Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 18 June 2018 | Page 12

IN & AROUND
THE SUBCONTINENTAL MENU
BARRED BY
GOD’S BOUNCERS
“high amount” which the families
decl­ined to give—and were then
denied entry to the temple for their
transgression. In a complaint with
the police, the families alleged that
their ‘puja thalis’ were thrown out
when they tried to worship, with
one complainant saying that his
brother and sister-in-law had been
“manhandled and assaulted” when
they went to the temple. The police
have reportedly registered a case
against two youths.
I
S your name on the list? If so, God
doesn’t want to see you, sorry. A
blacklist of names has appeared on
the walls of a temple in Kalik village
in Jaleswar block, Balasore, Odisha.
The people included are members
of five families, who reportedly
refused to pay up when the village
committee solicited donations
for the ‘Patta Parba’ festival. The
committee was demanding a
SIX INCHES, NO LESS
THE OTHER
KIND OF PARCEL
T
OM (from Tom and Jerry), wear-
ing a pair of envy-tinted glasses,
peers suspiciously over his shoulder
as he crouches on a chair, one hand
holding the receiver of a telephone
labelled ‘Bahria University’; the other
poised to dial. In the next scene, his
suspicions confirmed, Tom is dialling
away. This image macro features
in one of many social media posts
mocking the Islamabad-based univer-
sity (with campuses in Karachi and
Lahore too) for its recent directive
that male and female students should
keep a minimum distance of six
inches from each other—or face a fine.
In addition to ridicule, it has drawn
criticism from the nation’s Univer-
sities Staff Associations, but Bahria’s
resolve is unshaken; its PRO says
“Touching of men and women cannot
be allowed openly.”
A
UNOFFICIAL
WATCHDOGS
T
HE dogs of rural Andhra
Pradesh are zealous in
per­forming their duty of aid
to the civil power. Large police
stations in the countryside
and on the outskirts of cities
(where policemen stay in bar­
racks), which face threats from
mobs and militants, have been
encouraging stray dogs to hang
around the premises to warn of
intruders, especially at night.
The practice was int­roduced
by former DGP Swaranjit Sen
after a couple of instances of
such dogs thwarting extremist
attacks by alerting sentries
with their barking. According
to one SI, “Food prepared for
the policemen is also given to
the dogs,” enticing them to
stay around. Although this is no
longer officially sanctioned, as
CCTV cameras have now been
installed in the stations for sec­
urity purposes, many stations
still swear by it, citing instan­
ces where the dogs picked out
intruders in pitch blackness.
S you sit at your desk, typing
and probably straining your
back, hope approaches in the form
of a dabbawala. Has he brought your
lunch, you wonder, mouth watering at
the prospect. But no, you deflate like
a disappointed balloon as you realise
it’s only a parcel. Such things may
begin to happen soon, as Mumbai’s
dabba­walas are in the late stages of
talks to start a parcel delivery and
courier service. “The main aim of
this project is to increase members’
income. In their free time, they can
opt for this and we can deliver in the
shortest possible time compared to
firms involved in this sector,” Mumbai
Dabbawala Association spokesperson
Subhash Talekar said. The deal is to
be finalised soon, after a few small iss­
ues are discussed with the members.
Illustrations by SAJITH KUMAR
12 OUTLOOK 18 June 2018