Thus spake Padma

She says to Indo-Asian News Service,

"I think that people make the mistake of thinking women are attracted to money and success, but what we're really attracted to is men who've done something interesting."

Are you sure, Ms. Padma?

World's most closed society peers from behind the impregnable wall

Christopher Morris, a photographer with Time Magazine recently came back from North Korea with some rare photographs. Rush. Link via HW.

Boy cool...

Rahul Mahajan, son of Pramod Mahajan, at Hinduja Hospital to see his father who was shot at, allegedly by his younger brother at his residence a couple of days ago.

Pelvic power lifting or sexual strength

Never imagined that such an interesting sport was possible and could be played in public amidst huge enthusiastic crowds . Visit this. Warning: You have to be over 18 years to qualify to watch this.

The son of God

Those who were awestruck at the display of Ronaldinho's dribbling skills in the quarter-final match between Brazil and England in 2002 Seoul World Cup , now can revive the excitement. Watch the clip below of the recent Champions League semi-final match between Barcelona and AC Milan.

Do you smoke marijuana?

Never bother. It has benefits too. Go read.

My lost friend has been traced

Long time back, at a mela (fare in English), I lost my best friend who never returned to his family ever. Today tears welled in my eyes when I spotted him after so many years of separation. Find him here. Thanks to Amit 's Weblog.

Finally the relief came

I could not sleep the last two nights well. The good news came just now. I will feed sweets to whomever I meet tomorrow.

So unreal

When I saw the picture during one of my random Web-mining sessions, I found the girl coming straight from the pages of a fairy tale. Too unreal and abstract ...

Katrina Again

Those who were pleased by the photo of a bosomy Katrina, which I posted a few days ago, may discover her rage now. Yes, the photograph below is claimed to be that of hurricane Katrina taken a few hours before she made a landfall in New Orleans last year. I'm very curious to know the name of the photographer. Visit this to see the aftermath. Caution: feeble minded people may find the pictures horrid. Do not forget to click on the picture for a better effect.

Doing more harm than any good

I was directed from Amit Varma's weblog to this article which has been published in The Telegraph, a daily newspaper purportedly claimed to be a carrier and propagator of the tradition and the image of the great Bengal. Great as Bengal indeed is unquestionably, having produced numerous talents in all spheres of activities such as sports, literature, science, technology, films, politics to name a few, the said article which apparently wished to uphold Bengal's greatness and raved against the injustices meted out to the Bengalis at a National level for a long time, ironically, ended up doing exactly the opposite, that is, tarnishing the image of Bengal a good deal by subjecting the readers to a grossly parochial, unsound, baseless, concocted, half-witted ramblings across many critical issues. The article is quite predictably charged with inflammatory words presumably meant for brainwashing unsuspecting readers and for eliciting quick claps out of them. You may agree that such writings are very effective for immediate persuasion. Remember how successful Anandabazar Patrika (a vernacular daily with larger readership than any other newspaper in West Bengal) spearheaded by Gautam Bhattacharya was, in instilling into the minds of Bengalis, that Sourav Ganguly was a victim of a criminal conspiracy by the rest of India, by hammering in all rubbish about Chappell, Kiran More, Sharad Pawar, Rahul Dravid, Ravi Shastri and many others ad nauseam. The results of such brainwashing process were soon visible very luridly at the Eden Gardens; the spectators lent their spontaneous support to South Africa instead of India, to the amazement of the rest of India cheered the South African bowlers when they claimed wickets of Indian batsmen, jeered the Indian fielders on the ground and so on. In my opinion, this is one of the most shameful events in Indian cricket, much worse than throwing oranges at Sunil Gavaskar or vandalizing the World Cup semi final match or boycotting the test match for the unjustified dismissal of Kapil Dev etc... Well, back to the main issue, the most dangerous aspect of such rhetoric is that it turns out to be extremely popular among public time and again. The author of the article in question seems to have taken cue from history. I have no complains against the author, because he is just one of the myriads of such type. What surprises me more is how this puerile article was cleared by the Editor of the newspaper. I will be the last person to accept that the image of Bengal is now perennially on a downward slope with all her previous glories and intellectual bequests -- something that the publications of such articles in a premier Bengali daily suggest.

Amit Varma is a half-Bengali, therefore, quite polite on this nonsensical and half-witted article. I am a full-Bengali, therefore, do not care about being merciless when need be.

They are back again

Hurrah. Mumbai dance bars will come rocking again. Last December I was in Mumbai as P’s guest for two weeks. We really missed that. Read it.

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif, 23 (Salman's latest pick) is hot. Visit this.

Rahul Dravid: A True Giant

As of today, if you take the intersection between two lists, one of the top 10 run scorers in Test Cricket and the other of the top 10 batsmen with highest test average, the only player who emerges out of it is none other than the Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid. Yes, there is only one player who figures in both the lists and believe me this is an uphill achievement. Go read Dipanjan's discovery.

Carol Gracias: A woman with the heart of a lion

No doubt Carol is a tigress. Modeling is just like any other profession that demands respect for the hard work and discipline involved in it. There is absolutely no reason to conclude like many hypocritical flag-bearers of Indian culture that Carol bared herself intentionally on the ramp and, afterwards, faked tears for publicity. I think that those self-inducted ambassadors of Indian culture now need to grow up and break out of their narrow world of old stereotypes and myths. It is terribly unkind to accuse Carol of feigning innocence when she needs us by her side after this traumatic experience and to be praised for the courage and professionalism she displayed at that time. Remember, when the custom of Sati was practiced on the sacred soil of India, there was also a class of self-installed representatives of the Hindu society who thought that custom justified and Rammohan Ray had been threatened for life many a time for trying to abolish it.

I hope that you have understood that the pictures are arranged in the reverse order of occurrence.

P.S. Added to the picture is a bit of my original and creative brushwork which was not present when those pictures were first published in here. The curious readers are kindly directed to the accompanying comment space. Thanks!!

You Naughty!!!

Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in a playful mood with NCP chief Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule. I am wondering why there is only one glass of wine. Are they sharing the same glass? How sweet.

Rabid, Raunchy, Riotous, Rocking: Gaand Mein Danda

From the comment section of J.A.P, I excavated this song Gaand Mein Danda for the nourishment of your mind and body (thanks to Quizman). Download the gem from the gaand/bottom of this page. My apologies to those with Victorian ethics.

Rack your brains: A puzzle for all who can count numbers

Of 2006 coins, two are counterfeit, one lighter and one heavier than a true coin. With four weighings on a simple two-pan balance, determine if the two false coins weigh less, the same, or more than two true coins.

A solution (even an internet link to a solution) will be highly appreciated.