There’s a mild festive spirit in Chennai; Christmas is au fair and there are enough Christians here to make it merry.
India needs to start rationalising its public holidays; as a secular nation it should only allow the “national holidays” whereas religious ones should be opt-in or state sanctioned. So Eid, Diwali and Christmas should be celebrated on a state by state level.
However I wanted to also wanted to highlight the poor job that India (a trait it shares with the East and South ex Japan) in conserving, curating and maintaining architectural sites (also need to do something about strays kitties & doggos).
One may argue that such matters are “first world problems” but I am a big fan of the broken glass theory, where appearances make a huge difference to the state of society.
I once heard a theory that the reason colonial and Mughal sites were so decrepit in India was because they were seen as “foreign” and it was a strategy of disrepair.
That’s why I’m so vehemently against the Babri Masjid destruction or renaming cities and languages. Disrupting continuous tradition in favour of some ancient tradition (imagined or not) is never a good idea. Even if Hindutva wanted to make a temple they should have simply cleared the Masjid and installed idols there; nothing would have been more insulting or effective. To reduce the site to rubble is as inane as what the Israeli did in East Jerusalem when they razed the Maghrebi Quarter. It’s telling that the Hebrew language or culinary tradition hasn’t really taken off in the same way as Arabic (the best hummus in Israel is found in Jaffa).
I’ll end on the shocking level of inhumanity displayed in Naya Pakistan.
So apparently there's been an 'anti-encroachment' drive in Lahore and the settlements or 'katchi abaadis' around the Emporium Mall, of which there were quite a few, have been uprooted.
The photographer (Ali Awais) reported that these families had nowhere to go in the cold. pic.twitter.com/uisykuYRgu
— Haris 🔻 (@bandaydaputtar) December 24, 2018
PostNote: I didn’t know that Higginbotham’s (the pic I snapped above) is India’s Oldest Bookstore. It was born the same year as the Babi Faith (precursor to the Bahá’í Faith). Seem like 1844 was a busy year for British machinations haha 🙂
K. What does HigginBothams had to do with Babri Masjid? Go look at Mamallapuram, so close. Any better than foreign structures?
Man, anything to bring back the North bias.
Also, I like the National holidays in India, thank you very much. What with New Years not being one, let people enjoy at least the Christmas holiday.
Also, you don’t get to navigate the hassles of different institutions at national and state level. Especially banks/ university/ government. You can blithely say keep holidays at state level.
Another Also, if you are so kindly oriented towards strays donate to Blue Cross.
#skininthegamebro
I’m supposed to actually go to Mahabullarapam sometime this week.
The Writers Cafe is pretty impressive
Zack
Happy tidings to you.
Yes it is a shame conservation consciousness is weak at official level in Chennai aka Madras. Madras , the modern city was born in 1639 has what is called Indo-Saracenic style of buildings like the High Court and a a number of other buildings built in the 19th/early 20th century. Old Madras, I call it Madras for want of a better name , is much older. The Kapaleeswar temple at Mylapore and Parthasarathy temple in Triplcane are part and parcel of religious lore as they have been praised and sung 1500 years back; if you look closely Madras and it’s environs are strewn with functioning and dilapidated temples built over 1600 years. Apart from buildings, another victim of official negligence and connivance is Marina Beach , which even 50 years back used to much longer and wider and which has been progressively encroached
It is actually Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram.
Mamalla means a great wrestler – one of the epithets of the Pallava king who built it.
Mahabali is a different origin – don’t know why the place has alternative names.
Oops sorry
Christmas is haraam. Hazrat Isa was a holy prophet but Nazaris treat him as Allah. It is so blasphemous I can’t tell you. When people use Hazrat, a word reserved for our holy Sahaba in vain, feels like my hair being torn out at the blasphemy. That is nothing compared to what I feel when someone wishes me Merry Christmas. Feels like someone shoved a carrot up my arse. By Allah, I am going to take that carrot out of my anus and make Christians munch them unwashed come Khilafah.
Jagger, blasphemer slagger
Jaggu, some may like carrot games and blasphemy may become cool.
Jaggu, my brother, where were you. We were missing you! I am a believer too. However looks like someone has hoodwinked you in the name of true faith. How can you revere the scum of the earth Sahabas? God forbid has someone taken advantage of your naivete and ram rolled you in the ranks of filthy nasibi wahabis? Come to the side of ahl-e-bayt without delay. Come sing with us
Abu Bakr bakari, Umar bhed hai
Umar kutta, Ali sher hai!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p4FUzadkjk
And if you like any girl in this video just let me know. We will arrange a Nikah mutah for you with her. 🙂
Wut u doin’ snake charmin’ being a mumin bro? Thatz some kuffar shit blud… Uz been warned.
Thankz for offering your sis for the mutah but I’ll pass. I prefer to keep all horizontal jogging within first cousins 😉 U should try it too like good Muslims. Best breeding is in. Peace out.
There ain’t no shag better than Jag.
#Islam4Life
#MyCousinIsMy4thWife
Actually, our archaeological sites are better maintained on average than our city roads, relatively speaking. If our government(s) have limited funding for such maintenance work, I’d much prefer they focus on the latter.
I once heard a theory that the reason colonial and Mughal sites were so decrepit in India was because they were seen as “foreign” and it was a strategy of disrepair.
I disagree with the premise. Most of the Islamic and British structures I have seen are quite well maintained.
True. No ideological preference in neglect. In fact, any ideology is put in the bin, in favour of commercial interests and official apathy , and in some cases corruption. In fact , thousands of acres of lands belonging to Hindu temples have been plundered by politicians since Hindu temples are in control of the state government, unlike Muslim and Christian places of worship which are autonomous . Lot of thefts from temples of the idols also take place, to be sold in the international market.
Commercialisation and globalisation has made traditional values stand on their head, which Karl Marx would be proud of. In not proud of , glee at the loss of feudal innocence.