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Monday, February 11, 2008

What is Purdafash upto?

A while ago I'd posted about Purdafash, a self proclaimed website to "solve everyday problems by bringing together people, etc etc" and I'd even contributed the odd "report" to it. But 4 months later, the website still seems to be strung together with pieces of tape and thread, the interface sucks, the people behind it seem to be hibernating and there is not one example of the sour piss and vinegar that I thought the creators were bringing to such an ambitious project.

Did I hear someone asking about the reports? The less said about the reports, the better. From reports about "bird flu killings inside wipro" complete with... um... icky things like punctuation and SMS style abbreviations to a story about a local bus that stops too long in "Guwahati, Bus no. 2", to a report about why we need more temples and less pandals during pujas (Durga puja reaches scintillating heights) and even one about the old hoohoo, wearing t-shirts to school, blah blah boo in "College or Taliban?" Entertaining stuff this.

To be honest I must balance this story by pointing out that there are many valid issues pointed out on the website. But who wants another website with stories about issues? This hungry Indian wants to know what Purdafash is doing to fulfil its philosophy, other than presenting one more dreary blog platform. Perhaps what Purdafash needs to do is start a social networking platform where people can come together and discuss and debate the many aches and pains of farty old India, and promise to do something about over a cuppa chai (ramu, jaldi laana, pakoda ke saath, mat bhoolna) or a shaken martini, until next time, cheerio, sleep well and don't forget the rubber. Reminds me of a post I did a while ago "Blogging in India for socio-political causes? Ok. Good joke."...

"North Indians love to violate law. Do you agree?"

Over at the Times of India, a newspaper I hold in the cheapest regard, the Resident Editor of the Lucknow edition wants to know if people agree with Delhi Lt Governor's statement "North Indians love to violate law."

My comment to this editor:

Are you mad, sir? Do you have the slightest bit of common sense, or do you insist on proving time and again that the Times of India is another tabloid, no better than toilet paper and more soiled if truth be told? Khanna spoke out of turn, but you, sir should know better than to misquote his statements, turn it around and present it in black and while and ask people to give their useless opinions on it. And what will you do with such opinions? Publish them with graphs and charts and show that such and such community "loves to violates laws" on the basis of people's nonsensical opinions and personal biases? And what will that prove, other than give national importance to a statement that should have merited a footnote at best? You, sir, are an imbecile for running such silly opinion polls.