Ray

There is a little difference.

I am steadfast.

You are Hopalong Cassidy and a weather vane!!

__________________


"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

HAKUNA MATATA

rat

You have the gift of gab Ray. Use it in something more productive and useful, such as improving the society we live in. Your intellect can do wonders. Indian politics needs people like you. Trying to prove something fictitious and/or convincing me of something is not gonna change the reality that u live in a communist ruled state and you are not providing it with the democratic feedback by voting, which proves your passive complicity in the government.

If your mind is closed, I cannot open it. But yes, I am contributing to my society and nation and I know how. I do not have to tell you what is my contribution now... You will get to know it in sometime. I have the conviction that I am moving in the right direction. I like this tagore's song very much "Jodi Tor Dak Soone Keu Na Asse
Tobe Ekla Chalo re" which means "If no one gives heed to your call, then walk alone."

Ray

I have no gift of the gab.

I have just one gift to see through false piety since I am, at heart real serious about the people of my country. That is why I joined the army when it was not a popular choice as a profession in Bengal. And China had attacked India!!

I am from a very average family even though we have great names to bandy about, including some well known capitalist Communists (but then that is another story!)

I am not here to convert you. I am no Christian missionary (and don't ask me my religion since I renounced it and changed and then renounced religion altogether without becoming a Communist).

I do help change society. I do it within army circles. I have no time for NGOs who are again double faced money making organisations with devious political agenda nor have I time for any political parties, since all they want is power through false platitudes and blatant lies and compromises.

You don't have to be the true Bengali who has only Rabindranath on his lips.

I don't require such sham.

I happen to be Rabindranath's secretary's grand nephew, who later on became the father of Indian statistics and a left leaning individual and the father of the Indian Five Year Plans and who bequeathed his acreage and prime property to the nation which is called the Indian Statistical Institute.

So, give me a break!

About emancipation?

My grand uncle's brother married Kanan Bala!!

Our family is not a one time wonder!

Ray

Rat,

Bengalis are a decadent effete race.

They live in their glorious past.

They can only think of Rabindarnath or Netaji and think that this the be all and end all of life and all must kowtow!!

Then, how come you forgot to quote Gokhale - what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow!

Or how come you forgot CR Das:

Bangali nohe go bhiru. noye kapurush,
Bangalir ache asha, ache itihash


But then we only live in these words and swizzle whiskey and think that all other Indians are unmitigated bums, little realising that they are not bums. we are!!

Jyoti Basu to you effete Bengalis is an intellectual! What is his intellectual claim to fame? That he ruined a vibrant state which was the commercial capital of India?

That people like Subash Chakaravarty is the eighth wonder of the world who has to be batted for, all because he is the best 'rent a crowd' man?

Come, come, it is time you do not swizzle whiskey as your profession and start smelling the coffee!

I know you will hate me for what I wrote.

But I am proud to be a Bengali and more proud to be an Indian!!

And my middle name is not "Ostrich"

rat

Good to know more about you Ray. I have great respect for people from Indian army. I myself am an NCC cadet (nothing great.. I know, but i know how tough it is). I wasnt born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I am proud of my family to whatever they have afforded me. I m not from bengal either. Tagore is a national icon. Even though I was born into my religion, I am at peace with it and have had my own experiences about it.

I appreciate you if you are contributing to the society in a positive way. But you have a bad habit of making blanket statements. Not all NGOs are bad. They are also trying to achieve something... I agree that there is massive corruption too, but do not paint everyone with the same brush.

I cannot drop names as you do, but I can assure you that in some years you will be proud of me. Both of us are of different age groups, you are much senior and experienced than me and your posts are intelligent and objective, although many a times you loose your objectivity and resort to personal attacks to eke out an emotional response. As a student I have learnt to respect others view... because every one has a reason why he/she believes in something. One thing you can learn is to respect other's views. It will really help you.

Ray

SNC

You have exceeded your PM quota.

Delete some post for a reply.

Officer of Engineers

Indeed, you do not, Sir. You have the convictions of your beliefs and I don't know if WAB is a reflection of you or you of it but I do know that your participation has helped to shape WAB culture. Those who do not have convictions of their beliefs do not last here long.

