‘Negging’ to woo? No, thank you...

There are quite a few strange categories of employment. But some are even more ridiculous than the others: an indictment of “modern times”, perhaps, more grist for Charlie Chaplin, had he still been around.

Given that it seems men no longer know how to woo and win over women, now they need dating coaches, who are also euphemistically called “pick-up artists”. Thus gormless men with little confidence, are instructed on what they must do to attract a woman and grab her interest.

The only tragedy is that they are advised to do this not through intelligent conversation or empathy (and what can be more seductive than that?) but through markedly violent means. It’s apparently a global phenomenon, and one high profile pick-up artist is Julien Blanc, currently under fire from women in the UK. Blanc, who has gained notoriety for his propagation of bullying and frankly misogynistic attitudes, appears to think that “negging” i.e., saying negative things about women, or robbing their self-confidence, makes men more popular with them.

Blanc, works for a US-based firm called Real Social Dynamics, has already been thrown out of Canada and Australia, and now perhaps will also be chucked out of the UK. There are over 80,000 women who have signed a petition requesting the UK home secretary, Theresa May, that Blanc be banned from entering the country.

Of course, there are those who think that Blanc is free to air his opinion and banning him is undemocratic. But how can anyone advocating violence towards women be permitted to come and lecture men who might follow his advice? But then anyone who advocates choking a girl while kissing her, saying it increases the woman’s pleasure needs, at least, to be sent to a mental health hospital. Join the debate.

Meanwhile, remember the dark halls and grimy rooms most of us barely survived in school and university? Well, one country where they don’t seem to exist anymore is the UK. In a survey, Britain came second only to Sweden in satisfying finicky students who appreciated the fact that many British universities had shiny accommodation with en suite bathrooms and even wi-fi... In fact, pleased students rated some British universities “outstanding” in their facilities, giving them nine out of 10. Exeter got the highest rank, but others those the students appreciated included University College London, as well as Nottingham and Edinburgh. So, in case you were heading for education abroad now you know where comfort beckons...

It’s hard enough trying to look like Gwyneth Paltrow for most ordinary mortals. But her attempt to shake up what we eat is having a rather seismic effect. Whilst the Paltrow persuasion is towards food that is gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free, others have brought a rather more fierce edge to this battle for our palates. Because now the latest trend is to have food that is served up raw, even in restaurants... Which means according to some reports, that London, the home of chicken tikka masala, might be sliding into a regime where the chicken is served up whole and bloody. These new wave restaurants are focusing on creating a palaeolithic diet, that is, food that was eaten before agriculture began. Very interesting, of course, but it makes me wonder why people should make the effort of going to restaurants... It would be easier to just eat off the shelves in the supermarket, that’s where we in Kalyug go for hunting and gathering.

And then, the gluten-free diet will be tough for North Indians to maintain because it has to exclude wheat. That seems to be the number one enemy of the Paltrow and the palaeolithic diet. Think hard, can you live without your roti?

Now that we know “jihadists” are using the Internet, Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered the government machinery to take stern action. Let’s wait and watch if this is possible, and if service providers comply. But there are many victims of the Internet, within our own homes, who have been exploited by the unscrupulous. These are the young children who are spending a lot of unsupervised time surfing the net, often unwittingly chatting to strangers, who pretend to be children. Experts warn that this can lead to situations of exploitation and sexual abuse. In one survey, 18 per cent of the children had actually met the adults who had earlier pretended to be children. The survey of 1,200 primary school students showed how vulnerable the children are at all times. In fact, many of them did not share their Internet experience with their parents. And yet close to half of those surveyed said that they use the Internet everyday. It’s a wake up call, but then the web is all pervasive, and we have to reflect how to protect the vulnerable.

And for the admirers of the Mahatma, just to say that preparations to install the statue at Westminster Square have begun. Now the plinth is being put in place... Don’t you want to be among those who made it possible? Your names will be enshrined forever on the website as well in a special book that will be brought out to celebrate the unveiling. Please donate at www.gandhistatue.org large or small amounts, all are welcome.

Kishwar Desai is an award-winning author