Trouser Malfunction-2: - (read wardrobe malfunction) -an interesting phenomena

"Wardrobe malfunction" is a term used to describe the accidental exposure of an intimate part of the body due to a defect in the dress.

We are indebted to Justin Timberlake who used it for the first time when in a February 2004 incident that resulted into  the "unintentional" baring of Janet Jackson's bust.It is said this sister of Michael Jackson did not hurry up to cover it up.

This phrase became so popular that it was named as a word that created the maximum  influence on the language for that particular year.

This phrase is also applied to an incident when some part of the dress is NOT removed, like  in 2005 when George W. Bush forgot  to remove his gloves before shaking hands with his Slovak guests.

This subject is photographers' delight although its victims are embarrassed a lot.

But often it is also a publicity stunt. Directly or indirectly, intentionally or otherwise, the opportunity to the publicity is is encashed.

In case of Lord Mayor whose trousers fell down as he stood up to speak at a function, he tweeted that I was wondering how to give publicity to my diet plan and this has happened unintentionally). It is not understood why did not choose to wear a belt or have some trousers altered - more so when he prefers to walk down the streets on many of his engagements in a bid to improve the awareness of weight reduction.

His fitness guru also tweeted that fact that his trainee's falling trousers are a testimony to her fitness programme. Her books have very catchy titles, as we can see here!

But the picture I enjoyed most about ward robe malfunction was the  one taken in the 1950s.

It  is a famous photo of actress Jayne Mansfield leaning over a table at which the legendary actress Sophia Loren was sitting. The photo was famous not just because accidentally Jayne exposed her bust , but  more because of the incredulous look on Loren's face as she sensed that something wrong has happened.

Enjoy - i.e. Sophie's highly expressive eyes! 

Trouser Malfunction-1: The dieting Lord Mayor's belt-less trousers fall down before students!!

The Lord Mayor of Leicester has apologised after his trousers fell down during a visit to a local library on Tuesday.

Mr Colin Hall, the Lord Mayor , who is required to be addressed as The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Leicester  as per the protocol, & wears the 18 carat gold chain of office on black velvet was standing up to give a vote of thanks at a civic function  organised by an education network at Southfields library and pupils from three local schools were present at the function.

His spokesman said: "The Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Colin Hall, attended a function at a local library yesterday where he suffered an unfortunate problem with his trousers. They did not stand up with him - but fell down.

"He was not wearing a belt and the trousers came loose and fell. The Lord Mayor has offered his deepest apologies to those attending the event for any offence caused by the accident."

The council confirmed that Mr Hall recently hired a fitness guru with the goal of losing three stone ( or 19 kg ) from his 16 stone (about 100 kg weight) by next May, when his 12-month term expires.

He walks down to many functions 

as a part of his weight loss regimen.  

O

n his twitter message he said:  Two days ago, I was wondering how to publicise the progress of my diet. I hear, though, this issue may be resolved very soon. 

   

                                           

His fitness guru however 

was enjoying the publicity she got. She tweeted : "Very funny to hear that Leicester's Lord Mayor Colin Hall's trousers fell down at a public event. My diet is obviously working well! Bril!l" 

Majority of others who tweeted, said  : "This is the best news headline I have ever read."

Cartoon ( with thanks to the copyright holders) 

What a kick? Why not to do this in India!!

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is a truly brave man. 

He has suspended yesterday the Nigerian football team, which failed to win a single match! 

Perhaps, because, football is a great uniting and bonding factor in this land of diversity which has more than 300 tribes and customs.

The president also wants an audit of the current World Cup organising committee. 

In past, Nigerian fans are known to have  become so angry at thier team's failure that they broke glasses of the  team bus and hand to be  prevented from attacking  the dressing rooms with the help of tear gas shells. 

Their team, the Super Eagles, has earned the new name, as a joke:  the Super Chickens. 

The ban is to "enable Nigeria to reorganise its football".The Nigerian Football Federation will  be dissolved  Nigeria were knocked out in the group stages without winning a game. 

  

To Mr president Goodluck Jonathan, we say : Jonathan, Goodluck!!

India’s record world Championships is nothing to crow about. in past there was Milkha Singh in the 1958 who won 400 m gold. An occasional Rathore, Saina or Bindra, that is all. Take any game, sports or athletic event and we are absent. Our contingents have more non-playing members from various govt. depttt.s than the players! 

Oh, we need not forget Kabaddi and Kho-Kho and are masters because hardly anybody else knows about it.

  

Remedy?

  

One  feels our nation deserves Goodluck actions - Nigerian style. Ban all the sports and sportspersons who have lost shamelessly at major events. 

Ban them for two years. Put them to focussed task of improving. Audit their accounts. Whip the corrupt and unworthy officials.

As for cricketers, additional put a ban on their advt. contracts , so that they can play properly. Or else, levy additional tax on advt income, so that it is not worth earning.  

In other words, do whatever is necessary , whether written in the book or not. 

Compare us with the neighbour!

  

China's participation in Olympics started  in1936 at Berlin Games and performance was pathetic. There were more than one reasons for intervening absence & she  entered Olympics after a break of 30 years at 1984 Los Angeles and - the world was shocked by the sterling performance of its players.  

