Re: [silk] Youtube an .pk Telecom

2008-02-27 Thread Udhay Shankar N

Lawnun wrote, [on 2/26/2008 10:27 PM]:


Thanks Udhay.  The article was extremely helpful for those of us coming to
the matter from a non-engineering perspective.


Also on (approximately) the same topic, a mixture of engineering and 
philosophy, from Rohit Khare, whom some of you also know:


http://www.ics.uci.edu/~rohit/IEEE-L7-names-trust.html

Udhay
--
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Srini Ramakrishnan
On Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 4:29 PM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
[...]
  Vid...I wish you could come and learn Carnatic music from me. I have
  not had a SINGLE student like you yet. They assimilate the info I give
  them, but they don't ask questions on their own...if I don't know the
  answers, it would be fun to find out together!

I was forcibly enrolled in Mridangam classes at age 7. I had to beat
out the same 4 notes for ever - I lost my patience after the first few
classes and asked the teacher when I was going to get a hand at trying
other things. I was told to not be impertinent and to shut up.

I never did carry on for much longer, the teacher rejected me on
account of all the questions I kept asking. I was dubbed disobedient.

Cheeni



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Srini Ramakrishnan
On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 3:28 PM, ashok _ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
[...]
  My classes ended after I used a diwali firecracker to play a few notes
  on the mridangam

Were you subjected to a sermon on being a shame on the family? My
sister's impeccable track record at Bharatantyam didn't help at all.



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread ashok _
On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Srini Ramakrishnan wrote:
  I was forcibly enrolled in Mridangam classes at age 7. I had to beat
  out the same 4 notes for ever - I lost my patience after the first few
  classes and asked the teacher when I was going to get a hand at trying
  other things. I was told to not be impertinent and to shut up.


Goshdeja vu... i was subjected to the very same thing (I remember watching
some students who had been learning for 6 months...and they were playing the
same notes i was playing in every session until the 2nd month)
My classes ended after I used a diwali firecracker to play a few notes
on the mridangam



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Deepa Mohan
On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 3:42 PM, Srini Ramakrishnan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 3:28 PM, ashok _ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  [...]

   My classes ended after I used a diwali firecracker to play a few notes
on the mridangam

  Were you subjected to a sermon on being a shame on the family? My
  sister's impeccable track record at Bharatantyam didn't help at all.


When my brother and I had a music class, one of us would hide in the
bathroom and the other on the terrace. I am amazed that we learnt
anything...but the good thing was, when, at about age 16, I developed
an interest in Carnatic music (as opposed to being subjected to it), I
was already at a level where I could carry on with the learning.
That's what helped me, I think.

Oh, yes, at every stage, I was impertinent to ask questions. NO
answers to be provided, except, that's what the elders say. NO
meanings to the lyrics, anyway, who would want to sing, my life is
wasting away like the water seeping out of the lake (kereya neeranu)
at age 13?

Deepa.





Re: [silk] Writers not welcome in India?

2008-02-27 Thread Kiran Jonnalagadda

On 27-Feb-08, at 3:35 AM, Charles Haynes wrote:

That's totally bizarre. Though I was amused by this sign in a  
Bangalore bank:


No weapons are allowed inside the bank except for kripans by Sikhs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/haynes/871162228/


Curiously enough, the Delhi airport lists items prohibited for  
carrying on planes, with the exception of kripans carried by sikhs  
measuring under specific dimensions.


Last night at Garuda Mall, we saw a Sikh security person carrying a  
kripan and a metal detector, both of roughly equal size, on the same  
side of his body. 



Re: [silk] Writers not welcome in India?

2008-02-27 Thread ashok _
On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 2:25 PM, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote:
  Curiously enough, the Delhi airport lists items prohibited for
  carrying on planes, with the exception of kripans carried by sikhs
  measuring under specific dimensions.
  Last night at Garuda Mall, we saw a Sikh security person carrying a
  kripan and a metal detector, both of roughly equal size, on the same
  side of his body.

There is a huge transparent basket inside nairobi airport near the xray
machines, where they routinely place confisicated nail clippers, dangerous
looking ball-point pens, cigarette lighters which resemble guns etc.  However,
 inside the basket, one can always see  a  couple of large yemeni swords, very
 many pangas  (a heavy machete  useful for cutting grass, and splitting open
 a coconut). Presumably people had tried to carry these inside hand-luggage,
since I myself have carried a spear as checked-in baggage...



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread divya manian
I had ok-ok teachers of Carnatic music and, as you all mention, was
forced to learn singing and dancing for a while. I then started
learning to play the Veena, but stopped it in time for my X standard
preparation.

My interest in carnatic music deepened only after coming to Singapore
and being fortunate enough to have Gayatri the disciple of Veena
Balachander to teach me. She taught me the intricate systamatic
arrangement of ragaas as well as playing the veena not with the notes
but following the way the keethanas are sung. Very eye opening. Of
course, loved the maths that was so intricately a part of Carnatic
music.

