strange analogy by the joker - but logic is a double edged weapon. One can make
a similar one about Brahmin (so-called) priests as well .
Umesh
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: ANT & GRASS HOPPER I saw this
miserable piece in more than one forum. Looks like like it is a big hit among
the desi-yuppies.,particularly among those self-made, hardworking scions of
the establishment, who got where they did, often out of the largesse of a
reverse-Robinhoodism practising desi govt. that steals from the many to enrich
the chosen few.
Is there any substance to it? Perhaps there is. But it eludes this responder.
So how do Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy get into the picture? Hmmm! That is
a mystery. But then again, perhaps it is because they have the gall to speak
out for all those who do not count in the image of a shining India which is
built on the backs of the great unwashed, who must not work hard enough to
succeed like the hardworking sons and daughters of the establishment, who
attend schools with Christian saints' names paying huge fees, go to IITs and
IIMs and AIIMs, get H1B visas and go to enjoy their hard-won fortunes in the
west, or at the very least enjoy the good life at Gurgaon .
So is it at least a noteworthy piece of satire?
Perhaps, to those who are stuck in a sophomoric rut.
cm
At 5:07 PM +0530 6/26/07, bg wrote:
India-today
ANT & GRASS HOPPER
An old fable, earlier retold in the US and now adapted to Indian situation.
ANT & GRASS HOPPER
OLD VERSION...
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays
the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or
shelter so he dies out in the cold.
MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house
and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool
and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands
to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are
cold and starving.
NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next
to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor
grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house.
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that
grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.
Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not
upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper.
The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the
grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as
against
the wrath of God for non-compliance) .
Opposition MP's stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West
Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.CPM in Kerala immediately passes
a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about
equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.
Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian
Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism
against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the
winter.
Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grass Hopper in educational
Institutions & in Govt Services.
The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to
pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed
over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Lalu calls it 'Socialistic
Justice'. CPM calls it the 'revolutionary resurgence
of the downtrodden' Kofi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the
UN General Assembly.
Many years later...The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi
billion dollar company in Silicon valley.100s of grasshoppers still die of
starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ...
As a result losing lot of hard working ants and feeding the grasshoppers,
India is still a developing country..
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Tryit now._______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
