French Vs English

French President Jacques Chirac walked away from an EU summit meeting last week, since one of the French Delegate started addressing the gathering in English rather than French. Only when the speaker started speaking in French, the President walked back in. This news item caught my attention immediately.

From the French point of view what Chirac did was correct. He wants French to thrive & this is the way of promoting French. When the president of the nation acts this way, all the 62 million French citizens of the world will also do the same. The rivalry between French & the Brits is well known & has only got hotter because of this. If there is no resistance to English, they fear it will eat up French & French culture as whole. It is absolutely right & I agree with this view.

On the other side I feel English has become this popular only because of the fact that Americans also speak the language. If Americans had invented their own language then there would have been severe competition to English. Add to the fact the India & Australia were colonies of Brits & hence English was accepted in these places too. Hence the overall popularity of English has grown.

There is no stopping English & if there is no resistance (like the Chirac issue) then English will swiftly become the global language.

What strikes me is the Indian analogy of Tamil Vs Hindi. Very very similar case. In late 60s politicians vehemently opposed the entry of Hindi in TN & hence have halted its reach in Tamil Nadu. Politicians like Karunanithi , Ramadass , Thiruma & Vaiko all are here to ensure that Hindi doesn’t catch up fast in Tamil Nadu. They do it by stirring up the Tamil love among Tamils, the way Chirac does it for the French.

It is the same all over the world ;-)

Sad News........

Pramod called me @ 6:30 in the evening & said there is a sad news.I told him to go ahead. When he said Manjunath is no more, I could not react.He kept speaking , said how it happened & all, but I could not speak. I was just listening. I did not know how to react.

Manjunath was my ex colleague at Tata Motors. He was a mechanical engineer from MIT, Manipal. Graduated in 1999. He was a jovial person.Though my interactions with him had come down drastically since I shifted to Pune, I still remember him very clearly. I used to argue with him quite often.

Shocking thing is that he had an strain in his married life & yesterday had filed an FIR at the Gurgaon Police station at night 10:30. Police had come to their home & counselled the couple. Then it seems at 12:30 midnight he jumped out of his 12th floor flat & ended his life.

Manjunath was cremated today afternoon. The investigations are on & I hope the mystery is solved.

I can not believe I have heard this news & I am paying my tribute to Manju !! May his soul rest in peace..

Mumbai Musings

Hi !!!

Spent last weekend & today @ Mumbai. Met Senior Arockiasamy @ 26th Floor WTC. Evening met Pramod Gawas , Kedar Vilankar & Amit. Went for"9211" picture with them. Timepass movie ; Nana Patekar is good.

Next day went to " Thambi" Tamil movie alongwith James & A.Samy. Good movie..action packed. Madhavan in a different role. Read about the director Seeman who is a supporter of Che Guevara -- Bolivian communist great , Periyar & Velu Pillai Prabhakaran !!

Today had been to Bandra Kurla Complex & gave a complaint letter to the tax authorities to release the refund.Hope they do that early.

Kamal called me & told that he has paid Rs50,000 as admit fees into Great Lakes. Was telling that it is very tough to get loan for 4 lakhs. He told that his father has to come & sign the documents. Just wondering what am I going to do. I think I have to pay within oct 06. Have got some time , hopefully I ll figure it out.

I have made the resolution to be different & to defy convention ; I have started wearing my watch on my right hand !! wat a way to start !!

Mixed Doubles & Malamal Weekly

Hi !!!
Last Saturday saw the Movie Mixed Doubles. Directed by Aparna Sen. Had good dose of sex. Message was that be Indian & don't get swayed by every thing foreign.The hall was full. Can watch once. Then caught up with Alok. Most probably he might join NM. Another friend might join XIMB it seems. Good decision.

Yesterday went to watch Malamaal Weekly at Vishal. Good movie .Priyadarshan proves that he is a matser in comedy movies. Paresh Rawal & Om Puri excel in the movie. Must watch !!

Spoke to Kamal yesterday. He told me the interview went decently well. I am sure he will get through. Jaya is planning to leave by 14th March. I am also planning to visit Mumbai coming week. Lots of friends are there to meet.
Currently reading Made in America by Sam Walton. Wonderful book !! Hoping to finish the book this week.
Rest next week !!