I heard people are nowadays learning carnatic music online through
teachers who are teaching them through the voice chat, sitting in
Chennai and students who reside in the US.



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Deepa Mohan
On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 9:54 PM, divya manian [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:


  I heard people are nowadays learning carnatic music online through
  teachers who are teaching them through the voice chat, sitting in
  Chennai and students who reside in the US.

karNa paramparA (auditory tradition) in its latest avatar! :)

I guess this drift may be getting quite uninteresting to a lot of people now

Deepa.



[silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread Deepa Mohan
I was pretty impressed with this evidence of public-spiritedness on
the part of a silk-lister whom we all like to get together and take on
sometimes


http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/2296559004/

Thank you, Nallu/Shiv/Dr Sastry..imagine, a whole notice with grammar
and spellings perfect...note gate watchman or duty policemen.

Could you tell us..or at least me...how this notice came to be put up
in front of Lalbagh West Gate, which I know is five minutes from your
home?

Deepa.



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Charles Haynes
On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 9:25 AM, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 9:54 PM, divya manian [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

  
I heard people are nowadays learning carnatic music online through
teachers who are teaching them through the voice chat, sitting in
Chennai and students who reside in the US.

  karNa paramparA (auditory tradition) in its latest avatar! :)

  I guess this drift may be getting quite uninteresting to a lot of people 
 now

I, for one, am fascinated.

-- Charles



[silk] Write a book, go to jail?

2008-02-27 Thread Charles Haynes
I hadn't realized just how serious a crime being a writer was. From The Hindu:

 Baseless charges: PMO

 New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office has denied as baseless charges 
 regarding Dr. Singh's
 daughter Upinder Tankha having 'written or edited' a book on the Ramayana.

 She has written no such book, nor edited. All allegations against her are a 
 canard and motivated,
 Prime Minister's Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru said in a statement on Wednesday.

-- Charles



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread va
On 2/27/08, divya manian [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I had ok-ok teachers of Carnatic music and, as you all mention, was
 forced to learn singing and dancing for a while. I then started
 learning to play the Veena, but stopped it in time for my X standard

I started after class X and stopped Veena class within 2-3 months**
when the teacher threatened to giveup teaching it if I stepped into
her class again.

** Unlike others I never had a Veena to practice lessons at home.

 course, loved the maths that was so intricately a part of Carnatic

yep, try asking them and you will get an irritated trouble-maker
look thrown your way.


 I heard people are nowadays learning carnatic music online through
 teachers who are teaching them through the voice chat, sitting in
 Chennai and students who reside in the US.

Actually one Vidwan under whom I wanted to learn was conducting online
classes for students in India while living in the USA for nine months
of a year.
*sigh*
--
|| vid ||



Re: [silk] [EMAIL PROTECTED] GUI design [ was Re: IHT.com Article: ]

2008-02-27 Thread ss
On Thursday 28 Feb 2008 8:58:54 am Madhu M. Kurup wrote:
 Trying to move my pointer on an ultra sensitive trackpad resulted in
 *sending* an empty message.

Aha - the joys of Windows Vista it would seem. 

I think this requires idiotic software in addition to ultrasensitive hardware. 
Would be glad to be corrected it this wasn't one of those.

shiv





Re: [silk] [EMAIL PROTECTED] GUI design [ was Re: IHT.com Article: ]

2008-02-27 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian
ss wrote:
 On Thursday 28 Feb 2008 8:58:54 am Madhu M. Kurup wrote:
  Trying to move my pointer on an ultra sensitive trackpad resulted in
  *sending* an empty message.
 
 Aha - the joys of Windows Vista it would seem.

As he's using thunderbird on a mac .. and as a mac touchpad tends to be a bit 
of a hair trigger thing, I can see where he is perfectly capable of doing this 
without assistance from vista 

(I usually dial down touchpad sensitivity a bit to suit my tastes, and these 
days use a thinkpad with a trackpoint)




Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread The smaller the better
I have to cheat. Udhay suggested I post an intro, since I just joinedthe list 
yesterday. I was going to do so after lurking for a day ortwo. But here's a 
topic that I am happy to jump wholeheartedly into. And skip the caution or the 
intro.

I like the content of  Dr. Sastry's message here. (Aside: Whatdid the signboard 
cost you ?). Rather than the idea of cynicism comingwith the deterioration of 
the good ole Raj, I think that popularapathy began as a response to the 
British Raj. It wasn't a democracyunder the Raj, and as Colonial subjects we 
had to accept what ourgoverning body did. Once India gained freedom, we 
continued to accept.But what changed was that we now openly complained about it.

On the one hand I find myself proud of the vibrantly participatingdemocracy 
that we have in the country. Every law and every bill isprotested loudly. 
However, this is often done by what Washington wouldcall Special interest 
groups. The privileged, educated, common, urbandweller, in my observation (and 
I'd love hear if I'm wrong), remainscynical and aloof. So on the other hand I 
find myself frustrated aboutthe point made below - that so many people in the 
socio-economiccategory that I know well don't participate. Or participate only 
in limitedways. 

