European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

What's in your genes

by FarEasterner
Tue Dec 25th, 2007 at 07:50:17 AM EST

Short Christmas diary, devoted to recent scandal in highly conservative Punjab high society.

Yesterday's front-page article in The Tribune, Chandigarh-based newspaper which was a cause of din and wild accusations in Punjab assembly yesterday.

From today's Indian Express (an article only in regional edition and was not published on net):

Aroosa Alam, the Pakistani journalist in news for her alleged relations with former CM Capt Amarinder Singh, invited criticism even in the Punjab Assembly today, with the treasury bench MLAs ridiculing the relationship between the two.
...the ruling MLAs...said Capt Amarinder Singh has no time to attend the state assembly, but was "busy with Aroosa Alam". The SAD MLAs alleged that the Pakistani journalist was an ISI agent. "Both are making merry", they alleged.
...
Aroosa Alam was here yesterday to meet the ailing mother of Capt Amarinder Singh. The Pakistani journalist had hit headlines in India a few months ago following rumours about her marriage to Amarinder Singh, but both she and the former CM had rubbished the rumours. After mediapersons quizzed her over the relationship, she remarked in a lighter vein that she would love to marry Capt if law permitted it.
Aroosa said she had the impression that Indian society was more liberal than Pakistan....

So what's interesting here you may wonder. Actually nothing, except Capt's ancestors were famous skirt-chasers.
Here are excerpts from one guidebook, Outlook Traveller Heritage Holidays about Amarinder's grandfather:

Bhupinder Singh, the seventh Maharaja of Patiala, sleeps alone today but he almost never did when he was alive. The king, who was euphemistically called a "student of sexology" by the Diwan of Patiala, was in fact just another man with enough means to expose the fact. He was the lord of 10 maharanis, 50 ranis and 290 concubines.

...The Court employed French doctors because the maharaja "was anxious to know...how they could turn a middle-aged woman into a young maiden"

...He would also scan the latest fashion magazines from Europe to determine the figures he preferred. Breasts were changed by plastic surgery to shapes desired...Fortunately for the women, the king didn't prefer cubes.

As it often happens with such men he was very concerned about his potency. French, English and Indian experts on the subject competed with each other to create expensive aphrodisiacs. The maharaja also seemed to partake of a particularly revolting special preparation of carrots and other ingredients, enhanced by the "cerebellum of young male sparrows". One is not sure about all that the king had and did to oil the apparatus but it's true that he suffered three heart attacks....

I don't know whether these hot details about the maharaja's private life are true but they are not from glossy biography of Bhupinder Singh written last year by former India's external affairs minister Natwar Singh who is Amarinder's brother-in-law (Natwar was the highest casualty of Volcker's Iraq Oil-for-Food scandal).
Here you can see the shortest genealogy of Patiala House I prepared for this occasion (for better view you can open it in another window):

I have suspicions that Bhupinder's genes in Amarinder are alive and kicking. Don't you agree?

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What's in your genes | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: What's in your genes (none / 1)

I was goign to answer: basically nothing... and hten of course you emant metaphorically and socailly..

yes.. there is a huge amount fof socail information in the genes.. soemtimes I wodner if Kissenger is directly a descendent from a Roman Emperor chief of staff.
A pleasure

I therefore claim to show, not how men think in myths, but how myths operate in men's minds without their being aware of the fact. Levi-Strauss, Claude

by kcurie on Tue Dec 25th, 2007 at 03:06:14 PM EST

Of course, I agree (4.00 / 2)

he has his granfather´s genes to whatever extent. What´s that got to do with sexual behavior, besides possible learned behavior, disfunction, lack of full education, etc.?

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. --Charu Saxena.

by metavision on Tue Dec 25th, 2007 at 04:00:32 PM EST

Re: What's in your genes (4.00 / 2)

"cerebellum of young male sparrows".

Just in case anyone missed that...

BTW, I don't know where the hell FarEasterner got the big idea that ET, a on-line forum for political and philosophical debate about the important issues of our time, is an acceptable venue for gossip about the sexual prowess of high profile leaders. Sheesh. ;)

(I kid, FE. Happy whatever you're up to in India.)

"This is nothing compared to how Putin rigged Eurovision."

by poemless on Tue Dec 25th, 2007 at 04:21:59 PM EST

Re: What's in your genes (4.00 / 2)

Gossip about sexual prowess was meant to entertain you on Christmas.
And also to point to the fact that basically India's elite is essentially the same elite which ruled the country for hundreds if not thousands years. Yes there are exceptions (in India there are always exceptions notably big ones) like Mayawati or Lalu Prasad Yadav, self-made leaders, but they only prove the rule as they immediately start to promote their families into elitary circles.
Don't know whether preferences for sexual behaviour are in our genes or not, Bourbons were also known for typical behaviour softened, hidden (but not totally eradicated) by changing moral norms in adopted countries.
Few notes:
ISI - Pakistam's secret service.
SAD - Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) - religious Sikh party which ousted Amarinder from power in March of 2007.
chief minister - prime minister of Indian state.
Punjab - northern Indian state on the border with Pakistan, with population more than 24 mln people, considered as a main food supplier, it also has developed industry. Punjab is the second by income-per-capita in India after Goa. Majority of population are Sikhs, followers of 10 gurus in 16-17 centuries who tried to combine Islam and Hinduism.

by FarEasterner on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 12:07:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What's in your genes (none / 0)

Well, there are these people called Nicolas and Carla that have been occupying our Salons recently...

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 1st, 2008 at 05:31:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What's in your genes (none / 0)

Recently I recieved a letter from one aspiring writer. She always wanted to visit India but she did not. Nevertherless she is writing novel where heroine fell in love with a bandit who ruthlessly sold her into harem of Indian maharaja. If not Amarinder, his illustrious grandfather might be a good example for depicting needed character. She asked me for advice and I told her to buy few Indian dubbed movies (available in internet DVD0-shops). What else I could do?

by FarEasterner on Wed Dec 26th, 2007 at 03:29:58 AM EST

What's in your genes | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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