the iraqi shoe- thrower, a journalist, has become an overnight celebrity in the middle east for throwing his shoes one after another at president bush. bush with great alacrity ducked and saved himself the ignoniminy of having the shoes on his face. mr zaid was a poor shooter. only from 12 feet distance he missed a sitting duck. but anyway, he was applauded for his courage. for the parting gift that he gave to a visiting head of state. libyan president munnawwar gaddaffi's daughter will be presenting mr zaid with a medal for his courage. and a saudi billionaire has offered $10 million for one shoe. who has the coveted shoes no one knows. not certainly george bush. nor zaid either as he was last seen being pulled away by the iraq cops in his white socks.
in iraq if you are referred to as "son of a shoe" it is a damning insult. perhaps zaid meant that when he hurled the shoes.many years ago when he was addressing the united nations, nikita krushchev, the premier of ussr, took out his shoe and banged it on the table conveying his displeasure when there was a confrontation with usa on cuba. in hindi,' joote se maroonga' or 'cheruppala addikiren' in tamil mean the same.i will hit you with my shoes or my chappals.also when people are to be insulted publicly, their pictures are garlanded with chappals.
hurling shoes or brandishing them are manifestatations of anger and contempt. it is universally acknowledged as an expression of revenge or frustration as the case may be.the arab world is rejoicing at the temerity of zaid.let us hope that george bush learns his lessons atleast now and refrains from public appearances outside the usa.else he may create a record of sorts of being a president on whom maximum shoes have been hurled abroad besides eggs on his face in his own country.
7 comments:
Your writing is very refreshing. I have been hooked for a couple of years now. I keep poring over the archives from time to time. Thanks for a glimpse of life in India to those of us starving for it abroad.
hi sandhya
many thanks for your comments.it is very encouraging for bloggers like me.as you must have noticed,mine is not a specific blog.i write on what appeals to me on that particular day.like e.g.on charles maddoff,the post prior to this one.or on the hottest chilli in the world which will be my next posting.
take care.
Yes, you're right, Sir. But i like your posts on Indian culture,quirks and way of life best. For instance, i cannot get enough of your posts on Ganesh Visarjan, Govindas, restaurant reviews etc. They appeal to me on many levels.
Hiya GS -It's been a long time since I read blogs and it's great to be back reading yours! Here's a handy little game that may tickle you - http://www.sockandawe.com/ :) Hope you are all well. Talk to you soon.
hi sandhya
will certainly cover more of indian culture.the visarjans,navrathris and govindas become repetitive after some time.that is why i avoided them this year.but surely,there are so many more facets to our culture which can be covered.thanks for your suggestion.
hi maya
nice to see you back with your comments.will look up the shock and awe domain.
It seems that you have not given any reaction to the 26/11 incident. I was looking for your comments on that more than on who hit Bush. Please note that your blog is being watched with interest and admiration. Do you have anything to say?
Mangesh
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