This and That

An excellent photo-series on Sufism
Inadvertently, I had refered Sufism to be kind of an addiction in a discussion at office. People called smoking an addiction and said (yawn) that it leads to deterioration of health. It causes trouble, not only for the smoker but his family. So its a social phenomenon. I couldn't agree more with them, but my point was that the social phenomenon thing is true for any other addiction. Take Sufism for example. People get so much into it that they leave home. They become disconnected, I did. Try listening to Man Atkeia Beparwa De Naal by NFAK. That is a social phenomenon like no other. Religion is. Who has quit religion? But, yes smoking is worse. Quit now!
As with most other times, my inadvertent remark made me probe, so I came across the photo-series and I am glad.

Here is a great link from The Hindu about the American way, a do's and don'ts checklist for Indians :). Quoting:
Americans are fussy about personal cleanliness. Body odour makes them shudder in disgust. Personal care products such as shampoos, deodorants, dental floss and mouthwash are multi billion dollar industries. Put these down on your shopping list and use them liberally and frequently.

Finally, Sunil's excellent posts on AID-India are here, here and here. I had joined the AID-Delhi mailing list while I was in Gurgaon, but didn't do much apart from lurking on the list, but I do appreciate their spirit. For the more filmy inclined, Ashutosh Gawariker movie Swades was inspired by a group of AID-India members who worked at making a village self-sufficient when it comes to electricity.