Reasons?

In August 1995, a ‘Physical Culture Law’ was enacted in China , which created   a series of rules and regulations requiring citizens to enhance their health and physique through sports. 

With the emphasis on young people and children, this programme proposes that everyone engage in at least one sports activity daily, master at least two body-building methods and have a health examination every year. 

 It also requires that physical culture departments at all levels help individuals to create health-building activities that fit in with their work and school commitments. 

The National Physical Fitness Programme has set a number of targets to be reached in a timely manners, such as  making 37% of China’s total population (that’s 481 million citizens) take part in physical exercises regularly, and to have 350,000 popular sports instructors across the country. 

By the end of 2000, there were 30 national  sports associations and over 40,000 grassroots sports associations, plus  3,854 urban sports organisations,and also 2,000 community sports instruction stations with  100,000 part-time sports instructors. 

Since 

the 1990s, large numbers of sports centres have been constructed or reconstructed. In the period 2000- 2002 alone, 1,077 public health building projects were created. There are - unbelievable but true - more than 620,000 stadiums and gymnasiums in

China!

China's sports coaches are rated  on the success of their students. In 2009, for example, Ai Dongmei, a former national marathon champion, and two of her team-mates, were granted  damages from their former coach, who was regularly beating them and had taken away  all their earnings.

Long live such a dedication for sports and for the national pride. Long live the visionaries in Nigeria and China.

Waiting with crossed fingers to be commence soon and end without national disgrace!!

MERA  BHARAT ALREADY MAHAN !!!

15th June, English language & Gujarati Students!

Come 15th June and the parents are going mad with the preparations for their school going children. Worst off are those who seek first time admissions for their tiny tots.

Selecting a school, interviews, influencing admission process, donations, and often getting fleeced in the process. In a large city near my town, a residential school is charging almost Rs.1,000 PER DAY for kids who are primary section, a whooping Rs.3,50,000 from NRI parents!

Today, the  mad rush is for English medium schools. Those in other schools go to various outlets for learning spoken Dozens of self-help books are available which even housewives religiously read. Some DTH service providers like Tata Sky provide online help to learners, if I remember their advt correctly. Students prepare for TOEFL as a part of their plans to study abroad.


English is becoming more proficient in this universal foreign language that holds key to the future of this new generations aspiring students.Perhaps, their parents and elders who studied in 1960s and 70s in schools of Gujarat were not so fortunate. They were rather very unforunate.


Mr V Gangadhar came to Ahmedabad in Gujarat in  mid-1958 and started working in the local textile (Little younger to him , I was in  class VI at that time. He has written candidly  about the lack of foresight of the politicians in teaching English to Gujarati students from early age. (http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jan/31gang.htm) : " 

For the first ten years of my life in the city, I witnessed the furious battle between the 'Eighth standard camp' and the 'Fifth Standard camp', the former insisting it was adequate if English teaching began from Std VIII while the latter demanded it should start from Standard V. 

The first group had firm political support from Morarji Desai and his stooges in Gujarat. So, the average Gujarati graduate ended up knowing very little English. 

Most college professors and post graduates would read only Gujarat Samachar or other local dailies, and not The Times of India. As for reading English books,forget it!"

I vividly recall that :

•  Both groups had one Mr Thakorebhai in their camp and to differentiate them for one another, the local news papers jocularly named them Thakore Panchma  (V) & Thakore Aathma (VIII) based on their ideology.
• Also, there was one education minister who was anti-English - Mr. Maganbhai and he propagated  college studies with Gujarati as the medium of instruction. Students were greatly frustrated and named course as Magan-medium' after him!

Elsewhere also,  Mr Gangadhar writes about pitiable English in Gujarat 
( http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/01/14/stories/13140619.htm) :" "For over 40 years, anti-English politicians have used subtle propaganda to brainwash the people into believing that English was "foreign" and was not needed for an "ideal" kind of education taught at institutions like Gujarat Vidyapith.The lobby functioned under the leadership of Gandhian politicians like Morarji Desai ....... Such a fiasco was possible only in a State like Gujarat where people were not academically inclined. The Gujarati middle class which ought to be concerned with the state of education, was satisfied if boys and girls somehow acquired a degree and got jobs within the state......As a result of this lopsided policy on English teaching, boys and girls, who had learnt practically nothing beyond the English alphabet faced problems when they reached the college classes. During the 1960s, when I taught English at an Ahmedabad college, it was difficult to interpret the poems of Shelley, Keats or Tennyson or the essays of Lamb, Chesterton or Addison to students who had little background in the language. The local English teachers solved the problem by "teaching" English in Gujarati. "


So much about the 1960s.


If you are curious why I picked up this topic today, the reason is simple. I stumbled upon yesterday one newspaper cutting dated 19th June 1974 which was published in a renowned Gujarati newspaper " Gujarat Samachar"  (Vadodara edition). One English medium school in a nearby town was recruiting Teachers and the secretary of the school placed the following advt ! (Identity purposefully  masked in the copy below, as I do not intend any disrespect). 


It is placed below  only to reflect the rot that was created by the policymakers few decades ago and was visible in 1974.


No prizes for finding out less than one dozen mistakes !