Three possible reasons that I think apathy occurs in the minds of the 
privileged:

1) For justified and unjustified reasons, it's easier  more timeefficient to 
remain on the outside as Dr. Sastry says. We all tend totake group 
responsibilities more lightly than individual ones, becauseindividual 
accountability for it is low, and because the perceivedchange / rewards are 
weak.

2) Language barrier. Government in Bangalore still conducts business inKannada, 
so a person may hesitate to participate until s/he had decentcommand of the 
language. (I'm sure the Kannada in Bangalore discussionhas already been held at 
this venue and this is not meant to provokeconversion on that front.)

3) Perceived social hierarchy of govt. officials. (Where did the termGovernment 
Servant come from ?). Many do not consider them equals andtherefore have a 
pre-conceived notion (justified or not) about how theywould think or what their 
actions may be. (Thus it intrigues me thatDr. Sastry says that plain clothes 
on-duty policemen are friends - canwe hear more ?)

So I've jumped in. Are there any government official / ex-governmentofficials 
on this list who can comment ? Thoughts from others ?

- Anjana 
aka Shortindiangirl aka SIG aka The smaller the better aka STB.

- Original Message 
From: ss [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 8:33:28 PM
Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found

Heck - I am being exposed am I? But let me rant a bit.

Getting any board painted is a pain because you have to struggle with what the 
painter thinks the spelling and grammar should be versus what you think you 
know.  And I typically tend to translate my own English into a kind of Indian 
English that people seem to relate to better in India - knowing and 
acknowledging that I am, at the core, a Macaulay-putra.

This particular sign was a request from one of the on duty plain-clothes 
policemen in the are whom I can recognise from a mile and who are mostly 
friends of mine.

A little data point. If you need a sign that says no parking or something 
else to be put up by the roadside you can ask the local traffic police chief 
(whom one can meet at any local police station) for permission. After that 
you are free to get a sign painted using a standard template and you can even 
have a little board that says it was sponsored by you or your business. 

The police are chromically short of funds and people and do cooperate with the 
community for community related issues. 

We the educated tend to see government employees very cynically - as corrupt  
and incorrigible. This only adds on to the impression of corruption of these 
groups held by those who are poorer, less empowered and more vulnerable than 
us.

Unfortunately we who are wealthy are also independent enough to be cynical and 
escape the worst effects of corruption. One pro-active step that we the 
empowered and wealthy can take is to involve ourselves with the government 
officials and machinery - starting with local police, water supply and 
electricity depts. Meeting the senior officials and setting time aside just 
for that gives a good insight into exactly who is corrupt and in what manner 
and who is not corrupt and is genuinely trying to do a job. 

The experience is extremely edifying and gives one a good handle on what is 
what and gives one new insight into how things work or don't work. It makes 
one join society rather than sit physically within but mentally outside that 
society, commenting superciliously and boringly on all its ills.

But this requires rising out of the college level cynicism that many of us 
develop with influence from parents and grandparents who perceive 

Re: [silk] [EMAIL PROTECTED] GUI design [ was Re: IHT.com Article: ]

2008-02-27 Thread Ashok Krish
On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 9:28 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:


 (I usually dial down touchpad sensitivity a bit to suit my tastes, and
 these days use a thinkpad with a trackpoint)


I always connect a tiny mouse and use that. Works much better for me. The
trackpoint is a bit like a US cruise missile. It's pretty accurate to the
point of saying Baghdad is the target but when it gets real close, there's
quite a bit of collateral damage.



-- 
Krish Ashok
Blog: krishashok.wordpress.com
GTalk: krishashok
www.stage.fm/krishashok


Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread The smaller the better
ARGH: Copying  pasting = random deletion of spaces. Please ignore previous 
message for better readability of this one.

I have to cheat. Udhay suggested I post an intro, since I justjoined the list 
yesterday. I was going to do so after lurking for a dayor two. But here's a 
topic that I am happy to jump wholeheartedly into.And skip the caution or the 
intro.

I like the content of  Dr.Sastry's message here. (Aside: What did the signboard 
cost you ?).Rather than the idea of cynicism coming with the deterioration of 
thegood ole Raj, I think that popular apathy began as a response to theBritish 
Raj. It wasn't a democracy under the Raj, and as Colonialsubjects we had to 
accept what our governing body did. Once India gainedfreedom, we continued to 
accept.But what changed was that we now openlycomplained about it.

On the one hand I find myself proud of thevibrantly participating democracy 
that we have in the country. Every lawand every bill is protested loudly. 
However, this is often done by whatWashington would call Special interest 
groups. The privileged,educated, common, urban dweller, in my observation (and 
I'd love hear ifI'm wrong), remains cynical and aloof. So on the other hand I 
findmyself frustrated about the point made below - that so many people inthe 
socio-economic category that I know well don't participate. Orparticipate only 
in limited ways. 

