H I N D U STA N T I M E S , N E W D E L H I M O N DAY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 2

the buzz

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Hallucinations are very startling and frightening: you suddenly see, or hear or smell something something that is not there. Your immediate, bewildered feeling is, what is going on? Where is this coming from? The hallucination is convincingly real, produced by the same neural pathways as actual perception, and yet no one else seems to see it. And then you are forced to the conclusion that something something unprecedented is happening in your own brain or mind.

Tame Impala make music about isolation, in isolation. Theyre from one of the most isolated cities on Earth Perth, on the remote west coast of Australia and any article written about them must spend at least a couple of paragraphs talking about how isolation and loneliness are key to their identity as a band.

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perspective
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The 2008 election results couldnt have delivered a more crystal-clear message about the American desire for change a yearning that President Barack Obamas political strategists rightly tapped into with its core campaign theme: change we can believe in.

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A CLOSE LOOK AT ISSUES THAT MATTER

Hitting the high notes

ourtake

Cellphones, those tiny gateways to modernity, have recently allowed prostitutes to shed the shackles of brothel madams and strike out on their own

CALL FOR SEX

West Bengal may have many problems but nothing that Mamatadi cannot fix with her poems and songs
o say that Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is a performer is an understatement. From politics to art, Ms Banerjee displays her dazzling and varied talent whenever she gets an opportunity. Only last week, we saw the CM sharing the dais with the daughter and wife of famous composer Salil Chowdhury on the occasion of his birth anniversary. While the mother-daughter duo coaxed the chief minister to be the lead singer for the evening, Didi being the modest soul that she is opted to lend her voice to the chorus. In fact, her love for the arts is well-known. When the land acquisition battle against the Left was at its zenith, Didi was seen calmly standing on a dais painting. Then when the Trinamool Congress performed badly in the parliamentary elections, Banerjee took to poetry. Truly, as Shelly wrote, our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. With such an artistic CM at the helm, it was only a matter of time before she tried to inculcate a love for the arts in others. So last week, the Bengal government recommended the introduction of performing arts courses in undergraduate and post-graduate studies in state-aided universities, something even the Left had not thought of doing. Of course, she did not bother to fix the existing problems that higher educational institutions are facing like lack of funds and staff. But then creative geniuses cannot be helmed in by such mundane matters. Usually starting another course is the prerogative of the executive council of the institutions.

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SAFETY NET Prostitutes using mobiles more susceptible to HIV as they are less likely to ask clients to wear condoms
Gardiner Harris

illions once bought sex in the narrow alleys of Kamathipura, a vast redlight district in Mumbai. But prostitutes with inexpensive mobile phones are luring customers elsewhere, and that is endangering the progress India has made against AIDS. Indeed, the recent closings of hundreds of ancient brothels, while something of an economic victory for prostitutes, may one day cost them, and many others, their lives. The place where sex happens turns out to be an important HIV prevention point, said Saggurti Niranjan, program associate of the Population Council. And when we dont know where that is, we cant help stop the transmission. Cellphones, those tiny gateways to modernity, have recently allowed prostitutes to shed the shackles of brothel madams and strike out on their own. But that independence has made prostitutes far harder for government and safe-sex counsellors to trace. And without the advice and free condoms those counsellors provide, prostitutes and their customers are returning to dangerous ways. Studies show that prostitutes who rely on cellphones are more susceptible to HIV because they are far less likely than their brothel-based peers to require their clients to wear condoms. Now, I get the full cash in my hand before

