Viswanathan K's Thoughts

My 8 yo daughter came over and said she wanted a new cycle. She was clear that she didn’t want an “ordinary” cycle. What does “ordinary” mean, I asked. She couldn’t quite articulate it, but I finally realized a bike from any place other than a Decathlon store is deemed “ordinary” in her snobbish circle of friends. We were mulling whether the next cycle size would fit in the car, and so we went and borrowed the (next size) bike from her friend downstairs. To see if it would fit in the car. Surprisingly, and to my daughter’s immense relief, it fit. Then a wicked thought occurred to me: “Hop in”, I told her, “Let’s go live in a new house from today. We can take your friend’s cycle with us. She won’t know your new address and we’ll get a cycle for free”. It never amuses me that at such moments, she’s still never quite sure if I am kidding. I let her stew in the suspense, then got in the car, had her join me, and turned on the ignition. She had an alarmed look on her face. Takin...

Every time India asks for the Kohinoor diamond, Britain says No. Was it really “given” to them voluntarily? Or at gun point? The answer to other requests to return such loot lying in European museums is the same No, whether the source is Africa or Aborigines or native Americans or Chinese antiquities. And yet, the same Europeans are all in favour of returning if it was what the Nazis looted. No, the reason’s not because everyone hates the Nazis. Sadly, the reason’s what Erin Thompson says : “The farther we get from Western Europe, the less morally compelling we seem to find the claims of those whose art Europeans looted.” And so she concludes: “Why are the victims of Nazi aggression more deserving than those of colonial violence? At root, I see no reason other than disdain for non-Europeans.” And while no real action is taken to right this historical wrong, the Guardian contents itself with moronic condemnation of (hold your breath) video games that involve “stealing” ...