Three possible reasons that I think apathy occurs in the minds of the 
privileged:

1)For justified and unjustified reasons, it's easier  moretime efficient to 
remain on the outside as Dr. Sastry says. We alltend to take group 
responsibilities more lightly than individual ones,because individual 
accountability for it is low, and because theperceived change / rewards are 
weak.

2) Language barrier.Government in Bangalore still conducts business in Kannada, 
so a personmay hesitate to participate until s/he had decent command of 
thelanguage. (I'm sure the Kannada in Bangalore discussion has already beenheld 
at this venue and this is not meant to provoke conversion on thatfront.)

3) Perceived social hierarchy of govt. officials. (Wheredid the term Government 
Servant come from ?). Many do not consider themequals and therefore have a 
pre-conceived notion (justified or not)about how they would think or what their 
actions may be. (Thus itintrigues me that Dr. Sastry says that plain clothes 
on-duty policemenare friends - can we hear more ?)

So I've jumped in. Are thereany government official / ex-government officials 
on this list who cancomment ? Thoughts from others ?

- Anjana 
aka Shortindiangirl aka SIG aka The smaller the better aka STB.

- Original Message 
From: ss [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 8:33:28 PM
Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found

Heck - I am being exposed am I? But let me rant a bit.

Getting any board painted is a pain because you have to struggle with what the 
painter thinks the spelling and grammar should be versus what you think you 
know.  And I typically tend to translate my own English into a kind of Indian 
English that people seem to relate to better in India - knowing and 
acknowledging that I am, at the core, a Macaulay-putra.

This particular sign was a request from one of the on duty plain-clothes 
policemen in the are whom I can recognise from a mile and who are mostly 
friends of mine.

A little data point. If you need a sign that says no parking or something 
else to be put up by the roadside you can ask the local traffic police chief 
(whom one can meet at any local police station) for permission. After that 
you are free to get a sign painted using a standard template and you can even 
have a little board that says it was sponsored by you or your business. 

The police are chromically short of funds and people and do cooperate with the 
community for community related issues. 

We the educated tend to see government employees very cynically - as corrupt  
and incorrigible. This only adds on to the impression of corruption of these 
groups held by those who are poorer, less empowered and more vulnerable than 
us.

Unfortunately we who are wealthy are also independent enough to be cynical and 
escape the worst effects of corruption. One pro-active step that we the 
empowered and wealthy can take is to involve ourselves with the government 
officials and machinery - starting with local police, water supply and 
electricity depts. Meeting the senior officials and setting time aside just 
for that gives a good insight into exactly who is corrupt and in what manner 
and who is not corrupt and is genuinely trying to do a job. 

The experience is extremely edifying and gives one a good handle on what is 
what and gives one new insight into how things work or don't work. It makes 
one join society rather than sit physically within but mentally outside that 
society, commenting superciliously and boringly on all its ills.

But this requires rising 

Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian
So you finally landed on silk? Thought just your mom was here, and she's
become a regular in such a short time :)  Welcome.

 3) Perceived social hierarchy of govt. officials. (Where did the
 termGovernment Servant come from ?). Many do not consider them equals

It is more like bureaucracy and red tape. My inlaws are both minor officials
in local government (mother in law works for the madras corporation - city
hall basically, and father in law used to work for the state housing board).
So they'll probably tell you more, but there are several processes in place
that are hidebound by red tape and not very transparent at all.  

There's further not all that much incentive to do anything more when the
senior officials are political creatures, and the mayor + city corporators
are again politicians, some with inconveniences like pending warrants
against them that make it a bit impractical for them to actually attend
corporation meetings.  This fine soul for example, the deputy mayor of
Madras - http://in.rediff.com/election/2006/apr/13ptn4.htm

[Karate because he's a karate black belt and runs a rather profitable chain
of dojos - some of it is of course hired muscle as well]

srs




Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread The smaller the better
So the bureaucracy is one justified 'time-efficiency' detractor. Maybe our 
Indian civic responsibility should lead us to pledge to unravel one reel of red 
tape per year, or something like that. 

Suppose each of us were to follow up any one of our dealings with the 
government in the fair, honest, right and proper way, no matter how long it 
takes - would that be a way to participate in the machinery ?

- Original Message 
From: Suresh Ramasubramanian [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 10:39:45 PM
Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found

So you finally landed on silk? Thought just your mom was here, and she's
become a regular in such a short time :)  Welcome.

 3) Perceived social hierarchy of govt. officials. (Where did the
 termGovernment Servant come from ?). Many do not consider them equals

It is more like bureaucracy and red tape. My inlaws are both minor officials
in local government (mother in law works for the madras corporation - city
hall basically, and father in law used to work for the state housing board).
So they'll probably tell you more, but there are several processes in place
that are hidebound by red tape and not very transparent at all.  

