It’s that time again! Yes, it’s the latest installment of Radio Free Bliss. And at the mic, we have multi erotic romance subgenre-writing powerhouse, Alexis Fleming. Now, I noticed, during editing, that there were a couple of drop-outs in the audio. I didn’t pick it up while Alexis and I were talking, but they’re there in the final recording, so watch out for that. Click here to be redirected to the Radio Free Bliss website for the usual listening and download choices.

Transferring substantial files from one machine to another also enabled me to try out my latest toy … a 4GB Corsair brand USB stick I purchased in Malaysia this past weekend. It’s not as cool-looking as some other drives I’ve seen, but it’s shock-proof and lightning-fast, and the lanyard is blue and extra-wide, which are two indicators of absolute quality when it comes to technological gadgets. (”Never mind the quality, feel the width”, as the old joke goes.)

Now that I have all the serious stuff out of the way (doing final edits and compiling multi-format audio files is hard work!), I can get back to some fun, namely replying to Ashok Banker. Happy podcast listening!

…DON’T! Herewith, this is what happened to me, nary an hour ago, after a lovely chat with Alexis Fleming. The group only started functioning a week ago and is a place for discussing Indian epics in general, Indian culture, and so on. Now, my knowledge of Asian epics is woeful (I think I’ve mentioned that previously), so I was happy to join up, with the intention of lurking for a while and learning through osmosis. Well, today, I got the first email digest with a topic for discussion. And the question went:

I’d like to start a discussion on the character of Rama. How many of you agree that he was “Maryada Purshottam”? I don’t think he was, but that’s an entirely personal point of view. I feel his act of abandoning Seeta when she was pregnant with his children was enough to take away any glory that he deserved otherwise. I’d hate any man who did this to his wife; and to think that a king who had all the resources at his disposal to convince a dhobi of the real facts of Seeta’s abduction, it’s unforgivable, according to me.

Now, I don’t know what a Maryada Purshottam is, but the rest of the question sounded pretty interesting. And, besides, I was thinking of Guatama Buddha, and how he abandoned his family as well on his path to enlightenment, and was wondering if this is a common thread that crops up in Indian classic literature. But the moderator wasn’t quite so sanguine. He called the topic “old”, saying that everyone who “thought they’d read” the Ramayana came up with the same “tired” argument. One statement (from memory), went: “You yourself admit that you’ve only read two of the books of the Ramayana and yet you have already judged and condemned Rama!” And so it went on for several paragraphs.

Now, I thought this was all a little harsh. I mean, you’re a member of the group to begin a discussion and then when someone finally ponies up a question, they get slapped down. So I started with, “This will probably get me banned, but you’re not going to start a discussion by treating other people the way you’ve treated XXX [the person who posted the first question]“. Yes, it’s true, I rebuked the Moderator and pointed out that language such as “tired”, “old”, and statements about thinking you know, and so on, don’t really help a discussion as there are other, less value-laden ways to present the same information. I even gave an example of how to couch a reply to such a question without being so “superior” and “offhand” (my words). At the end, I reminded the Moderator that I was interested in learning about the Indian epics, about which I know very little myself, and concluded by saying that “there are no such things as stupid questions, only patronising answers”.

The answer came back in three parts:

1. I was told I was being offensive and that if I wanted objectivity I should join a science forum! (I wasn’t asking for objectivity; I was asking for courtesy.)
2. I was told I would not be banned from the group because everyone (”even you!”) are entitled to their own opinion … and then got banned from posting or even reading any messages! [EDIT: I've since left the group.]
3. The next time I went to the group’s page (to re-read what I read and what the reply was), I was redirected to a pornography funnel site, www.offensive.com Hmmm. Nice.

So, if you’re interested in Indian epic literature (and it’s a very rich vein of love, battles, gods, morals and how flawed humanity reacts to the vicissitudes of powerful deities), don’t think you’ll find it with an Ashok Banker discussion group. Not only are the moderators lying, immature hypocrites, but it’s obvious they prefer Dogma (where they are the obvious gatekeepers to knowledge) to Discussion (where everyone is treated with respect).

POSTSCRIPT: You were wondering who “KS Augustin” was, Moderator? Well, congratulations! You’ve just found her!

POSTSCRIPT^2: Considering Mr Banker personally vetted each application for membership of the Epic India group, I’m assuming he also personally okayed the appointment of the moderators (who remain conveniently anonymous behind a generic handle, btw). I wonder what he would think of one of his approved members being directed to a pornography site at the first hint of dissent? Very tasteful.

Just a quick one. I have an interview with Penny, from Love Romances & More, if anyone’s interested.

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