we start, said Neelan, a prostitute with four children whose side business in sex work is unknown to her husband and neighbours. (Neelan is a professional name, not her real one.) NUMBER GAME India has been the worlds most surprising AIDS success story. Though infections did not appear in India until 1986, many predicted the nation would soon become the epidemics focal point. In 2002, the CIAs National Intelligence Council predicted that India would have as many as 25 million AIDS cases by 2010. Instead, India now has about 1.5 million. An important reason the disease never took extensive hold in India is that most women here have fewer sexual partners than in many other developing countries. Just as important was an intensive effort underwritten by the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to target high-risk groups like prostitutes, gay men and intravenous drug users. An example of the strategies that had been working can be found in Delhis redlight district on Garstin Bastion Road near the old Delhi railway station, where brothels have thrived since the 16th century. A walk through dark alleys, past blind beggars and up narrow, steep and deeply worn stone staircases brings customers into brightly lighted rooms teeming with scores of women brushing each others hair. A 2009 government survey found 2,000 prostitutes at Garstin Bastion (also known

as GB) Road who served about 8,000 men a day. The government estimated that if it could deliver as many as 320,000 free condoms each month and train dozens of prostitutes to counsel safe-sex practices to their peers, AIDS infections could be significantly reduced. Instead of broadcasting safe-sex messages across the country an expensive and inefficient strategy commonly employed in much of the world it encircled Garstin Bastion with a firebreak of posters with messages like Dont take a risk, use a condom and When a condom is in, risk is out. But now that mobile phones are untethering prostitution from brothels, those targeted measures are threatened. At the same time, the advent of cellphones seems to be expanding the sex marketplace luring more women into part-time sex work and persuading more men to pay for sex. Cellphone-based massage and escort services are mushrooming across India. Kamathipuras destruction is partly a tale of urban renewal. Indias rapid development has turned former slums into sought-after addresses, and rising land values led many brothel owners to sell out. But just as important has been the spread of cellphones into the hands of nearly three out of four Indians. Five years ago, cellphones were still a middle-class accoutrement. Fierce competition led prices to plunge, and now even trash pickers and rickshaw drivers answer pocket phones. But not all has changed. Vicious madams still exist, human trafficking is still rampant, village girls are still duped into the trade, and some brothels still thrive. Most prostitutes are illiterate, come from lower castes and are poor. But cellphones have given them a measure of power they did NYT not have before.

Rahul Sehgal

Enjoy the whiskey, dont make a fuss

ecently, a friend forwarded me a YouTube video link titled the best way of drinking whisky. It caught my attention. Probably because tippling, I am proud to admit, is one of my favourite evening pastimes. The video also reminded me how some of my friends these days are spending so much time, money and energy to uncover the hidden depths of whisky. I remember once, a friend with a known preference for Black Label, landed up home to meet me from Mumbai. Being a generous host, I dived into my fathers prized collection of booze and fished out a bottle purchased from a duty free shop. On his way out, my guest remarked that the drink I served was quite different from what is available in Mumbai. I was left confused. Is there really a way you can make whisky taste any different? The video I checked out was trash. The exercises it had to offer were unreasonable and silly. It also left me convinced that these steps were part of some marketing company ploy to make whisky brands come across more dignified.

Frankly, I dont think you need any sophistication to enjoy whisky. This has been reaffirmed after I attended several tasting sessions in the Capital recently, conducted by some half-baked experts who are out there to merely exploit a pretentiousness, peerenvy and socially insecure set of people. Needless to day, I love my whisky. I dont need anyone to tell me why and I dont

think you need to be told as well. Why do you need an expert for something you already enjoy? One may or may not like a particular brand of whiskey, but that does not make the whisky good or bad. Isnt that subjective? At the same time, I do believe whisky can be confusing for the average drinker and the connoisseur. But understanding what youre looking for makes all the difference. Whiskey can be peaty, fruity, aromatic, light, dark, phenolic, sweet, sour, harsh, mellow, citrus, woody, malty, grainy and what not. I have discovered that different whiskies behave differently with neutral mixers like ice, water and soda, producing unique tastes different from when had straight and are even affected by the weather. Over time I have also learnt to factor in the environment, the mood and maybe even personal preferences. I am yet to take a call, whether Black, Chivas or any other blend is the best to have before dinner. Lastly, before I pour me self a wee dram of Macallan, I wonder if the Balvenie from the previous night tasted better, or was it the Talisker. Gee, I dont know.