Annie Zaidi's Blog, page 33

Some thoughts on a 49% (or 4.9%) view of democracy

Last week, I’d mentioned the Majority and its role in keeping a democracy healthy.Our rulers are decided by a majority vote. It could be just 51%. This is frustrating for the 49% who voted against. But still, elections are a much better way of deciding power struggles than building armies and turning each others’ homes into crematoria.What, then, happens to the 49%? 


If your representative

Do we really want justice?

If we were to make a list of the most urgent problems in India, I can safely bet that ‘politicians’ would be on everyone’s list. They might even top the list. They are on my list too.Corruption is endemic. We are defeated by it in every way imaginable. And while politicians or bureaucrats are definitely not the only ones guilty, it is actually important to focus on political leaders. Not just

Getting out of the cage

By now, you would have read some reams about what stops our great nation from being truly free etcetera. 


I’ve been reading a lot of books recently that were written before 1947 or set in the ‘Colonial’ era. These books have been breaking down the neat constructs of schoolbook history. We’d been given to understand that the British sailed east (like the Portuguese and French), saw that India

Flushing for karma

I was slightly jealous when I read
about this Kerela initiative – 'e-toilets' at government medical
colleges. These toilets are called Eve's Own for they will reportedly
have napkin-vending machines, incinerators, automatic sensor taps,
fans and lights that auto-start when you step in. Plans include
sensitive doors that open only if the water tank has enough water.




Of course, it is a pity

Down the drain... Back again?

Did you hear about the contamination
levels of waterfronts in Mumbai? It's worse than it used to be. The
beaches are filthier. And what's more, much of the contamination is
faecal matter. Yes, shit mostly.




Before you start blaming the hundreds
of thousands of people who must squat on the beach – although there
is that problem too – consider the facts. Mumbai generates 2677 litres of sewaage

Starting with One

I read about two people recently who
undertook tasks that seem to require the patience and courage that's
beyond most ordinary citizens. Imagine creating a whole forest!
Imagine being an extremely vulnerable self-appointed guardian of a
forest!




That's what Hara Dei Majhi is. She
guards a wooded hill called Kapsi Dongar in Sinapalli, Odisha.
According to a magazine profile of the brave woman

On good and bad poetry

There is an art gallery called MOBA – the Museum of Bad Art – where the motto is “Art too bad to be ignored”.I went to the website to check out the collection. I was intrigued. But a corner of my mind was also truly anxious. Anxious for the artists who find their work featured in such a gallery. It is all very well to say the work is being 'preserved' and 'celebrated' but who can stomach their

Because the mausam is indeed awesome

I shudder in anticipation of every Mumbai monsoon. But anticipate it, I do.

Here's an attempt to capture some of the swirly-ness, giddiness, the stillness, even happiness I experience every time I am out in the pouring rain in this city, so cleverly illustrated by Jasjyot Singh Hans.

Where it comes from, where it goes

The other day, I came upon a strange comment thread on a website. Somebody had posed this question: are villages an asset for India or a liability?At first I just laughed. What kind of question was this? But then, I also read an item of news from Odisha. Apparently, a herd of elephants had wandered into Rourkela and were reportedly nudged back towards the Saranda hills. But, according to locals

In other words, mera gaon mera des

Did you hear the news from Amsterdam about 'scum villages'. Apparently, there are 13,000 complaints of anti-social behaviour every year and now now there's a plan to create separate camps where people who are making a nuisance of themselves, or behaving in ways deemed 'anti-social' can be sent away. Families might live in caravans or be granted very basic housing while being monitored by the