A recent story in the Indian Express online edition caught my attention, the story about the lynching and subsequent death of one Stephen Bennett, in a remote village in the Roha district of Maharasthra. That, and the gruesome discovery of human remains in a drain in NOIDA, uncovering the sickening story of an alleged master and servant kidnap-rape-murder double team. While the latter story seems to be a clear case of apathy and corruption, it's the first that is more interesting.
The facts about the act of murder commited are clear, as the accused are already in custody, and have confessed. The real mystery lies in the circumstances that brought the unfortunate Mr. Bennett to Malsai village at 5 AM in the morning.

The facts, as presented by the media, are thus- Bennett was enroute to Mumbai from Goa on the train, when there was an unscheduled stop at Roha and Bennett disembarked from the train. For some unfathomable reason, he decided to walk some 5 kilometers into Malsai and into the arms of a lynch mob.

But wait, there's more- Bennett disembarked on the 7th, and he was found hanging from a tree on the 11th. What exactly he was doing there for three days is a mystery.

It could be expounded that the poor fellow just got off at the wrong station, but then why did he have to stick around for three days in the middle of nowhere? There is no word about his possessions, save his wallet, which was found on his person. Did he just get off the train to catch a breath of fresh air, only to have the train pull off, with his baggage still inside??

Obviously not. If this would have been the case, he could have informed the station staff about the situation, but that does not seem to be the case. It seems he just got off with all he had and decided to stay put. Why?
could it be, that he was so captivated by the scenes of the countryside, that he felt a tug on his heartstrings, or he had the desire to see an authentic Indian village or something, and get away from it all, expand his mind, go primitive and experience a down to earth life?
Having had his fill, he thought that it wasn't inappropriate to ask a lone woman at five in the morning how to get to the train station, only to be mistaken for an attacker?
Could it be that this guy was so addled with the various substances one can obtain under the table in places like Goa, and simply did not know what he was doing?

In any case, it was the wrong place at the wrong time. The poor villagers, some of them who may have never seen a white man, responded with the most basic emotion in our toolbox-fear. Fear always begets anger, and In the face of danger, mankind loses the ability to think as an individual and begins to act along a common mental streak- the ignition point of a mob. After the flame has been lit, a lone defenceless man has absolutely no chance of survival. The mob demands blood and flesh, since the ability to judge the crime and impart an equal punishment has evaporated long since.

It is unfortunate and unfair that Stephen Bennett had to pay the price.

Inane list no. 2

Things I used to hate, but miss terribly now-

1. That gang of stray dogs in Nizamuddin East (you know the ones, the canines who chase every moving object from the entry gate all the way to that little roundabout every single night...)
2. Stray dogs that howl all night long
3. Stray dogs and puppies plastered to the tarmac (all you see here is the odd semi-aquatic rodent...it just does not have the squishiness needed to spread evenly...)
4. Dust.
5. Three-wheelers.
6. Cowdung sticking to my shoes and tyres...
7. Power cuts...what is the point of having an entire section at Home Depot dedicated to flashlights in a country where the power never goes out?
8. TV channels such as Aastha, ETC punjabi and their ilk.
9. Ear-jarring Bollywood music.

10. Life.


Music- The Clash-Daddy was a Bankrobber, The Clash-I fought the law(and the law won)

Palm Beach, here I come!

This weekend will be spent in the company of my aunt, who owns a villa on a little isle off the West Palm beach coast. We'll be driving down in a rented car, as this will be a good practice run before I hopefully get my hands on the new Mazda...which reminds me, yeah, we're almost at the point of no longer being sans l'auto. Of course, the cost of the privilege of driving a car for me will be astronomical, in particular the insurance, that will cost me approximately one quarter of my income, or to put it in another perspective, fifty-something dollars more than the monthly payment of the car.

I know how much this is going to pinch, and I can see harder times ahead, but this is something that just has to be done. There is no alternative that can cost less. I will have to take the plunge and allow the hemorrhage of my earnings, and there's not a thing to be done about it. Like I said, the system forces you into choices you can somehow sustain, but cannot get beyond.

Music- Fryderyk Chopin- Waltz in A major, No.1 Op. 34

As the river flows to the sea...

It has been over three months since I have left the land I was born of, to arrive in a place that I cannot yet call my own. So much has happened to me and to others around me, I have never made an effort to take a step back and look at the grand totality of this adventure.

A famous scientist was right when he said that time was relative to the observer's point of view. that time, that now seems so distant and so long ago; when every day was one day less I had in my own country, seems to have been a mere interlude, a moment so brief that it could pass in the flap of a butterfly's wing, when matched to the slow grind of the wheels that I have experienced here.

Of late, as the horizon clears and the prize I sought is just in sight, time has begun to quicken its pace, buoying my sinking spirit and filling the sails that empower my soul throughout this journey. Soon enough, my time here will draw to a close, but like any adventure, this has already given rise to questions and thoughts that remain unanswered in my mind. Time will tell me where the answers lie.

Music- Baroque Favourites- Track 9

Inane lists

After someone I know began to publish 'inane lists' regularly on her blog, I decided that the time was ripe to steal a few ideas, and post my own. so here's my first list---

EXOTIC CARS I HAVE SEEN IN THE U.S.A-

1) Bentley Continental GT Flying Spur(including the one owned by AC/DC frontman Brian Jones, who resides in Sarasota)
2) Maserati Cambiocorsa
3) Maserati Quattroporte
4) Lamborghini Gallardo
5) Ferrari F430
6) Ferrari Enzo (seen at a distance, cannot confirm if it really was THE Enzo)
7) Ford GT500
8) Porsche 911 turbo (the Cayenne, Cayman and Boxster are small fry here)
9) An undetermined model of a pre-2000 era Rolls-Royce
10)And lastly, a Maybach 57

P.S- If any one of you is by chance considering the purchase of the Maybach, save yourself from what is essentially an overpriced S-class in drag, and invest intelligently in a Bentley or a RR...class and prestige come standard with these two.