__________________
Chimo

Ray

If you find NCC tough, then you must be a weakling!!

The fact that you are not from Bengal should indicate that you have no credentials to be so authoritative about what is the plight of the citizens in Bengal!

Your postulations were uncalled for, fraudulent posturing and grandstanding and a pathetic attempt at pseudo intellectual dreams! You must be a JNU product!

I am not dripping names. I am just quoting facts of my family just to tell you that I am not a diamond glittering social butterfly high on pseudo intellectual pretensions!! It is just that I am born in such a family, while possible you are not.

I have worked with NGOs and I know the workings of quite a few. Some are good. Flashes in the pan!!

Personal attacks? My apologies if you felt so, but I see red at fraudulent posturing without an iota of justification given I am not the one to take anything as axiomatic!

Even Bhattacharya who is trying to bring Bengal on its feet is being attacked by pseudo bleeding hearts within his own party, including that idiot harridan who should fade out gracefully, Jyopti Basu your icon!

Are you aware that a whole road is closed for him in front of his house and he still uses the govt machinery for his comfort. Is that Communism?

Are you aware that the govt paid for his annual trip to the UK for hormone treatment to remain young!!

What conceit!

And that is what Marx and Engels said or Stalin and Mao did?

rat

I agree with u that "some" bengalis tend to live in the past... I would not be wrong to say that they are an emotional crowd, speaking without thinking... coming to conclusion before looking at facts etc etc.

But they still show their streaks of brilliance from time to time. Good that mentioned ISI(Indian Statistical Institute)... I have a good friend of mine who graduated from there.. he is a bengali and am sure he is gonna make you proud too. I tried to get in there.. but couldnt.. one of my failures. Although I got in somewhere else, equally good, although in the field of technology.

As far as Jyoti Basu i concerned, I would like to say, no human is perfect... Neither I am looking for perfection... I look at his good characters and learn what he has to offer me. Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore have also helped me learn a lot (altough one can find imperfections in even them). I have the pleasure of meeting APJ and he ranks right at the top of the ladder.

Ray

Indeed when that day comes, I shall be the first one to greet you.

Till that day, your words alone shall not make me feel that you are great.

I have no time for words. I want to see things on ground before I acknowledge it to be a fact.

Ray

Believe it or not.

I had the pleasure to meet Chou en Lai - one to one!

Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Neils Bohr, Igor Tamm, Haldane et al.

They were great people.

I still remain the nondescript individual except having spoken to them and shaken their hands.

Sadly I washed my hands during the course of my life and so even the smell of sweet memories elude me!!

rat

You know Ray that u make personal remarks. I do not want to scour all your posts and quote here. Even your comments are axiomatic and u havent based them on facts.

rat

"Indeed when that day comes, I shall be the first one to greet you."
Someone talked about courage of conviction. sometime back.You might be one of the first few to know, when I do achieve something.

"If you find NCC tough, then you must be a weakling!!" - I was refering to army not NCC... I should have made it clearer.

I am not from JNU either.

In the same vein, I will say that my time is scarce. From this post onwards, I will only reply to those posts which really need my reply. It was good meeting you online Ray. I came here because i think the level of dicussions are intellectually stimulating. But my scarce time is also a reality. My near future does not lie in politics. But as a student in a foreign country, I am a cultural ambassador of my country. And I know I have been successful in representing my country well.

Ray

Thank,Colonel.

I am only a reflection of WAB and I would be a trifle vain to say that I contribute my mite, as other have done, to make WAB a real international and a forum that is tolerant to all views!

And I do fight for tolerance.

Unless we have differing views, and fight it out, if you will, we will only be frogs in the well!!

One of my uncles, who was real rich but a Communist and a writer of scientific books including ones for children (real good stuff he wrote), was arguing with my father that the peasants know everything of life! Typical Communist claptrap!

So, my father asked that if that be so, then he (my uncle) is a liar since it was a well known fact that the moon reflects sun's light and yet the peasant says the moon gives light!!

My uncle who used to come for his evening drinks to our house, left his drink and went away very angry!!

That is Communism!!

They can't face the truth!!

physicsmonk

Rat, are you an IITian?If so you are amongst the rare ones who gravitate towards left.Even the Bongs in IIT dont!!!