Thursday, April 27, 2006

Opal Mehta is Sloppy First due to a Second Helping from neighbors’ plate!

Uzbek philosopher and poet Alisher Navoi, said 565 years ago: "May the earth be an abode of delight, pleasure, songs and orchards, May peace ascend to throne of the world, and let all the peoples gather for its feast."

I am back in Indian and need such dreams. So does Nepal, Sir Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan….we need to move to a better neighborhood.

Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan’s plagiarized some sections for her book 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life', from two novels. Megan F. McCafferty, the 2001 book 'Sloppy Firsts' and the 2003 novel 'Second Helpings'. The campus newspaper the Harvard Crimson broke this story. I am impressed. Have these chaps running the Harvard Crimson heard of Bollywood?

Lalu told me that he will be careful while writing his memoirs. Inadvertently plagiarizing from memoirs of other Bihari leaders may tarnish his image as an intellectual. Other Bihari leader? Must have meant Rabri! or is it Chanakya?

4 comments:

Janefield said...

Kavya was a bit too Eklavya in her devotion to McCafferty!

thalassa_mikra said...

Last I checked, JP Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia counted as venerable leaders who participated in the Indian freedom movement.

Prime Minsiter of India (a.k.a Pradhan Mantri) said...

Memoirs of JP Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia cannot have content which Lalu can plagiarize. Chanakya definitely! Do you know of a good book on JP? Would like to read it myself.

thalassa_mikra said...

A few years ago, I did meet two guys who were researching JP and Lohia's life and work, but I don't know if they published their research in book form. You know, if I come across something, I'd definitely let you know.