Maybe, I am a pervert with a contorted brain, but then I couldn't stop wondering what these Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) activists/members are trying to learn as part of their drill.

If you look at the first (from right) man/boy/activist/volunteer, it's not clear what he is up to. But as you pan your head towards the left, their body language makes it amply clear what they want. The last man in the row is actually trying to kick the ass of the person ahead of him. Just look at the intensely wicked expression on his face. Trying hard to have fun by kicking some ass (or maybe nuts).

This kick-ass picture was published in today's (14 June 2010) Hindustan Times Delhi edition.

Nirupama Pathak was murdered by smothering. Who killed her? Though the truth will take some time to emerge, circumstances point at her family, her mother who tried to mislead the police about her daughter's death. The young journalist was guilty of taking decisions about her life on her own, flouting the age-old regulations of "Sanatan Dharma". This is a letter that she might have written if dead people could write and post letters.

Dear Maa,

Today, I remember a bedtime story that grandma had repeated several times, the story of a mother's heart. Maybe, your mother or grandmother had also narrated it to you.

Once upon a time, in a small village, there was a young man who fell in love with a beautiful damsel from the neighbouring village. When the man proposed to marry her, she agreed on condition that they set up a separate household in her village. He agreed to it and informed his mother.

Many Indians, mostly in small towns, like to read newspapers and flip through magazines while standing at news marts. It's an Indian jugaad for getting to read the newspaper free of cost. Since Indians are too happy to devour a free copy of newspaper or magazine, almost all tea stalls in small towns subscribe to at least one newspaper and/or any magazine catering to the popular taste. However, if you live in a metro, one might not be able to engage in this jugaad for getting to read newspapers for free.

More than 100 years ago, some enterprising newspaper vending company in Bombay (now Mumbai) made an effort to create a news circulation business out of Indians' thrifty nature. It offered newspapers on rent for a few hours. So the same newspaper would be delivered at one home early in the morning, then collected and delivered to another homes. The cost of getting a newspaper reduced as the sun completed its day's journey in the sky. One who waited for the newspaper till 4 o'clock had the option to return it the next morning. If someone wanted to keep the newspaper, he could get the newspaper a day after publication.

Reporters are often ignorant about what they are reporting. If you disagree with this statement, you might not have seen a report by IANS news agency published on Hindustan Times website about an anti-piracy and "corruption" software Republique that film director Sajid Khan claims he is using for his latest film Housefull to prevent illegal downloading of the film over the Internet.

Sajid Khan was quoted as saying that if anyone tries to illegally download the movie, not only will the files get corrupted but their IP address will be recorded and they will be prosecuted for piracy.

"We even have a call centre in Mumbai with 35 people on board monitoring the illegal downloading of the film. We've tested the process too and it worked wonders in five seconds," he added.

Who developed this anti-piracy software? And when? The reporter as well as the person who picked the story for HT website didn't bother to ask the question. Both failed to detect the hoax and very smugly warned their audience about the impending dangers.

But the readers weren't as ignorant or gullible. "Probably, it has been tested on farm animals rather than real people, but sure he wishes to go ahead with his BIG PLANS!" one of them commented.

A Twitter user @flyyoufools said: "Dear Sajid if you really cracked the anti-piracy thing then sell it to Hollywood. More money than your movie can make."

A few days ago, another Twitter user was wrongly attributed for a tweet that she had retweeted (a way of forwarding a message on Twitter) in a report by some information technology industry magazine!

Why does it happen? Maybe, because reporters rely heavily on press releases and cooked news handed to them by public relations professionals. Reporters are too happy to spew the gyan that's given to them by companies and their PRs. "Why bother to study the subject when there are 'experts' to give you all the information about things that are happening in your beat (specific topics that a reporter is supposed to keep track of). Studying will only confuse you." Ignorance is bliss!

While browsing the Web during an unofficial office break, I found this clever piece of street art or persuation art on BoingBoing. The "Make A Difference" poster has been designed by Imaginary Foundation (contrary to its name, the foundation is real), which has posted a PDF of the same for people to download and use.

The only problem with this kind of poster is that it will lose its uniqueness once all the "I Wills" have been torn. How will others display their approval? I tried to find some other solutions for such street persuation arts.

1. Use ribbons or laces: One can try placing ribbons or laces with a message along side such persuasion posters. People who support the cause can pick up a ribbon and put it on their shirts or bags.

2. Ask people to sign: Leave lots of space in the poster for people to sign the poster or leave a message.

3. Urge people to spread the word: A poster can also ask people to tweet or send a message to friends about their decision to support the cause. It will help spread the word as well.

What's your idea for a persuasive street art? Let the world know.

Sania Mirza flew to Pakistan on Thursday. And Pakis are very excited about their new bhabhi. This gutka (chewing tobacco) is a part of the Sania bhabhi wave in Pakistan.


Image/Twitpic

[For those who are gullible enough to consider the picture a real one: it's just a digital art.]

A few days ago, Google introduced on-screen keyboard along with its search boxes for several non-Latin languages that require special characters, including for Hindi. So I visited Google Hindi to try the new feature. As soon as I typed the first letter (the physical keyboard), I was stumped by Google's search suggestions.

Given that in today's world, Google often knows us more than anyone through our searches, the suggestions made by Google can lead to conclusion that most people who use Hindi on the search engine are amorous or sexually frustrated or downright lose characters. Why? Just look at the A-Z suggestion made by Google Hindi. Click on the images to view the original size.

A for Aunty