Miliband was here..

Not very often do great men have an opportunity to savour common public life.

David Miliband got exactly that when he set aside his diplomacy for a while to visit a village in Amethi and stayed over for the night.

Brits have had this fascination for India – like it were an extended arm of the empire. It was – there isn’t a debate on that. But it isn’t any more. And howsoever hard we try reminding our kids about the atrocities of the Raj, we can’t just deny the multitude of benign British individuals that have left indelible marks on the way we live today.

History has its share of evils – it is written by humans who are naturally inclined to be judgmental and decidedly partisan. No history is a pure journalistic attempt – it picks up the socio-political flavour and alignment of the author. Naturally, you won’t be amazed by the overdose of Indian National movement (and glorification of terrorist activities during the struggle for independence) in our High school textbooks. Make no mistake – No one can ever take away the prominence and enormity of the meaningful efforts of that struggle. However the objection is to the almost universal vilification of the Raj character and undermining the stupendous efforts they put in to take this country out of medievalism.

Fortunately (or otherwise) I have not lived in the days of the Raj in this life and have no cognizable memories of my previous ones either. That can be considered a serious handicap in the course of formation of my opinions about the British rule of India. However, I am human and to that extent liable to enjoy my opinions about people through my own interactions and I have found the polite company of Brits quite enjoyable.

And isn’t that one thing I would probably share with another young man by the name Rahul Gandhi. These two young politicians have a lot in common interests and it was nice to see them engaged in appreciation of the problems of a community so remotely linked to their daily lives. Rahul is known to be interactive with the masses and Miliband appeared genuinely interested in the conversation he had with the people that night.

There is a lot to learn from the villagers, lads. After all, you don’t forget who put you there. These visits can go a long way in that direction. These two countries can align better much better for the future.

To begin with - we speak the same language most often.

The strange maths of ageing...

Knopfler at 40:

I don’t care if my liver is hung by a thread
I don’t care if my Doctor says I ought to be dead.

Knopfler at 53:
Who puts the do-re-mi in our pockets

Keeps the party going on?

It's the man who sells the potions

I'm just one who plays the songs.....

There stands the bottle Ladies and gentlemen

All these bottles don't have to tell you, friends

These days miracles don't come falling from the sky

Raise your glasses to the doctor, to a stand up guy

George Michael just out of teens:
Bad Boys Stick together,
never Sad Boys

Good guys, they made rules for fools,
so get wise...

George Michael at 38:
The rich declare themselves poor

And most of us are not sure

If we have too much but we'll take our chances

Because god's stopped keeping score

I guess somewhere along the way

He must have let us alt out to play

Turned his back and all god's children crept out the back door

It's hard to love, there's so much to hate

Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of

And the wounded skies above say it's much too late

Well maybe we should all be praying for time

This can go on and be applied to almost everyone you can recall being rebel while on the right side of age – barring a handful like Freddie Merc, who continued his rebellion past his prime and succumbed to the excesses of it.

I have watched this happening to Bruce Sprinsteen – the Boss of Rock – as he stepped into a different orbit with Human Touch. Then a decade and half later, I watched him in the Seeger sessions in 2006 and marveled at this gross transformation of a person which was reflected in his music.

Golden Oldies? Just a passing phase for everyone.

Going down..

I am stoned with MKs Silvertown blues, for the last couple of hours.

Haven’t heard such a beautifully compelling ballad on something as cut and dried as a reconstruction project.

And come to think of it, I was stolen by this one from Viva la Vida – no small thing by any measure.

From the poisonous drains a vision appears
New circle of cranes, a new reason to be here
A big silver dome rising up into the dawn
Above the church and the homes were all the silver is gone

Amazing.. this deserves a million posts even on a very busy day…

Questo impero e mia

The Vatican has decided to renege from Roman rule(s)!! Blasphemy - I be damned.

Well, this ain't that seriouos though. Pardon my attempt at misrepresentation. The matter is much simpler, at heart.

For over the last 80 years, all Italian Law is deemed automatically applicable to Vatican, primarily owing to its geographic situation. Vatican city is nested within the city of Rome
Here you must appeciate the unique nature of governance applicable to this small city state. Ever since the tolerant (anti roman?) rule of Constatntine, the Church had pretty much been on its own. The Popes have been known to enjoy significant clout over the political apparatus of Europe (and subsequently Americas). The theocracy of England is an excellent example of the extent to which religion can influence politics and economics even in developed societies.

The Papacy, however, is different. It is the dominion of the Papal authority and typical to Vatican only. Here, you witness the true unification of the Spiritual (pastoral) and Temporal authority in one individual. Handed down through centuries of varying involvement and stages of maturity, the Papal authority is one much beyond the magnificient midnight masses in the basilica.

This Papal authority has been, in modern days, in conflict with civilian laws framed by various governments of state. The most significant being the Papacy's views on sexuality. And now, the Legal machinery in the Papacy has decided that Italian laws are often complex and leaves a lot to be deserved. So, beginning 2009, the clause of automatic applicability of Italian laws will be scrapped and the Papacy would evaluate all Italian laws and administer only those that suit to the Vatican eco-political climate.

So, in effect, you might have a pocket within the city of Rome that does not abide by a certain ruling of the Italian legal machinery!

The Romans know their shortcomings. After all they have been the butt (of you-know-what) for quite long now - especially if you have been given to the Asterix series by Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo. So the Italian authorities have humbly agreed to this unilateral snub from Vatican and admitted they need to revamp their laws themselves.

The little I know of history (the highest I ever managed in this discipline was 47 in High school), Romans are not very fond of Laws & Rules. They have historically not been inclined to be civil enough to frame Laws. So this wasn't a shock either ways..

And by the way, here's wishing you all the very best in 09!!
Cheers