The Right to Bodily Autonomy

Saw the movie "My Sister's Keeper" yesterday. Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it yet. The movie is based on a novel by the same name. Though I haven't read the novel, I would like to believe that this is one of the rare cases where the movie deals with the subject better than the novel does. What follows is not a review of the film, but a moral debate pertaining the right to bodily autonomy.

"I wouldn't be alive if Kate wasn't sick I'm a designer baby. I was made in a dish to be spare parts for Kate".

Newspapers and the Ad Revolution

Even with the advent of social networking and online news portals, newspapers still have an indispensable aura around them. Though you can read the most important news right off your tabloid or your smartphone, the traditional print paper is not to be subdued. Recently, I attended the Pre-Placement talk of a company and the presenter talked about how he feels that in the London tubes, newspapers are slowly becoming rare and digitally accessing news is the buzz word. Probably in London. Not yet in India.

101 Not Out

We all know that the build up to the Games was not very pleasant. As soon as there was evidence of corruption, national media made it a point to showcase Kalmadi and Co. in bad light. But what they also did was put India in bad light in front of the international media which reacted in their own Indophobic ways.

Cat o' Nine Tails

And it went head-on with the rotating blades. The poor moth had hurt its wings and was fidgeting on the ground in hope of being able to fly again. I was an innocent observer to the whole situation. I felt guilty. Had the door not been left open, the moth would not have come in. Had the moth not come in, it would not have collided with the fan.

"Meow!"

Who's who

A little inside joke for my close friends! (Others may please ignore)

You know you are in Kolkata when...

• You feel all sticky and moist on the skin all the time
• Some rickshaws are still pulled by hand
• Bus conductors call out the bus route at every stop
• Buses race with one another and overtake from the left

The First Rain!

Disclaimer: If you looking for humour or controversy - don't read further!

When those first drops splashed onto my glasses, everything suddenly felt right. It was an inexplicable feeling of joy and I felt like a child who just got his first lollipop. It was the first rain of the season and I was eagerly looking forward to it. And to have happened when there was total blackout – pure bliss.

Redemption

The latest judgement on Kasab - a pawn in the whole 26/11 massacre and the recent stories in the news got me thinking:

Whether life-term really was a better option? Whether the 150-300 seconds of pain on the rope enough for the brutality leashed out by him on innocent people and too with an unforgettable satisfied idiosyncrasy. Or the lead up to execution is what makes it a more fitting punishment. Have we forgotten his sick sense of humour in courtrooms and the calm with which he was reading Tipu Sultan in his prison before Judgement Day? Come on, they have seen it coming already.