You are what you fling

This week as well, newspapers and TV are full of reports about a new epidemic that’s spreading like wild fire, with new cases being reported every day from different geopolitical landscapes. Health care experts suspect this as a case of bio-terrorism, especially because it's origin is tracked back to Iraq. I'm talking about the shoe-hurling that's making waves across the country, with many Indians using it as an opportunity to walk into the hall of fame without having to take birth in a bollywood or political family, or in a combination of both. I’m extremely disappointed that I don’t have a French beard or ponytail; else by now I could have published a #1 best seller management book titled “50 reasons to hurl your sole - and all are not politicians”.

We celebrated ‘Akshaya Tritiya' this week, we mean gold merchants and not you and me literally. For those of my readers who are from other planets, it is the biggest festival of a tribe that’s considered one of the fastest growing in the world – the Indian middleclass. Historians differ on the origin of the festival and its name, one hypothesis is that it originated as a harvest time gala by a cult called Bombay Bullion Brotherhood in the 20^th century AD while others say it was started by a group of medieval traders called Malayalee Metal Merchants in 2007 AD, but all of them agree on one thing, that both are good names for IPL teams in future. The name of the festival according to some experts stands for ‘times of unlimited treachery’, while others say ‘tithi’ stands for lunar day and hence might also means ‘festival of lunatics’. Celebrated with multiple activities such as spending time with friends and family in the jewelry shop, getting fooled by their pricing methods, drinking the hot tea served, emptying bank accounts and things like that.

One of the biggest excavations ever undertaken in the Deccan plateau had some success finally during this week. Archeologists have unearthed an ingenious device invented and employed by The Rajus of Bhagyanagaram in the 20^th or 21^st century AD and was never known to the outside world, until they(The Rajus) started riding a tiger not knowing how to sell it’s skin without getting down. Historians are of the opinion that this shows how advanced and rich ancient Indian corporate governance mechanisms were, even before American inventor Bernard Madoff created the much talked about Ponzi device that changed the face (and back) of companies around the world. Soon this device will be made open for public viewing in the famous ‘Salary Junk’ museum in Hyderabad. Historians also see this as a landmark discovery that might throw more light into the customs, values, beliefs, arts, behavior and material habits of the people of this once thriving empire.

Before I go, here is another horrifying news on the latest impact of the economic turmoil in our society . Though not mentioned in the report, I think recession is what makes people to take such extreme steps to find a way to make both ends meet.

[This weekend I’m off for a short vacation, hence the ground breaking events that happened towards the end of the week may not be covered here, even if they measure 7 on Richter scale. Next week too I’ll be available from the second half only and hence if any of you are newsmakers and would like to appear in my column, hold it till Wednesday bearing the constipation, else try your luck elsewhere such as the national tabloids]