And I must extend my apologies to Khuswant Singh-ji for writing about his write-up in my last Sunday's Ramblings (4) and crediting it to an unknown 'Kuldip Singh'. They say time and tide waits for no man. Could it be that 'age' is catching up with me? Hopefully it will be charitable on the part of the 'age' to keep 'senility' enough away from me, more so in the light of many of our senior most super-politicians having been severely affected.
And the 'Da Vinci Code' has burst enough gall bladders in our Country, more specifically in Goa and 'amchi Mumbai', than in the nation which constitutes 95% Catholic Christians.. 'POLAND', the land which has produced at least one Pope. Me think, at the rate things are going on, the world will soon be divided between 'Catholic Christians' and 'Pseudo Catholic Christians' just like L K Advani came up with brilliant 'Seculars' and 'Pseudo Seculars'. And I have always wondered why Catholics call themselves 'Catholics' and not plain and simple 'Christians' if they are so much in love with Christ. For my part, I have, over the good many years of international roaming, coined a one word phrase 'INTERNATIONAL' when anyone asks me about my faith. And it is fun to see how this baffles them. And as according to Amulya Ganguli (FN-Goanet), the 'Da Vinci Code' is giving the Catholics in India the FUNDAMENTALIST VIRUS more than it is giving the Christians of the world. Perhaps they will now be telling the Christian world that what 'Jesus Christ' meant when 'He' raised the TOAST at his 'Last Supper' and said "DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME" is in fact a goad-on for themselves to pick up a fight with idiots who choose to defame 'Him' and 'His' name, by giving away millions of Rupees, $ et Euros for their worthless heads rather than to stand up for the truth, non-boisterously, like 'He' did it when he was nailed to the CROSS. And I have always enjoyed asking some of those who pride themselves as the sworn body-guards of Christ Himself as to what Christ must have meant when he said those words, I mean, 'Do this in memory of Me', if He might not have meant some other profound thing of value rather than the indulgence into the 'Elbow Exercise' on everyday basis. And it is a pity that the 'Inox' in Panjim has lost making rupees one hundred plus from me, since I had planned to see 'Da Vinci Code' in its much talked about luxurious comfort, which comfort I have missed all this while due to my very own boycott of the venue for reasons of a very equation. Manohar Parrikar wanted to promote INOX, with or without his brain-child, IFFI-2004. And I have fought that idea from the depths of my bones, him making use of Goa and Goans for his private passion. And Mr. A Veronica (Kuwait) has made his point twice in his write-up "Churchill Alemao and Kuwaitkars" (Goanet). But my interest in this write-up has nothing to do with Churchill Alemao. Needless to say that I just love the 'To Hell With You" terminology which Veronica has used to make his point. That makes two of us who find its use more relaxing besides being a maha-problem-heartache solver. To quote Veronica (1) THEN I SAID TO MY COLLEAGUES 'TO HELL WITH THIS BISHOP" and (2) WHEN I THINK OF ALL THESE EVENTS, I SAY 'TO HELL WITH THESE CARMELITES AND BISHOP MECHALLEF'. Recently, when one English newspaper editor told me that if I chose to be 'arrogant', he will close his doors to me (i.e. my party, whose current spokesperson I am, just because I had called his bluff for not publishing our press statements over a period of time). That is the time I have chosen to tell him "TO GO TO HELL", in other words, 'take your paper and shove it' . In the same context, many years ago, when another editor of another prominent newspaper had told me " Do something and show and I will publish your press statements", I had retorted back (which this God Almighty, at that time, didn't like) to tell him "Yes, I will show you in good time. Of that be rest assured. But remember one thing. You will not get people dancing naked in front of you to attract your attention. Take my word for it". In other words I had told him to go to hell. (By the way this one is no more the God Almighty he thought he was). Yet again, many years ago, during the Meta Strips agitation and before I had joined active politics, yet another prominent editor was told by me to behave as his master's dog does, which he was, to bark when asked to and shut up when required to, when he made a very derogatory remark on Goans in general in his edit. This same editor was recently accused of molesting a child domestic when he was giving sanctimonious lectures to the world against 'Child Molestations' in his edits. We can hardly see guilty being brought to books when they are the influential editors of newspapers. The central idea of my talking about this is that one needs to do one's part, efficiently, faithfully and dedicatedly. If newspaper editors think that by publishing press statements or faithful reporting, they are doing someone a favour, then they are sadly mistaken. These are the privileges of the ones who pay hard cash for these newspapers. If newspapers want to play Gods and withhold these vital views from the readers for their own perverted interests, then they must realize that in the long run it will only be the guillotine coming hard on their own scrawny necks like in the French Revolution, because of the universal rule that you cannot cheat the people all the time. And it is not surprising that Babush et Ravi, once at each other's throats, are in Novi Delhi to complement each other in front of a pure Charade called the Congress High Command. Both must be fagged out handling heavy suitcases over the long distance. For Babush, it has always been "If I can't fight them, I join them" He stood by Rane against Ravi. When Ravi didn't budge, he ditched Rane and joined forces with Ravi. His ultimate goal is in sight and very much in focus. He wouldn't be interested in the honour of merely sitting on the chief minister's kodel. Not his cup of tea at all. He wants to handle the entire bunch of ropes, no strings these, in the GPCC. As its President, it will be at his own discretion to decide who get the ticket in the next Elections. Voila! The rake is in CRORES. Plus he will have forty lapping DOGS at his feet at all times. What would Babush want more that this?? Just this morning, a piece of info has come to me from Babush's strong-hold 'TALEIGAO'. If the informer thought that I would be surprised, he was disappointed. The fact is that Babush is believed to be on a signature taking spree, on blank papers, of Taleigaokars with agricultural properties. The contract is 'you put your signature down on the blank paper and you get a brand new house built at no cost to you.' The person concerned must be a real tough character to withstand this effrontery. No 'buts' are tolerated. It is a subtle command to put pen to paper. No sooner this is done, the house is built pronto, but at the same time the entire agricultural property gets filled-up and taken over. How's zat for a change? And we are happy that our very own Goanetter 'Samir Kelekar' is appointed to the Info Tech Board of Info Tech Corporation to ask many intelligent questions of the IT Minister on the usage of funds relating to the IT Habitat in Dona Paula. It is natural that he will get no answers. And as the Goan Observer has detailed, bandicoots hide in the holes in the ground and conspire with other rats to do things behind intelligent backs. And Dayanand Narvekar has earned the name of the 'Bandicoot (money eating type) of the Century' My advice to my good friend Samir is not to get sore at the way this bandicoot is behaving. He knows nothing of IT in the first place. But he knows how to manufacture money to satisfy his hunger which becomes astronomical when in power. And he prefers coolest places to store it, like refrigerators. Samir will have no problems with Narvekar if he will help grease the chute that will be sending all the IT related mega-bucks down the drain and into his deep-freezer (mere refrigerator will be too small) just like another chute from the Health Department is doing the job. And why not? Haven't we been high and dry out of power for a long time, thanks to Manohar Parrikar???. A dog by any other name is still a dog. And it's tail is never going to be strait unless it is chopped off. In this case forget the tail. Start with the neck, if you are up to it, for better and lasting results. It will be a daunting task since this rake-in of crores is already fattening the neck. Someone in the Aldona or Porvorim Constituencies will have to commandeer many chopper wielding hands come next Assembly Elections to do the job unless Aldonkars or Porvorkars get to recruit a goliath to do it single handedly. Could a proverbial David accomplish the feat with a sling and a sling shot??? I wonder! 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