RIFLE RANGE BOY

Lost Loves  (Arshia Sattar; 2011) Exploring Rama's Anguish The question is whether the so-called divine scriptures are indeed infallible sacred decree or just mere guides for humanity to use as a precursor the complete the building block of life. Is it really God's orders or is it the human interpretation of what is best for mankind? I f the holy texts are indeed supreme, can it be deliberated or argued? We, the human race, used to live at a time when avenues were open for debates. Paradoxically, at this time and age when literacy is at its highest peak since the beginning of history, these doors are precariously shut. No place for questioning! Are the powers that be hiding something? I had always been under the impression t hat a King by the name of Rama as a human in flesh and blood, did actually walk on Earth. His subjects were have been awed by the dramas that revolved around the royal family. Their actions and decisions must have been closely watched by his cit...

©  Asleep at the Wheel, New Yorker cover by Frank Viva We think that we do not have self-driving cars because the technology is not perfect. Furthermore, we heard of Uber experimental driver-less car crashing. Hence, the whole exercise had been put into cold storage. Jack Ma, in one of his interviews, was quoted as saying that we should wait for a perfect system before introducing it for human consumption. He suggests that we should present it anyway and make changes as we go on, as we encounter obstacles and bumps. I think that is a businessman talking. Capital ventures usually sell an idea, get everybody excited, convince them that it is the best thing since Adam, create an illusion of demand, make loads of money starting the venture, selling the business, going for a kill and split the scene to begin another venture somewhere else. The idealist would, however, ponder and yonder till the cows come home. Nothing new would see living daylight. Every endeavour wou...

Today is May Day and scores of peaceful marchers demanding better living conditions and the minimum wage were picked up by police. This is exactly what happened in Klang in 1940 when Indian plantation workers, for the first time, demystifying the myth (by the British) that Tamil workers were subservient working dogs who can readily be contended by poor living conditions and cheap toddy showed their discontent to the Britishers! This is one piece of information I learnt from this book which is somehow lost in the annals of Malayan history. Just like how the HINDRAF movement was instrumental in the eventual 2008 political tsunami, this event (1940 event, protest by Malayan workers against their colonial masters, before WW2) was the milestone in the worker's movement in the later years. As a result of high-handedness in dealing with this debacle, 9 lives were lost amongst the workers. By 1930, 20% of Indians who were in Malaya were Indian born here, and 30% of the Chinese were born...