Jams Bond 007

Jams Bond 007

Come September… a month of JAMS and BONDS all the way. 

No, NOT delicious fruity jams, but the tiring traffic jams,
      bonding people of all re(lig)ions through 007 festivals!  


Googled?
The popular, crowd-pulling, traffic stopper God Ganesha would surely prefer a virtual avatar to reach the sea ?

Well… Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak did start public celebration of Ganesha festival so people of various communities could bond!!!


Toned or Tondh (Paunch)? 

Imagine the plight of the ‘haelthy foodie’ Ganesha. He is offered only modaks for his birthday (Ganesha Chaturthi), while the svelte, well-toned Krishna is offered chappan bhog (56 dishes) on his birthday (Krishna Janmashtami).

Food for thought, eh?
So is Ganesha full of fats & cholestrol????
Maybe Ganesha would like a makeover.          

Ban the Plaster from (of) Paris.

And encourage the small, clay idols with vegetable or organic dyes that easily dissolve in a water body, leaving no toxic trace. That was the traditional way anyway, wasn’t it?

To be the Tall, Dark & Handsome Krishna (that’s what his name literally means) should be an inspiration for all.

No wonder they clamber up to break the pot of curd like he did….
Or are they thinking of the Rs.25 lakhs (last heard highest figure sponsored) that winning entails….

And to think Krishna discourses in the Bhagavat Gita to not worry about the results and just do your duty….

Protection or infiltration

Rakshabandhan has evolved from a sister’s plea to her brother to “protect her”, to the more clever use of it by women of tying a rakhi to “get saved from a never-to-be relationship”! Not that the idea’s new… Alexander’s wife Roxana sent one to Porus around 300 BC, in a bid to save her husband.

And today, canny retailers are enticing the bhais to take their sisters jewellery shopping or indulge them in beauty packages or electronic goods made in China.  Mere token gifts will not do now… no wonder there is a craze for bhais…!

Did you know, in the absence of bhais, sisters tie lumba rakhis to each other or to their sisters in law?

Way to go!
 
On the Fast Track …
Time to fast?
How about observing
Ramzan with Muslims,
Paryushan with Jains
or the Shravan month with the Hindus…    

Or time to eat fast?
How about celebrating Navroze with Parsis,
Feast of Mount Mary with Christians and
Ganesha Chaturthi, Krishna Janmashtami and Rakshabandhan with the Hindus???

 The only definite beneficiary of this festival season is the non-vegetarian Indian! With many meat eaters fasting this season, the price of meats and sea products have headed southward…what a bonanza for the ‘animal-lovers’!

By the way, did you know each of the above community follows a different calendar?

Times Of India

Consequently, this September, Ramzan moved forward by another 11 days and we saw Ganeshas being brought home along the same roads where the Muslims were breaking their fast! Incredible India!!!

Piggy Ban?

Eat like a pig but DON’T Sneeze like one!!!

AATCHOOOOOO!!!

A sneeze can send us running for cover. Reason? The swine flu, of course!

The often-fatal swine flu, has been traced to pig farms of Veracruz, Mexico. It is a potent cocktail of flu viruses that occur in pigs in North America, Europe and Asia, and also in birds and humans. In its current avatar, it is capable of infecting humans. And so it did, leading to the global epidemic. And panic!

Mind your Language!

You SWINE!!!                   We litter our speech with unkind references to the pig.
What a HOG!!!                  We behave like gluttons and look who’s being blamed!
Sweating like a pig??         Pigs don’t even have functional sweat glands!
“Sow”bhagyavati               Elders’ blessings or …… 
Welllllll, the pig does generate extreme reactions.

The Dirty Swine

For many, it is food they love passionately. As Roald Dahl’s The Pig exclaims, “They want my bacon slice by slice, to sell at a tremendous price”.

Some religions forbid the consumption of pigs. This in fact, partly triggered India’s first mutiny against the British in 1857. The British had introduced paper cartridges for the rifles, using a mix of beef tallow and pig fat to seal the cartridges. Since the soldiers had to bite off this part, Indian sepoys revolted against it.
Kudos to the pigs (and cows) for unifying Hindus and Muslims.

So is there anyone out there who loves the pig?

Children love to take piggyback rides and are taught early to save money in a ‘piggy bank’.



Did you know that the origin of ‘piggy bank’ had nothing to do with the pig? The ‘pygg’ referred to a type of clay used for making kitchen utensils, where people often saved their money.
Nursery stories abound with tales of the winsome ‘Three Little Pigs’ and the adventures of the Piglet in the company of Winnie the Pooh. And who hasn’t heard of Porky Pig of Loony Tunes? Three cheers to them!
The beleaguered pig has found dignity, and love at least in the world of children.