Brand new poster at the Newport @PATHTrain station.
"Casteism doesn't ride with us."
It's an official poster BTW, like many others saying that bigotry will not be tolerated.
Most have applauded this. But of course, some predictably went,
"USA should first fix its black lives matter & racism problem before lecturing us about caste."
Abey WhatsApp Whataboutery Warrior, this is not a "lecture" to India. It's a warning to their own riders.
These sanghis are in such perpetual insecurity & outrage mode that they think a train service connecting NJ&NYC, with about one third of its ridership Indian, posting warnings that "casteism will not be tolerated" is a lecture from USA to India and they must jump to defend caste.
"Nafrat aur bhedbhaav ko bardaasht nahin kiya jayega."
Which literally means
"Hate and bigotry will not be tolerated".
Taking this as some insult to India or Hinduism is like we say in Hindi, thief beard has a piece of straw.
What took the cake was the brilliant deduction that this was a "photoshopped fake" because some Failu-da is like, why would a "Port Authority" put up posters in train instead of ports. There also, projecting their misuse of Photoshop onto others. 🤦🏽♂️
Another clinching proof for them that this is *my* Photoshop work is
"The Hindi letters seem superimposed on top of some train image in the background to create false impression."
Oh wow the deductive nous of these geniuses!
"Why are they bringing up caste when caste is irrelevant in America?"
Yeah, sure, no caste relevance in US at all. 🙄 Then why is this needed?
"Why don't you also speak out against networking organizations dedicated solely to white protestants?" asks another WhatsApp Whataboutery Warrior.
Me: Like the KKK?
"That's a cheap shot. Making that comparison."
Me: Aing? Who initiated that comparison?
"Don't twist my words"
Is there a FIFA world cup where only self-goals win?
"You can feel a sense of belonging to the brahmin community without being casteist."
Not really. It's basically the definition of casteist. The evils and horrors follow from this very belief.
Half the ads during cricket streaming broadcasts in the US are about matrimony sites that extensively offer filtering based on caste and sub caste and sub sub caste and so on. Some show girls with black boyfriends as cautionary tale.
But sure, caste is irrelevant in the US.
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Last week in Pune, I went to many cousins' & friends' new or recent homes. In and around Pashan. And I could picture exactly which areas were sure to flood. I've walked those hills for years.
Why is it called Pashan?
Some of the oldest & hardest rock on the planet!
Marathi has a word for seasonal streams. ओढा. Literally means "to pull".
Those rocky hills had centuries, millennia old odhas which took water from heavy rain all the way down to the rivers. Mudslides were unheard of, given how hard the rock was.
Recently I was in Pune for a short trip visiting parents. Had sprained ankle, wanted to ice it. But their fridge didn't have enough ice.
Went on dad's Activa to nearby medical store to get a gel pack. Next door is a barber shop. A dude was outside. /1
Guy in his 30s. Looked at me & gave a big smile, waved.
I was confused. This was Pune not the Midwest. People don't just randomly smile at strangers. Did I know him from childhood or youth? Didn't seem familiar.
But I was limping & in pain. So drove away.
Coupla days later, dad was making chai but we were out of khari. I took Activa to grocery store next to same barber shop.
Again as I was leaving, same dude standing outside smiled & waved. I again smiled. Still couldn't place him.
Be it 1993 serial blasts, 2001 Parliament attack, 26/11 or German Bakery, Indian govt identified perpetrators and laid out details of how they happened very soon.
But we still have no answers or details on Uri all these years later. Public was satisfied with Balakot alone.
Will that be the fate of Pahalgam too? Will we get no serious investigation of the terrorist perpetrators and no serious systemic introspection of security lapses, because these missile strikes and dogfights have brought the josh to shallow armchair patriots?
Have you ever been to Kashmir? There are so many security personnel doing security checks everywhere. You can't carry a nailcutter into a sensitive location, much less a truck full of explosives in the middle of a lot of Indian soldiers. Or guns at one of the most popular spots.
Why I think Mexican food is the best food in the world. A 🧵
I'm not talking about the "taco nacho burrito quesadilla" snapshot of Mexican food that most of the world carries. That's like thinking chicken tikka masala, naan, samosa defines Indian cuisine.
I'm talking for reals
What I'm saying is I'm an Indian who's been all over the world and food I ate in Mexico is, on average THE best food I've eaten in my life!
Not talking Mexican food in America or your country or Taco Bell.
Actual real Mexican food in Mexico.
Reason 1 - Zero taboos!
Coming from brahminical India, it is so mind-blowing awesome to eat in a country that literally has no food taboos at all! They eat pork, beef, shrimp, everything! They even eat insects. Proudly. And those insects are delicious!
During & after COVID, I became good friends with a dozen neighbors ages 65-85, mostly women. Coming from India, watching their daily senior citizen lives is such a pleasant cultural shock! So happening!
Now bear in mind, there is a huge self selection element at play here.🧵
These are senior citizens who can afford to AND have chosen to live in Manhattan. Didn't move to Florida Arizona California like many of their generation.
Manhattan is walking friendly. And it also makes you walk. And also keeps you in close walking distance from everything.
But still, their lives are so noticeably different from my roughly just as affluent or more affluent relatives that age.
They truly feel like characters from Golden Girls!
They are active in many clubs, travel a lot, and are politically VERY active. They're 60s flower children.
Another student visa cancellation horror story. Swimming in these today!
Dude was making a turn in rainy foggy weather and gently bumped against a car. That driver got out. Both examined the damage. Negligible. A nearby cop car saw the small accident and showed up. /1
Cop realized that Dude's license expired 3 days ago. Dude said I know and I've already applied for a renewal and the new one should be in the mail.
Cop said I still have to write you up for driving on an expired license. But explain your situation to the judge. It's cool.
Dude went to court and explained, I was traveling a lot. So only sent in license renewal paperwork close to the expiration date. It arrived literally 2 days after the accident. Which had no damage.