On Parliament, A Proverb, Carbon, And Some Nonsense

Parliament has once again distinguished itself. The much-hyped “debate” over the report of the Liberhan Commission turned out a farce. BJP MPs disrupted proceedings. The Express editorial is well titled – “Playing House.” Yes, this is all a huge pretence: Uncle Sham.

I was discussing the BJP the other day with Bablu Das, who never progressed in school beyond Class 4, when he uttered a great Bengali proverb. Now, proverbs are always to be found in the conversation of simple, untutored folk like Bablu. It shows their wisdom - a wisdom that has come from the hoary past.

Referring to religious zealots, the bane of the modern world, Bablu said:

Othi bhokti, chorer lokkhon

In other words, excessive demonstration of faith is the sure sign of a thief. Satyajit Dey sent an English equivalent: Too much courtesy, full of craft.

Chew on that and think of all the zealots, both Hindoo as well as Muslim. Their intentions cannot be too good. Give me a man any day who keeps his God to himself, and focuses most on his business; second, on running his household; and third, on enjoying his life – like Bablu himself. Hail fellow, well met.

Next, on the “climate change” front, here is Butler Shaffer advising us to increase our carbon footprints. Indeed, we must. Read this piece and let your kids read it too.

Finally, a reader sent me a link to Jerry Rao’s recent article in the Express. Yes, Rao has written nonsense this time. He champions education – from the same State that peddles lies like “global warming.” And he praises our The State for being slow in building roads. What are “public goods,” Jerry? Is education a public good? Certainly not.

So the wisest man around today is the Class 4 schooled Bablu Das:

Othi bhokti, chorer lokkhon

Keep that in mind.