER they have been Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-7646874128773575212007-07-10T04:30:00.000-07:002007-07-10T04:47:08.128-07:00This message is from and about Arun Bhatia, the well-known IAS officer who took on the system and was shunted out year after year. Because he spent about a decade on UN assignments, his transfers number only 26 (in 26 years spent in the country).He has uncovered various scams in Mumbai and elsewhere: the urban land ceiling, corruption in malnutrition, etc. He paid the price for each scam with a Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-28732343029201085362007-05-28T06:47:00.000-07:002007-06-14T00:32:40.647-07:00Celebs, lay off the task of deciding innocents at least!Let me do the P.S. first this once: Got tons of people writing to me about the fact that Nokia is a Finnish company, for a previous post of mine. Yes, true. My oversight, sorry and thanks. One particular person wrote the same comment twice and then, when both the comments got deleted by some systemic error before getting posted, wrote for Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-51632051722836451772007-05-10T05:47:00.001-07:002007-05-23T04:19:49.774-07:00For years, friends have been asking me to narrate some of the memorable moments of my career. I have hesitated because there are far too many to write about and I would hate picking a few. Nonetheless, here's a beginning.It took me four months to write in April 2006 a full page story on how our MLAs claim medical reimbursements. Using the Right to Information Act, I procured about 400 pages of Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-27876795748739537852007-05-10T05:10:00.000-07:002007-05-10T05:42:31.537-07:00Though it's a bit late in the day, please please let me say my piece on the Rang De Basanti versus Lage Raho Munnabhai saga. The dust has settled and each publisher--print and broadcast-- has bankrolled some serious surveys of about 100-odd persons each to let us know which is the better film. My problem is neither the surveys nor the air-headed reviews seem to make sense to me.In my mind, there Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-3870067227899056092007-02-27T05:27:00.000-08:002007-02-27T05:38:07.636-08:00Hello!One more `lift' , again from a email being circulated on www, and again anonymous. Am not taking the easy way out but can't help if they are so good that I want to share them with you!An interesting reflection: Slow Down CultureIt's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working forthem has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes2 years to be Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-78570516142693843122007-02-01T06:41:00.000-08:002007-02-01T06:42:04.916-08:00I am a bit tired of this relentless badgering of public offices—be it national, state or local governments—vis a-vis the hosannas for privatization. Call me a communist if you will, but in my two decades (ok, almost two decades!) of working as a journalist, I have naturally had the privilege of examining lots of public bodies and private bodies closely. Let me share with you my experience-drivenSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-59415699233422937322007-01-27T04:57:00.000-08:002007-01-27T05:02:45.386-08:00I don’t know the author of this email and I have no copyright. But I’m sure whoever she is, she will not mind me sharing her views which I wholeheartedly endorse. I have taken the liberty of editing the mail:``By the time you read this news, the body of Major Manish Pitambare, who was shot dead at Anantnag, would have been cremated with full military honors.The day he died, the news channels wereSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-43834595702252025272007-01-13T03:48:00.000-08:002007-01-13T03:51:52.913-08:00Hi People!Just one request. Please put your names to your comments. Many of the good comments i receive are without a name. That makes it somehow incomplete. Thanks.This piece is courtesy sulekha. had written it for them in 2003....resurrecting it at a time when farmers suicides are becoming de rigeur...It seems a little odd to cite an old non-violence hero in the times of international stress, Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-7783672684749990312007-01-10T06:47:00.002-08:002007-01-10T07:05:34.303-08:00Now it can be told.The two women killed in Khairlanji--the infamous incident that caused delayed riots in the state including Mumbai-- were not raped, according to the two post-mortem reports. I wrote about this in my paper after confirming it from government sources.One could now dispute the PM report itself but the fact remains that this is an official document, belonging to the government and Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-1167656266463943442007-01-01T04:32:00.000-08:002007-10-26T08:03:41.014-07:00Saddam, the supposed harbinger of doom for mankind, is gone. And he leaves behind an unflattering mass of no-gooders. Topping the list is Bush-part II. It was extremely distressing to see Saddam go to the gallows while Bush was peacably holidaying on his good old Texan ranch. His cowboy living becomes him much more than his role as the head of the American state. ranch .No, Saddam is no God. But Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-1166882767621038462006-12-23T05:59:00.003-08:002007-01-06T03:36:48.456-08:00Mantralay, the Maharashtra government headquarters, may be the seat of power but its common impression is that of an extremely boring place stuffed with boring people in a bleak, dank environment.This is largely true but that is only if you are a chance visitor. To a regular, Mantralay is a veritable pit of colourful stories – scandals, affairs, intrigue, politics, and of course the quirks of Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-1166448211796004752006-12-18T05:07:00.000-08:002006-12-27T04:10:08.946-08:00I have been pondering over life (and death consequently) the past few months. Though I nurse a tendency to plunge into such deliberations often, my chaotic life largely keeps me away from any serious ascetic pursuit.A recent illness and an enforced two-month home stay, with some help from those awful drugs, got me into researching the meaning of life. And inevitably, as it always happens, my Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-1166276340751623272006-12-16T05:23:00.000-08:002007-01-04T05:26:36.796-08:00For a country known for its seamless acceptance and tolerance (in these stressful times) of its multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-dimensional societal fabric, the burning of Deccan Queen by Dalit `protestors' bodes ill.The systematic protests all over Maharashtra over the Khairlanji episode (in which Dalit women belonging to one family were allegedly gangraped by some casteist villagers) Seema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28130336.post-1164807677595200802006-11-29T05:10:00.000-08:002006-12-22T04:44:25.510-08:00I continue to be amazed at the emotional outpouring over Sanjay Dutt's sentencing... For days, a starved media ran feverish campaigns collecting the opinion of the man and woman on the street about whether Sanju baba (Baba?!) was a criminal/terrorist or not. And quintessentially, many a man and woman on the street offered that he was not... how could he after spouting all the Gandhian wisdom in aSeema Kamdarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16847605043928860578noreply@blogger.com3