The 'War of Freebies'

There could not have been a better title for the ongoing election campaign in Tamilnadu - 'War of Freebies' as Cho called it.
This time tomorrow it will all be over, and the parties have shouted themselves hoarse in offering sops to voters - sops unheard of till now.
The DMK says Rs. 2 per kilo of rice if we come to power, and the ADMK says 10 kgs of free rice if we do.
Free colour TVs and gas stoves to all, says DMK; four grams of gold for thali to every girl getting married, says ADMK.
Jobs will be offered to 3.5 lakhs of youngsters, says one - to more than 5 lakhs says another.
Perks that have been taken away will be restituted to TN Govt servants says DMK; students passing the Std. XII exams successfully will be given free computers says AIDMK.
How many of these promises are going to be kept? And how? From whose coffers? Do we see the taxpayers' burden increasing?
I have to vote tomorrow - but I already have a colour TV and gas stove, there are no girls of marriageable age in my home, no students who have written the twelfth exams.
So I think I will give my vote to the new party that has promised something I don't have if it comes to power - a seemai pasu.

ENGLISH AS SHE IS SPOKE

Today’s The Hindu carried an article, 'Mangled by the cut-and-paste' culture about the way words have been misused and mis-spelt in English over the internet.
But that is just not just in netsphere, but in real life too.

I have been often amused by helpful sales persons who assure me that a particular toilet soap is available in three different flavours (for fragrance, I guess).
Apart from those mentioned in the article are two common ones, at least and in spite, which are consistently spelt as one word. Up to is another such. Always manages to get my goat.
Some other irritants that come to mind are: called as (as is redundant) and comprises of (of not required)
But a living language is one that develops by assimilating, absorbing and remaining open to change, and that is why I think English has survived. No fanaticism here about using translations for words from some other word/other languages.
Would a soufflé feel just as light if it was merely a baked dish?

http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/02/stories/2006050202022000.htm

Too much too soon

How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life and Kaavya Viswanathan

It was too good to last - a book by a very young author making headlines all over the world , her fantastic (by any standards) advance for books yet to be thought of, let alone written, immediate world wide recognition - could all have been straight out of a book (Maybe written by herself?).
Was it active plagiarisation, or a subconscious retention of passages read and transcribed?
A pity that a budding career had to be so swiftly nipped.
Will anyone publish her again?
See http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1509860.cms

Having my say

Now that I have my own space to say something, I find that I don't have much to say!
Does that happen to all of us?
The minute you get some attention, whatever you wanted to say slips out of your mind, and you are there, looking ( and feeling, I bet) blank, while those whose attention you were waiting for, now wait for you expectantly to drop those pearls of wisdom.