Two articles that moved me today.

Nanda, Meera. 'Witness to a Kidnapping'. The Hindu Magazine. Bangalore. 1 Mar 2009. pp1.

The article criticizes the hollowness of Pinkchaddi campaign and the campaigner's notion of freedom in the background of a kidnap she witnessed in Chandigarh. Let me quote a few lines:

"Another thing that worries me is the soaring popularity of arranged marriages among the same hip crowd that is so protective (and rightly so) of their right to go to a pub and hold hands in public without the moral police keeping an eye on them.

Most of them, I am sure, will condemn the Chandigarh abduction in no uncertain terms. But I am not sure where they will stand when it comes right down to the heart of the matter — namely, the right of individuals to defy family and community and choose to marry someone from a different caste or creed, especially Islam which is so little understood and so aggressively condemned these days. Will they stand with the woman, or will they stand with the father, not so much to condone the violence but to “understand” why he had to stop the marriage"

The other article is about Writer Workshop of P Lal by Meenakshi Mukherji.

Mukherji, Meenakshi. 'Writers Workshop @ Fifty' The Hindu Literary Review. Bangalore. 1 Mar 2009. pp1,3.

Here, Mukherji sketeches a brief history of Writers' Workshop, a landmark inititative in shaping the literary/intellectual climate in India, locating it in the various debates that mired it.

Note: 1. To read these articles, please click on the article reference given above.

2. Before the readers passionately argue/criticise the views expressed here, I request you to read the articles.