Arindam Chaudhuri sues the Caravan, Google, ect.

In making an actual list of the articles I read about India, I realized I was not reading any Indian publications.  Ever since I've been making a point to seek them out.  One of my favorites, The Caravan, along with Google India, Penguin Books, and  the author of the article, Sidddartha Deb, is being sued by IIPM .  Here is their press release about it.  I'm honestly very upset about the whole thing, but it is a fascinating conflagration of issues. 

Firstly the Caravan is great and I have to admit I've had a hard time finding Indian publications I like.  Arundhati Roy talks about some of the problems (sensationalism, corporatization, censorship, lack of integrity, whathaveyou) with the Indian media in an interview at Guernica (another fine publication, but not Indian).  I don't feel qualified to pass judgement on these matters.  I don't like say the Oregonian much or any American TV news either.

Although the plaintiff and The Caravan are located in Delhi, the suit was filed in Silchar, Assam (and they have used the same tactic in similar suits).  That is just bizarre and seems like a gross abuse of the justice system.  What, they've got a judge in their pocket in Silchar?  And they'll just be allowed to file wherever they want?  That is messed up.  An injunction has already been issued and The Caravan has taken down the original article (but you can read it here).  And corruption scores another point. 

There's been a lot of chatter lately about new internet regulations here.  I'm afraid I haven't been following it much.  But the fact that Google is included in this suit and individual bloggers in previous ones, highlights that some of the new regulations will make censorship even easier in India.  Media Nama has good coverage of these topics, in particular this post calling out some of the more troubling language in the new legislation.

I hope people get all riled up over this stuff.  But it's also funny that I am so up in arms about it.  One interesting side effect of moving to another country may be a renewed interest in politics and what not.  I was pretty cynical about all these issues back home and didn't pay a lot of attention.  I haven't been burnt out by the futility of the machine here yet.  Or maybe it's more about India being a developing country and there really is more opportunity to shape things.  Either way, it's welcome.

So go post about this nonsense on Facebook.  Make jokes at Arindam Chaudhuri's expense on twitter or at least read them and have a chuckle.

Useful services in Pune (and beyond)

One of the harder things to adjust to here is not being able to use the internet to find shops, restaurants, services, etc.  For a country that's always in the news for its booming IT sector, the average Indian and average business here just plain doesn't use the internet.  I'm glad that hasn't translated to a doorstep piled high with YellowPage type directories.  Fortunately there is JustDial.  It doesn't have much in the way of reviews or detailed information about products and services, but is nontheless a vital resource.

Do you like having things delivered?  Then you would probably like India.  Using JustDial of course, I found a pet shop in my neighborhood.  I called to confirm that they had cat supplies (dog supplies are more common) and to get better details about where they are located (addresses aren't always that helpful here).  But instead of getting that information, they asked what I wanted and delivered it to my door within the hour.  The wine shop, the small local grocer, probably just about everybody will deliver.

Including just about any restaurant.  (Not the Hard Rock Cafe, no sir, they are too good for that.)  You may have difficulty taking advantage of this if you don't speak Marathi or Hindi though.  I've been told by more than one neighborhood restaurant that they don't take English orders, even though it seems like a list of food shouldn't be that hard.  YumKing to the rescue!  We love, love, love this service.  There are a fair number of Pune restaurants on the site and it's very easy to use.  It only shows you restaurants that deliver to your area, warns you if they aren't open at the moment, and delivery is free!  McDonald's has online ordering too, but that is more like a curse than a blessing.

We also love BigFlix, which is available in several cities throughout India.  It is pretty much just like NetFlix.  Major differences being:  the suggestion algorithm, if there is an algorithm at all, is not very sophisticated; there is some streaming, but not of English titles; they tried to emulate NetFlix I think, but the  second icon that looks like it will add a movie to the top of your queue, adds it to the bottom just like the normal 'add to queue' icon; I hear they have brick and mortar stores too; they hand deliver and pick up your movies the very next day.

Articles page

If you're obsessed with how I spend my day (and if you're reading this, I'm sorry to say, you just might be.  Hi, Mom!), you can now read along with Siera about India in the new Articles section.  It's like longreads/longform/givemesomethingtoread except it is all India all the time.  And no pesky context like dates of publication, date of listing or summaries either.  Though there are editor's picks in the form of painstakingly designed asterisks.

An evening in KP

Koregaon Park is an older and very nice part of Pune. It is known for being the expat area, which is why I wasn't terribly inclined to live there when Mr. Boaz was looking for houses. I saw more white folks in an hour or two there than I have in all the rest of my time in Pune. But it was nearly impossible for me to judge from afar and as it turns out its, shall we say, Indian-ness is not at all overwhelmed by the relative concentration of foreigners.

As an older part of Pune, it doesn't have the same sort of planned development that we live in and around. The architecture is a little more interesting, trees a little more grown up. Here's a shot of a side street. The main streets are lined with shops, especially handicraft and gift emporiums.

Afternoon dalliance

We picked up “Elections: the Race to the Parliament” board game in a souvenir shop along with some candles and a travel thermos. “New Game Board where you can capture enough States, win the Elections, and become the Pri-Minister of INDIA.” It’s neat to look at, but not much fun with two players. The chance cards are the best part:

Goofy brother masterminds publicity snafu. Move to No Action.

Opponent’s attack ads backfire. Go again!

Make secret deal with the governor. Win a state with no primary elections.

Tournament Cricket Victory leads to surge in polls. Move to the next State space.

Spouse involved in real estate scam. Wait 1 turn.

Your vice-presidential candidate actually makes a sensible speech. Go again.