There's further not all that much incentive to do anything more when the
senior officials are political creatures, and the mayor + city corporators
are again politicians, some with inconveniences like pending warrants
against them that make it a bit impractical for them to actually attend
corporation meetings.  This fine soul for example, the deputy mayor of
Madras - http://in.rediff.com/election/2006/apr/13ptn4.htm

[Karate because he's a karate black belt and runs a rather profitable chain
of dojos - some of it is of course hired muscle as well]

srs








  

Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  
http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ 


Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread Udhay Shankar N

The smaller the better wrote, [on 2/28/2008 10:07 AM]:


ARGH: Copying  pasting = random deletion of spaces. Please ignore previous 
message for better readability of this one.

I have to cheat. Udhay suggested I post an intro, since I justjoined the list 
yesterday. I was going to do so after lurking for a dayor two.


Welcome, though I am curious how you managed to post to silklist from 
this address - when I added your hotmail address to the list.


Suresh? Any ideas?

Udhay



Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian
I actually have done that - for getting my passport an additional booklet
and similar stuff.  

The vast majority of govt office clerks are quite honest and as long as
their huge number of forms get filled in right and submitted right (stapled
in the right order, seal from officer X here, and signature from officer Y
there), your job eventually gets done. In a fairly reasonable amount of
time, and all above board.

There are some people though, that shamelessly angle for a bribe, and those
you can spot quite easily. Not much of a workaround around them too, when
they are the concerned person for a particular issue.  Sure, you could go
get the anti corruption bureau people to go after them and bust them for
this, or complain to the PRO / RTI contact etc for the department etc.  But
that will take a lot of time, time that you may not have available.


 -Original Message-
 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
 Of The smaller the better
 Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 10:27 AM
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found
 
 So the bureaucracy is one justified 'time-efficiency' detractor. Maybe
 our Indian civic responsibility should lead us to pledge to unravel one
 reel of red tape per year, or something like that.
 
 Suppose each of us were to follow up any one of our dealings with the
 government in the fair, honest, right and proper way, no matter how
 long it takes - would that be a way to participate in the machinery ?
 
 - Original Message 
 From: Suresh Ramasubramanian [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 10:39:45 PM
 Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found
 
 So you finally landed on silk? Thought just your mom was here, and
 she's
 become a regular in such a short time :)  Welcome.
 
  3) Perceived social hierarchy of govt. officials. (Where did the
  termGovernment Servant come from ?). Many do not consider them equals
 
 It is more like bureaucracy and red tape. My inlaws are both minor
 officials
 in local government (mother in law works for the madras corporation -
 city
 hall basically, and father in law used to work for the state housing
 board).
 So they'll probably tell you more, but there are several processes in
 place
 that are hidebound by red tape and not very transparent at all.
 
 There's further not all that much incentive to do anything more when
 the
 senior officials are political creatures, and the mayor + city
 corporators
 are again politicians, some with inconveniences like pending warrants
 against them that make it a bit impractical for them to actually attend
 corporation meetings.  This fine soul for example, the deputy mayor of
 Madras - http://in.rediff.com/election/2006/apr/13ptn4.htm
 
 [Karate because he's a karate black belt and runs a rather profitable
 chain
 of dojos - some of it is of course hired muscle as well]
 
 srs
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ___
 _
 Be a better friend, newshound, and
 know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.
 http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ




Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread Suresh Ramasubramanian
$ sudo list_members silklist|grep short
[sudo] password for suresh:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 Welcome, though I am curious how you managed to post to silklist from
 this address - when I added your hotmail address to the list.
 
 Suresh? Any ideas?

There's just 5 hotmail addresses signed up to the list - and none of them
says shortindiangirl.  

[comparison: 92 gmail addresses, 23 yahoo, out of a total of 209. Just 209?
I thought silklist was far larger]




Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Anil Kumar
Oh no.  Please keep it going.  It is turning out like a - Indian music of
Dummies.

I've never been to a music class;  I listen to music and it is good to know
the stuff being written here.  Though, it would be nice to change the
subject line to an appropriate one to the discussion.

Before that is done, somebody please tell me if this show is on air now and
at what time?

Anil KUMAR

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:55:58 +0530, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:


 
 karNa paramparA (auditory tradition) in its latest avatar! :)

 I guess this drift may be getting quite uninteresting to a lot of people
 now

 Deepa.


Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread va
On 2/28/08, The smaller the better [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 So the bureaucracy is one justified 'time-efficiency' detractor. Maybe our
 Indian civic responsibility should lead us to pledge to unravel one reel of
 red tape per year, or something like that.

 Suppose each of us were to follow up any one of our dealings with the
 government in the fair, honest, right and proper way, no matter how long

Dunno if PSU banks fall in the government category but my first-hand
experience of bureaucracy (usually an excuse to not do the work they
get paid for) was when money deposited in my account was going
elsewhere (the bankers didnt know where?) and another persons money
was being deposited in my account

the short:: it took me 3 months** to actually get them to remove the
man's money from my account and return mine. The upside of my
experience was even illiterate strangers seen talking to me got
excellent service thereon from that particular branch ;-)

** of daily visits to the local branch which would only start
functioning at 11AM, armed with applications in duplicate signed by
witnesses, innumerable ID proofs, not to mention the photocopies and
paperwork.

