Reusability

I copy all my assignments. Sometimes when I am too bored of all that writing I get them photocopied. Sometimes I copy what my Prof. told (infact shouted at) me while I recursively give a proper dressing down to my juniors. Sometimes especially for the ladies I copy the hip swinging Abhishek and sometimes the gyrating Shahid Kapoor. ( I tried a lot but I have failed to copy Hrithik) Sometimes i also love humming the (strictly original) tunes of Anu Malik. Sometimes I also use the same code for all of my data input functions. But there of course they call it reusability. So whats wrong with copying a few paragraphs ? Why make such a hue and cry over a 19 year old kid in a tearing hurry on her road to fame indulging in a few short cuts ?

Even though every indolent bone of my body hates it, I admit - copying is a crime. But then isn't what the "Unforgettable Raj Kapoor" did - puttering around ala Charlie Chaplin called copying ? Or what Walt Disney did - creating the unforgettable Mickey Mouse. So how do we discern between inspiration and pliagarism ? For a 19 year old kid who has had a limited world view and multi million dollar expectations riding on her slender shoulders to seek inspiration from all and any of the sources at her disposable is not in the least bit surprising. The naunces of the problem though lie in our own understanding of pliagarism or more commonly blatant copying. We accept Anu Malik and the Americans love patenting Indian herbs. So why is Kaavya being made a scapegoat. Are the 'Martha' paragraphs central to her story ? The excerpts I have read suggest that they are barely on the fringes. Do they in any manner accentuate or affect the plot of the story ? I don't think that has been the case either.

To quite an extent you have to accept that she has been victimised. Her fame and the money that caused it have been her undoing. Of course you can't exempt her from the crime of pliagarism but the sort of trauma that she has been made to undergo, what with the constant media spotlight on her making her look like a petty thief. For godsakes she is just a kid man. And a naive one at that. Naive enough to believe that she could have gotten away with such blatant pliagarising. But then they don't teach that at Harvard. Coz that is a quintessential Indian quality. Like my peers reiterate :

"Copying is not a crime - Getting caught is."

( The author is vain to admit having a soft corner for the fairer sex- especially one with a pretty face and a ( rare ) sharp intellect.....so he wont apologise for this bout of verbal diarrhoeaa )