jabdakhata

I normally do not like to write political blogs and express my political opinion, because I believe politics, like religion is every individual's own belief, and must not be a matter of heated debate or discussion. However, I thought that some facts should be highlighted because in this era information and misinformation both travel hand in hand. The situations narrated below consist mostly of facts and some analysis but rarely of opinions (except at the end). It is not a newspaper article (which incidentally nowadays is almost always devoid of facts and full of opinions, of the reporter, editor and the newspaper group head). West Bengalis must be having a ball of a time. Not a single day passes without some major news on the papers, becoming subjects of heated discussions and addas. It all started in 2000 when Buddhadeb Bhattacharya first came to power. Indian media went into a frenzy as he was the so called "liberal communist" ( an oxymoron if u ask me), who believed in

Driving License I happen to possess a driving license (Fuererschein) of Deustchland. As to how I acquired it is a long story. Driving in German roads, esp. autobahns is a sheer plreasure which few people want to forego. Therefore I also decided to exchange my Indian license for a German one. A German driving license is a lifelong possession because once obtained, you need not renew it, however getting it is difficult. An Indian driving license holder can drive for 6 months in Germany on his international drivers permit after landing in Germany, after which he will have to take a German driving license in order to drive on roads. There are some countries with which Germany has automatic driving license exchange arrangements, inluding some states of US. For others like India, people need to undergo a written exam and a practical test. Some important information pertaining to the same is provided here -http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/driving.html The exchange needs to happen within 3 ye

Other Animals One remarkable thing about Stuttgart is the complete absence of any crow or scavenger bird. Perhaps they dont have much spoils to live on, Germans being quite eccentric about their wastes, a parctice which I shall discuss later in detail. I was delighted to find crows and sparrows when I visited Berlin. I instantly felt at home. Probably thats the nearest perching point for crows flying from east and they are no longer allowed to travel any further. Perhaps crows also have border controls and immigration and thefefore crows from east get to move only until Berlin and no further by German crows(if there are any). I have seen Bavarian crows who are much larger in size than their Indian counterparts and much more philosophical (they can sit at a stretch in one place and think, unthinkable for Indian crows). Bavarian crows can be seen on Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany (3000 m above sea level). How they came to fly above 3000 m is anybody's guess, however they sit

Animals The other day I came across a pathetically black cat near my window. She was perhaps devising some schemes of entering my kitchen in search of some delicacies (Alas! the state of affairs in my kitchen is perhaps not known to her). I was willing to offer her hospitatlity but I wasnt sure about the tastes and preferences of a German cat, esp. a female one. A German cat, like a German girl, is unpredictable (For that matter most girls, irrespective of their nationalities, are unpredictable!). Had it been a Bengali cat, I would have gladly offered her delicacies like fish and milk, but a true memsahib like her may not like such native food, so I offered her some biscuits along with tea. She refused to degrade herself by touching such lowly means of sustenance and looked at me with such contempt and disdain that I was ashamed of myself. Finally she, perhaps being a little irritated at such abject lack of manners, strolled away leisurely. I heard from one of my friends that in Germa

Humanism vs. Barbarsim Perhaps when we look in retrospect to a specific period in history we realize how short sighted the masses living in that period were. When we analyze history we are apalled to at the miscalculations done by the leaders during this period and are flabbergasted to think how the masses followed their footsteps like a flock of bleeting sheep. Yet, we hardly realize that we are also committing the same mistakes in our era. we analyze, criticize, but never learn ourselves. Events in history, time and again, are repetitive and so are the great blunders. They may occur at different places in different times, nevertheless, they occur.Nature of the follies, committed by mankind across different times and spaces are also same. Now, after reading books written by British and US historians, glorifying their victory and villifying Germany, we tend to think, why didnt the Germans overthrow such a cruel and barbaric regime of Nazis.But the fact remains that though externally we