-
|| vid ||



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan
Ok, now that everyone's confessing their music-learning crimes, let me
state mine. It has a happy beginning.

We've always had singers in the family. My grandmother sang, dad played the
flute and his brother the flute and the violin. Cousins sang. So I wasn't
pushed into learning carnatic music as much as just gently nudged along by 2
generations of family-pressure.

I started on the vocal thing, but couldn't keep up with the lessons because
we kept moving houses. And along the way, my voice broke. So, off I went
trying to learn the violin and the flute. Which didn't hold my interest and
so Mridangam. Three years, where I came up to learning the korvais and the
gumukas and started off on learning how to do the adi thaalam to a basic
song. And then, I moved, my teacher moved and I lost my mridangam.

I think I should start again.

C

-- 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ravages
http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/

+91-9884467463


Re: [silk] [EMAIL PROTECTED] GUI design [ was Re: IHT.com Article: ]

2008-02-27 Thread Madhu Kurup

Ashok Krish wrote:

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 9:28 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:


(I usually dial down touchpad sensitivity a bit to suit my tastes, and
these days use a thinkpad with a trackpoint)



I always connect a tiny mouse and use that. Works much better for me. The
trackpoint is a bit like a US cruise missile. It's pretty accurate to the
point of saying Baghdad is the target but when it gets real close, there's
quite a bit of collateral damage.



Me too me too. My lovely Kensington USB mouse is dead due to run down AA 
batteries. I could swear that this is completely Mac specific. The 
previous set of AA batteries had lasted for six months of usage on a 
windows laptop... but need more proof.


Cheerio,
M
--
Madhu M Kurup /* Nemo Me Impune Lacessit */ mmk222 at cornell dt edu



Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread Abhijit Menon-Sen
At 2008-02-27 20:57:14 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Suppose each of us were to follow up any one of our dealings with the
 government in the fair, honest, right and proper way, no matter how
 long it takes - would that be a way to participate in the machinery?

When I wanted to get a driver's license (in 1999), everyone told me to
go to one of the many driving schools, which would get me the license
without the hassle of going to the RTO.

Off I went to a driving school, where the proprietor was very rude to me
(though I forget exactly how). I was sufficiently annoyed that I decided
to get the license the right way, i.e. by going to the nearest RTO and
writing the test and whatnot.

Well, it was really simple. I got the right forms, filled them in, gave
the (hilarious, multiple-choice[1]) exam for a learner's license, then
returned some months later to get my license, found out that they had
accidentally issued a motorcycle learner's license earlier, got them to
fix that (which they did with a minimum of fuss: it's the same test for
either), got a medical certificate from a doctor sitting around nearby,
gave my (embarrassingly simple[2]) driving test, and got my license the
next day.

It was dreadfully satisfying to get my license the Right Way, when
*everyone* I knew had paid a driving school to get it for them.

(Hi Anjana. Welcome to silk.)

-- ams

1. What would you do if you are speeding downhill?
   c) Grip the steering wheel more tightly

2. I went to the empty, closed-off parking lot where the examiner was,
   and realised that he expected me to bring the car there. I told him
   to wait, went to the outside parking lot and brought the car over. I
   got out of the car, and he signed my form, and sent me on my way.



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Abhijit Menon-Sen
At 2008-02-28 10:48:00 +0530, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Ok, now that everyone's confessing their music-learning crimes, let
 me state mine. It has a happy beginning.

Heh, me too.

I went to the Calcutta School of Music for several months one summer to
learn the (western classical) violin from an old chap named Joe Braganza
(IIRC). I enjoyed it a lot, though HE may not have.

Then I stopped going to classes, for various schedule-related reasons,
and we moved shortly afterwards, and I never picked it up again, which
I've often regretted.

 I think I should start again.

Yeah.

-- ams



Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread Madhu Kurup

Heh:

Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:

So you finally landed on silk? Thought just your mom was here, and she's
become a regular in such a short time :)  Welcome.



Not for a want of trying, I can assure you. From 2004, to now, just a 
short four years of public threatening..


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-list/message/10847

Cheerio,
M
--
Madhu M Kurup /* Nemo Me Impune Lacessit */ mmk222 at cornell dt edu



Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose, makes a TV debut

2008-02-27 Thread Anil Kumar
Apologies for the typo...

I of course meant - Indian Music _for_ Dummies

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:40:56 +0530, Anil Kumar 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Oh no.  Please keep it going.  It is turning out like a - Indian music of
 Dummies.

 I've never been to a music class;  I listen to music and it is good to
 know
 the stuff being written here.  Though, it would be nice to change the
 subject line to an appropriate one to the discussion.

