ravings, cravings, shavings & leavings...

Adding Mizoram to my list of places I want to visi...

2012-05-11T01:45:10.624+05:30

Adding Mizoram to my list of places I want to visit, thanks, Pat.

Thanks Daniel. Check out YouTube for some of this ...

2012-02-11T15:21:52.600+05:30

Thanks Daniel. Check out YouTube for some of this music. But listening to it live is far better, even if you don't know the language. In the words of Stevie Wonder: "Music is a world within itself/It's a language we all understand."

Interesting read. I have no exposure to such music...

2012-02-10T14:38:57.007+05:30

Interesting read. I have no exposure to such music, I hope they will continue for those who love them.

Anna Hazare has invited Rahul Gandhi to Ralegan Si...

2011-10-18T13:01:03.564+05:30

Anna Hazare has invited Rahul Gandhi to Ralegan Siddhi to witness rural development in his village, indicating a thaw in the bitter relations between him and Congress.

Unfortunately I was not there to witness the storm...

2011-08-06T00:43:26.283+05:30

Unfortunately I was not there to witness the stormy weather created over the post screening discussion. But,from my experience I could very well imagine the situation. You know, Anand has his own place in the history and it ends there. Unfortunately he failed to upgrade his visual language with time and that made him irrelevant after a point. Ram Ke Naam was very important film for that particular time and it still is in its limiting ways but I think that the polarised and contrasty portrayal of religions in the film was sensational and it definitely failed to capture the subtleties of India's multi religious existence. So the retrospective viewing of this film naturally reveals many problems. From my experience I can only say that documentary filmmakers(activist filmmakers to be specific) at large tend to be polarised, like to see things in B& W and become very judgmental. Anand is a pioneer.

\m/

2011-08-02T13:39:14.116+05:30

\m/

Absolutely right, Pat, and I'm so glad the Cal...

2011-08-02T12:43:19.320+05:30

Absolutely right, Pat, and I'm so glad the Calcutta audience -- which can on occasion plumb the depths of preening pseudo-intellectual platitudes -- showed some of its old spirit.

I can only wish there were more families like yours, in convictions if not in actions. May your tribe increase :-)

We need to find a way of not wasting time and effo...

2011-08-02T06:06:26.925+05:30

We need to find a way of not wasting time and effort to see these people saying the same sad things about religion and differences and making movies and documentaries highlighting the same.

All it tells them is that these differences matters in our lives

Not in mine and not for me

I could almost feel myself being there physically ...

2011-08-01T21:59:31.142+05:30

I could almost feel myself being there physically while reading the write-up... One gets to hear such crap from the people of this Sovereign SECULAR Democratic Republic described in your story. And sadly, they get away with their stupidity!

However, coming to think of the Preamble, they did exercise the Liberty of expression albeit in distaste...

Nice to know that the vibrant denizens of Kolkata (or should I be calling it Calcutta?) still vent their antagonism and umbrage in a tit-for-tat manner with heated heads!! That's the essence of a city equated with rebellion.

And BTW, the Kindle you refer to could possibly be akin to those kindle books from Amazon...

2011-08-01T21:53:31.346+05:30

This comment has been removed by the author.

Very well expressed. It is a pleasure reading the ...

2011-06-01T14:22:45.982+05:30

Very well expressed. It is a pleasure reading the mellow Patrick Ghose than the other face!

@Ramesh: not sure what your question is...are you ...

2011-03-21T10:09:02.885+05:30

@Ramesh: not sure what your question is...are you asking which school, in which case you've confused my gender. I'm LMB if that settles it.

Hi Patrick, May I ask... LMG or MHS? :) Thanks, ...

2011-03-21T06:30:25.445+05:30

Hi Patrick,

May I ask... LMG or MHS? :)

Thanks,
Ramesh

p@tr!(k - correct... but i believe a lot to be ru...

2011-03-18T10:26:46.428+05:30

p@tr!(k - correct... but i believe a lot to be rumours.. all my associates whose child have got thru had a smooth admission process..

and a few of my colleagues whose children have not got thru still maintain that admssions are possible only thru donations.. and they appear shocked when I say the contrary..

there seems to be a big communication gap amongst the people in general...and a lack of belief too...

Ramesh - good for you, your friend and of course y...

2011-03-16T22:39:50.270+05:30

Ramesh - good for you, your friend and of course your children. still, that we have to now openly state we DID NOT pay bribes (in a school like LMC) itself speaks volumes about the situation we have been in for so long.

Hi Friends, I was extremely sceptical and heard a ...

2011-03-16T05:25:48.005+05:30

Hi Friends,
I was extremely sceptical and heard a lot of stuff on La Marts taking donations etc. for admitting students. I just got my daughter admitted into La Marts for Girls and the admission process was a breeze. No talk of donations or any form of money... the interview panel was more interested to know about me and my spouse's education, profession etc. Even my friend got his son admitted into La Marts for Boys and he had the same experience to share.

Thanks,

An eye opener for people like us who are nor Marti...

2010-07-05T13:05:35.614+05:30

An eye opener for people like us who are nor Martinians.Having done a few years of schooling in Calcutta, we always looked at the school with awe and envy, and clearly out of the reach of ordinary people.
BTW, nice to be seeing your blog after a few months of hiatus.

