Canberra and fairness cream

We liked Canberra. It has a typical capital city atmosphere. Capital in the administrative, and not commercial, sense. Rows of low rise administrative buildings. Impressive monuments and stately buildings such as Parliament House, large traffic roundabouts, and quiet in the weekends.

We were there over the last weekend in April – it was a long weekend with Monday being a holiday and the drive from Sydney is beautiful. They say Canberra is at its prettiest in spring, with the flowers in full bloom, but late autumn is also a feast for the eyes. In India, autumn is an alien concept, and my earliest recollections of that term are from references in Archie comics, where the teenagers’ parents are perpetually shoveling snow in the driveway (winter) or sweeping leaves in the yard (autumn). So with this trip to Canberra, I can confirm that the trees actually do turn various shades of orange and red, and present a rather splendid sight.

One of the high points of the trip was the visit to National Science and Technology Centre, better known as Questacon. As a healthy entertainment option for kids, there are few things to beat a museum full of working models and gadgets that invite children to press buttons and watch things happen. I remember from my childhood, the great fun we had on trips to the Nehru Children’s Museum and Birla Industrial & Technological Museum in Calcutta. I wonder if those facilities are still in good repair or have degenerated with time. With more stimulating (though not necessarily healthy) sources of kid’s entertainment now available, places like these seem to have sadly waned in popularity.

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How cynical can a celebrity get, in peddling his personality to get even richer? I always thought of Shah Rukh Khan as an intelligent, cultured sort of chap based on his interviews. All that was shattered last week, when I saw him in a TV commercial, peddling a fairness cream. I think that is totally unacceptable in a country like India with its deep-rooted prejudice against dark skin. These celebrities need to use their power to impress young minds more responsibly, rather than exploit weaknesses in our countrymen’s psyche for their financial gain.

Aamir, please don’t disappoint me.