 Before that is done, somebody please tell me if this show is on air now
 and
 at what time?

 Anil KUMAR

 On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:55:58 +0530, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote:
 
 
  
  karNa paramparA (auditory tradition) in its latest avatar! :)
 
  I guess this drift may be getting quite uninteresting to a lot of people
  now
 
  Deepa.



 -- Forwarded message --
 From: va [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:44:25 +0530
 Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found
 On 2/28/08, The smaller the better [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  So the bureaucracy is one justified 'time-efficiency' detractor. Maybe
 our
  Indian civic responsibility should lead us to pledge to unravel one reel
 of
  red tape per year, or something like that.
 
  Suppose each of us were to follow up any one of our dealings with the
  government in the fair, honest, right and proper way, no matter how long

 Dunno if PSU banks fall in the government category but my first-hand
 experience of bureaucracy (usually an excuse to not do the work they
 get paid for) was when money deposited in my account was going
 elsewhere (the bankers didnt know where?) and another persons money
 was being deposited in my account

 the short:: it took me 3 months** to actually get them to remove the
 man's money from my account and return mine. The upside of my
 experience was even illiterate strangers seen talking to me got
 excellent service thereon from that particular branch ;-)

 ** of daily visits to the local branch which would only start
 functioning at 11AM, armed with applications in duplicate signed by
 witnesses, innumerable ID proofs, not to mention the photocopies and
 paperwork.

 -
 || vid ||




 -- Forwarded message --
 From: Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:48:00 +0530
 Subject: Re: [silk] IHT.com Article: First transsexual celebrity, Rose,
 makes a TV debut
 Ok, now that everyone's confessing their music-learning crimes, let me
 state mine. It has a happy beginning.

 We've always had singers in the family. My grandmother sang, dad played
 the
 flute and his brother the flute and the violin. Cousins sang. So I wasn't
 pushed into learning carnatic music as much as just gently nudged along by
 2
 generations of family-pressure.

 I started on the vocal thing, but couldn't keep up with the lessons
 because
 we kept moving houses. And along the way, my voice broke. So, off I went
 trying to learn the violin and the flute. Which didn't hold my interest
 and
 so Mridangam. Three years, where I came up to learning the korvais and
 the
 gumukas and started off on learning how to do the adi thaalam to a basic
 song. And then, I moved, my teacher moved and I lost my mridangam.

 I think I should start again.

 C

 --
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravages
 http://www.linkedin.com/in/ravages
 http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/

 +91-9884467463



 -- Forwarded message --
 From: Madhu Kurup [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:22:24 -0500
 Subject: Re: [silk] [EMAIL PROTECTED] GUI design [ was Re: IHT.com Article: ]
 Ashok Krish wrote:
  On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 9:28 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian 
 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
  wrote:
 
  (I usually dial down touchpad sensitivity a bit to suit my tastes, and
  these days use a thinkpad with a trackpoint)
 
 
  I always connect a tiny mouse and use that. Works much better for me.
 The
  trackpoint is a bit like a US cruise missile. It's pretty accurate to
 the
  point of saying Baghdad is the target but when it gets real close,
 there's
  quite a bit of collateral damage.
 

 Me too me too. My lovely Kensington USB mouse is dead due to run down AA
 batteries. I could swear that this is completely Mac specific. The
 previous set of AA batteries had lasted for six months of usage on a
 windows laptop... but need more proof.

 Cheerio,
 M
 --
 Madhu M Kurup /* Nemo Me Impune Lacessit */ mmk222 at cornell dt edu




 -- Forwarded message --
 From: Abhijit Menon-Sen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
 Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:54:11 +0530
 Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found
 At 2008-02-27 20:57:14 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 
  Suppose each of us were to follow up any one of our dealings with the
  government in the fair, honest, right and proper way, no matter how
  long it takes - would that be a way to participate in the machinery?

 When I 

Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread The smaller the better
I changed the address I was listed under.
Anjana.

- Original Message 
From: Suresh Ramasubramanian [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:06:25 PM
Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found

$ sudo list_members silklist|grep short
[sudo] password for suresh:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 Welcome, though I am curious how you managed to post to silklist from
 this address - when I added your hotmail address to the list.
 
 Suresh? Any ideas?

There's just 5 hotmail addresses signed up to the list - and none of them
says shortindiangirl.  

[comparison: 92 gmail addresses, 23 yahoo, out of a total of 209. Just 209?
I thought silklist was far larger]








  

Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  
http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ 


Re: [silk] Lost and Found

2008-02-27 Thread The smaller the better
I'm afraid my experience was quite the opposite. 

I started, determined to do it the right way, but ended up confusedly caving in.