An eye opener for people like us who are nor Marti...

2010-07-05T13:04:54.561+05:30

Patrick, are you involved with the Old Boys Associ...

2010-06-17T18:32:35.537+05:30

Patrick, are you involved with the Old Boys Association? I see that they've offered very qualified support to the principal.

Don't want to put you on the spot as you probably know some of them, but overall I think they've managed to pull off a good job, considering the circumstances. Wish the press conference had some real heavyweight alums there, but I guess most don't live in Cal anymore. Very smart to have a solicitor like Avik Saha (who I thought was very good) up there alonside a couple of medics like Darius Anklesariya. And, Brandon De'Souza added real presence. But could have been much more heavyweight if they had John Mason, Prtish Nandy and Suhel Seth as well...

Joysheel.

The dhobi ghat as an "useless piece of proper...

2010-06-17T14:05:18.520+05:30

The dhobi ghat as an "useless piece of property.." Surely you jest.

I was one of those who opposed the involvement of a particular member of the Board who was also on the board of the Company that developed the property. Was this not a case of conflict of interest?

However, you write well and by and large, it is an interesting viewpoint - we are all entitled to our own.

By the way, I have met your sister and have high regard for the work she is doing.

@Gordon: thanks buddy! you know too well! yeah and...

2010-06-16T22:41:18.176+05:30

@Gordon: thanks buddy! you know too well! yeah and "...Mr John 'Mousy' Mason..."

@Debucee: Even the stuff you went through has been banned. and wtf is 'murga'?

@My sister: good questions, but as I've pointed out the press knows what's what most of the time...sometimes it's politic (read 'marketing friendly') of them not to ask those questions.

@Sue: was that why the deceased exploded stink bombs on his last day in school? ..and I'm not being funny.

@Rimi: well said!

@Sanjeev: thanks pal! and we can have a drink any time you're here in Cal next.

@Sub: thanks!

@Joysheel: good to know some students kept the right flag flying! and from every commercial deal someone will always make a packet...and it wasn't my dad... yes, but the school has benefited.

Seems like I'm intruding on a private conversa...

2010-06-16T19:08:10.890+05:30

Seems like I'm intruding on a private conversation here...

I came across this article through a Google alert, and I have to say that I agree with almost all of what you say. Looking back, and I loved my time there (no canings for me!), I can't help wondering that rather too much was made of the history and tradition and rather too little of the crap teachers on crap salaries. During my time there, I would say there were only 4 or 5 really good, impressive teachers there -- Milford Hennessy perhaps rating as a 0.5 count on account of not being around all the time.

Prefects giving up their ties became a bit of a rite of passage in my time there... the '87/'88 batch did exactly what you guys did in almost exactly the same circumstances following rough play in the football match vs Lucknow. Think the '92/'93 batch also did something similar over another incident.

Interesting to hear your perspective on the "dhobi ghat". I must say the conventional wisdom in Cal is that someone made a packet from that transaction, but maybe the school did benefit 100%?

Joysheel, '94 batch.

Agree with the sentiments expressed in the last pa...

2010-06-16T13:26:23.235+05:30

Agree with the sentiments expressed in the last paragraph. Nicely written!

Subir

Patrick , MY RESPECT FOR YOU HAS RISEN AFTER READI...

2010-06-16T12:11:53.250+05:30

Patrick , MY RESPECT FOR YOU HAS RISEN AFTER READING YOUR PIECE.

We have had a few cyber space spats but believe me reading this makes me want to buy you a drink.

Well done.

Pat, a wonderfully thoughtful piece. However, alth...

2010-06-15T19:17:34.224+05:30

Pat, a wonderfully thoughtful piece. However, although Sharon and Sue have beat me to it, after the first surge of disgust wore off, I had to wonder how the child was treated at home. When I was at school, particularly when I was young, I remember being hit on the back of our hands with a wooden ruler, and it wasn't as massive an instigator for emotional trauma then as it seems to be nowadays. We took a good lick every now and then to be part of the growing up process.

Part of why I survived those almost gleefully--and also managed to survive the considerably more traumatic high school years (poisoned by a woman we both know)--was likely because, apart from being something of a tough cookie, I also had a wonderfully supportive and loving family that always questioned my side of the story when I came home and reported a perceived injustice, but were careful to do so in a way that didn't make me feel I like I was being disbelieved, or that I was going to be further punshihed for getting an 8 out of 10 or a 60% in maths, or bringing home a note from school about talking during lessons. My mum would hound me to do more sums, but I realised even then she it was a fair thing for a parent to do.

the trouble is, most situations like this one being dreadfully polarised. If one questions the quality of parenting, it's taken for granted that one wants to let the school off the hook. I want no such thing. Teacher, from personal experience, can be persistently and almost unbelievably cruel, given how difficult it is to bring them to justice, as it were. The job, till recently, had little incentive to draw the top of the lot, so largely mediocre and poor students gravitate towards the teaching pool. A certain amount of resentment or frustration can be taken for granted. One understands that, but such attempts as the candle-lighting to save the school is ridiculous. The school's immortal soul is not in peril. It does not need to be saved. It needs to pit mawkish sentimentality aside and weed out the problems inherent in the structure, or it's likely to collapse on itself pretty soon.

(Will you look at the length of that comment!)