At the end of 2005 here is a look at the topics that were covered in varnam and some of the important posts, in blogmela style.
India: We discussed the story of how Natwar Singh was found with his hands covered with oil and lamented on the demise of the argumentative Indian. The ban on showing cigarettes in movies irritated us
There was some talk about the hypocrisy of the Communists in these posts: Man bites dog: DYFI opposes CPI(M), Your’s are small too, Not for the family, The Communist “U” turn, More Catholic than the Pope
How could we miss Praful Bidwai?. We analyzed some of his thoughts in Praful Bidwai: New Theorems and Praful Bidwai: In defence of Maoists
We also covered the mystery behind the death of Subash Bose in the following posts. Subhash Bose: Was not in Russia, Subhash Bose: The Investigations – II, Subhash Bose: The investigations, How did Subhash Bose die ?
Foreign Affairs: We talked about the Pakistani apologists and wondered about the stability of China. It’s been only few years and people seem to have forgotten the Taliban.
What does Musharraf want from the peace process?. He might get it since we are so flexible. We also find out how Chachaji messed up Nepal
Economy & Globalization: A Time Magazine article talked about the expatriate economy and we had some comments on how it applied to Kerala. India was a globalized country from historic times and so Why Fear Globalization?. Also if America was in control of globalization as portrayed, then why are American car manufacturers in trouble?
History: An Indus valley skeleton was discovered near Delhi. Cheraman Perumal’s trip to Mecca seems to be a myth. We also talk about the various manuscripts that were translated into other languages. We dispel another myth that Indian historical writing started with the arrival of Muslims.
We also found some uncanny similarities among various mythologies
Book and Movie Reviews: Engaging India, The Motorcycle Diaries, Blink, Lankaparvam (Malayalam), Massacre at the Palace, Maximum City, A Short History of Nearly Everything, State of Fear
We participated in the Book Tag meme and listed few of our favourite books.
Photos: Sunset, Thalikkulam Beach, Kerala, Temple Pond, Harippad, Kerala, Water Lily, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Butchart Gardens, Victoria, Canada
Humor: Kerala does not have many industries thanks to many world class factors. But now there is a way to make it the hub of development. For that you need to read HOWTO: Develop Kerala. We also thanked Microsoft for not entering the desktop widget race.
What is similar between Musharraf and HTTP?
Announcements: The history section of this blog was spun off into a separate blog called The Palm Leaf. It is expected to go IPO in 2007.
2005 In Review
Published
2005 in Review
Varnam, the topical blog on India reviews 2005 [on the blog]. How wonderful! If only every blog could do this, it would be a great snapshot of the topics they write about.
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2005 in Review
As the year ends, it is time for recaps. Inspired by Varnam’s 2005 in review [of his blog], I am trying to put together some important issues that I wrote about this past year. It is a comprehensive and would
JK
You are quite a phenomenon. Keep up the good work. We enjoy the thoughtful, meticulous and detailed postings. Season’s greetings and best wishes for the Gregorian New Year. Of course, our New Year is on April 14 – and I will wish you then too.
Loved the new look!
Jaffna: I cannot be a pheno-menon since i am a nair 🙂
OK, sorry for that lame joke. Thanks for your kind words.
Sue: Thanks. The design is from the MovableType style library.
JK. I am suing you for PJ IPR infringement.
http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/2005/03/13/more-obligatory-pjs/
Also. Neat post. So I may not. Love the last line. I do hope Palm Leaf goes public. Mark me down for about 5000 shares or so.
C
Happy New Year JK.
The new blog style looks dull. Try a different style.
varnam.org gives a 403 error. Place some landing page for varnam.org.
Ravages: How can you claim IP over Mallu Jokes? Don’t you know that every Mallu born gets a “Gulf” Visa and complete ownership of all Mallu jokes?
Saravanan:I agree it is dull. I am not into CSS editing and prefer stealing them. This one was available from the Movable Type style pages and was better looking than the rest.
Yes, I need a landing page for varnam.org.
Happy New Year!
Announcing a new blog : http://cpmterror.blogspot.com