After passing all the written rounds easily, I brought the car around to pick 
up the officer. I drove fairly flawlessly around Koramangla, tackling the heel 
 toe on the hill with ease. Finally the officer said, Do a right reverse 
turn. I asked whether I should reverse to the right or if I should reverse in 
such a manner that I go to the right in the end. The officer gruffly said that 
I should do whatever. So I reversed right to end up facing left. He irritatedly 
said, Go go motioning me towards the testing center in a huff. Having 
performed all other actions perfectly, I felt that the right reverse turn 
would have been wrong either way. I didn't even know (nor did I want to) how 
to ask the Officer if he wanted some tea with biscuits.

Some weeks later, on the advice of a neighbor, I enrolled in the famous 
Shridhar driving school. Shridhar driving school, my neighbor had allegedly 
assured my mother, was so reputable that the DMV traffic policemen regularly 
passed its high calibre graduates. Shridhar driving school, as it turned out, 
was also a stationery shop below the DMV.  Past the tempting array of Camel 
Geometry boxes, I remember eying the Hero pens in their wrappers as I wiggled 
onto a tall stool in front of the cashier. I wondered if it was somehow a 
simulation of the driving seat. Well - I knew how to drive, so this driving 
school thing should be a breeze, and if it earned me the credibility stamp that 
the DMV was looking for, it was worthwhile.

The cashier took my payment for driving lessons. And then asked me to go get in 
my car. Puzzled, I asked who would be coming with me. Officer. Aha, how 
clever I thought, an Officer himself trains the candidates - no wonder everyone 
passed the test! Shridhar driving school, far from driving any candidate 
anywhere, was a stationAry shop. And the payment I had made for driving 
lessons was the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding between Shridhar 
Stationery and the DMV Officer. From the balcony above, the DMV officer asked 
me to start the car and move it a very bewildered 10 feet forward. I peered up 
through the windshield for the next instruction to see the Officer scribbling 
on a pad. A tea boy who had, just a few minutes ago, anonymously handed out tea 
at Shridhar Stationery, waved his metal tray and signalled a thumbs up to me 
and Shridhar down below.
 
Still a bit dazed, I returned to the awkwardly tall stool in front of Shridhar 
for 2 hours while my paperwork was done (covered by the fee for the lessons) 
and my photo laminated for an International license. Having since endanged the 
lives of countless folks in St. Louis, MO. I still don't know what a right 
reverse turn is. 

Anjana.

- Original Message 
From: Abhijit Menon-Sen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:24:11 PM
Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found

At 2008-02-27 20:57:14 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Suppose each of us were to follow up any one of our dealings with the
 government in the fair, honest, right and proper way, no matter how
 long it takes - would that be a way to participate in the machinery?

When I wanted to get a driver's license (in 1999), everyone told me to
go to one of the many driving schools, which would get me the license
without the hassle of going to the RTO.

Off I went to a driving school, where the proprietor was very rude to me
(though I forget exactly how). I was sufficiently annoyed that I decided
to get the license the right way, i.e. by going to the nearest RTO and
writing the test and whatnot.

Well, it was really simple. I got the right forms, filled them in, gave
the (hilarious, multiple-choice[1]) exam for a learner's license, then
returned some months later to get my license, found out that they had
accidentally issued a motorcycle learner's license earlier, got them to
fix that (which they did with a minimum of fuss: it's the same test for
either), got a medical certificate from a doctor sitting around nearby,
gave my (embarrassingly simple[2]) driving test, and got my license the
next day.

It was dreadfully satisfying to get my license the Right Way, when
*everyone* I knew had paid a driving school to get it for them.

(Hi Anjana. Welcome to silk.)

-- ams

1. What would you do if you are speeding downhill?
   c) Grip the steering wheel more tightly

2. I went to the empty, closed-off parking lot where the examiner was,
   and realised that he expected me to bring the car there. I told him
   to wait, went to the outside parking lot and brought the car over. I
   got out of the car, and he signed my form, and sent me on my way.







  

Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page. 
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs


Re: [silk] Write a book, go to jail?

2008-02-27 Thread Udhay Shankar N

Charles Haynes wrote, [on 2/28/2008 5:40 AM]:

I hadn't realized just how serious a crime being a writer was. From The Hindu:


Baseless charges: PMO



New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office has denied as baseless charges 
regarding Dr. Singh's
daughter Upinder Tankha having 'written or edited' a book on the Ramayana.



She has written no such book, nor edited. All allegations against her are a canard 
and motivated,
Prime Minister's Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru said in a statement on Wednesday.


You mean this?

http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/28/stories/2008022859311200.htm

The part of the article you left out makes it clear it is politics as 
usual with the loony fringe of the religious right. An coalition 
politics makes the PMO's response an annoying but understandable one.



Activists of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad allegedly vandalised the 
Delhi University’s History department on Monday protesting against the 
inclusion of a collection of essays by A.K. Ramanujan — “Three Hundred 
Ramayans” — in one of the undergraduate courses, claiming that the publication 
distorted ancient culture.

Ms. Tankha, a history professor, who was present when the ABVP activists barged into the department, was whisked away by SPG personnel. 


--
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))