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The squalor is squalid
Nihilism is the shibboleth of the day of the beastly
Carnage of the lucre the superstition of feeble minds
The crisis they procreate, blind much to apprehend
Ideologically inconsistent, philosophically unsound in disposition
The sea of moral turpitude brimmeth over the strong-willed meadows
The rock of idiosyncratic convictions be deemed foolhardy
Let’s weather this storm in diabolical timelessness
We dare to emerge clean in this philistine dirt
Nothing to leave behind, let’s take this legacy with us.
• Collection:
The Fire of Nothingness
• Originally written on
June 26, 2002
[ First published: November 22, 2008
Last updated: November 22, 2008
]
Food for thought: It is time to junk Haldirams and Nestlé
It's an irony of sorts. One of the most popular food chains in India is arguably one of the worst when it comes to food safety. Haldirams has been rated Red in Greenpeace's Safe Food Guide version 2.0 that ranks 25 of the most popular food companies which hold a major share of the market in the country. Based on their responsibility towards Indian consumer on the GM food issue, the Guide categorises companies as Green, Yellow and Red.
Apart from Haldirams, other major companies that have made it to the Red list include Nestlé, Pepsico, Cargill, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Britannia, Godrej Hersheys Ltd, MTR, Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd, Agrotech, Surya Foods, Amul, GSK, FieldFresh (Bharathi Enterprises] and Kelloggs. These companies have not taken any concrete steps to provide Indian consumers with GM free food for now or in future thereby being irresponsible, says Greenpeace. Now, that kind of blacklists half of one's favourites in the market that sees little or no regulation.
The silent Bangladeshi invasion of Assam
A week ago an unsettling incident occurred in Assam that went largely unnoticed in the Indian media.
Over a thousand suspected illegal migrants crossed the Dhansiri river and, with impunity, took over parts of Orang National Park in Darrang district in the early hours of May 6. They came from the innumerable chars (riverine islands) that dot the Brahmaputra river. They did not come empty-handed – they brought along building materials and cattle. They apparently had come to stay. For good.
By the time forest guards spotted the invaders that afternoon, the migrants had already erected a hundred makeshift houses or more. The unnerved forest personnel called back for more hands and resources; they did not dare take on the illegal migrants who were armed with sharp weapons. The latter had not only come here to stay, but seemed inordinately determined to do so.