Too little, too late

10

Thirteen years too late. The judgements in the 93 blasts case will unfold in the coming months, with the announcement of the sentences for those found guilty. Sentences that range from five years to life imprisonment. Five years? For helping destroy a city? It's not even a slap on the wrist; it's kissing the Godfather's hand, with the violin score in the background. Ask most Mumbaikars about what they expect from the verdict and you'll probably get just a resigned sigh. Because they've learned over the years, to expect nothing. 'Why stress about it -- the real masterminds won't be caught anyway,' is what one hears constantly. Maybe it's fair enough, given the general perception about justice in India. But is it ok to be apathetic, and just pass it off as just another failure of justice? Have we just stopped feeling that sense of outrage? Because it's....

Almost famous

6

So Sarah DiMuro wants to lose her virginity, reports the Sunday Times, London. Sarah who? And isn't that way too much information than we need to know about a Sarah we don't know? Apparently not, because Sarah's sex life or lack of it, is a hot topic of discussion on American television networks. A very concerned women's magazine has stepped in, asking its readers to help them 'hook her up,' ably supported by a manhunt on the Internet. Why does a 29-year-old want to broadcast her vaginal monologues to the world at large? Because the media is baying for it? Or because anonymity, more than virginity, is at stake here? We live in times where instant fame lies tantalizingly within reach for everyone, no dress code required, no strings attached. So democratic indeed, that if a Google search can't throw up any information on you, well, you might....

through a glass, darkly

9

The sky looks ok, the world is spinning just right. But otherwise it's the end of the world as we know it. We're floundering like Alice in Blunderland and the best part about it is that we don't even know it yet. Did you say it's a crazy world? Crazy doesn't even begin to describe what's going on. In the filthy inlet of Mahim creek in Mumbai, salt water turns sweet, triggering off a chain reaction among the gods. Everyone's joining in the party, with idols in north india guzzling down milk, and saints smiling from the walls in surat. And we lap it up hungrily, saying, please sir, can we have some more? And we get more than we asked for. It only gets curioser and curioser. Prince, freshly rescued from his hell hole, comes to town to meet a couple of arbitararily chosen film stars....