A Pox On Plagiarists

I haven’t been plagiarized from often. My camera skills are middling, but I guess the best of the lot have appealed to a few. I used to think I would feel a tiny bit, at least, of pride when someone stole my pictures. It would mean my pictures were good. But no, the immediate and continuing reaction is one of anger. Any pride that may hazard a presence is burnt to a frizz by the flames of fury.

It’s like how I got called a ‘chick’ once by some guy in my aerobics class – the first time ever in my life, well into my late twenties or early thirties – and felt uncomfortable, not thrilled. (The guy has since grown a paunch, another chin, looks unshaven, unrested and greets me conservatively on the odd occasion we run into each other, typical of the average middle-aged man he has turned into - just saying, in case you were curious.)

First, a newspaper used my picture. I complained, and they took it down from the online version. Even as that correspondence was going on, I got a snarky comment on that post – I am sure it was the content supplier who got scolded for their misdemeanor. I told them to chill.

The second is a restaurant in this city that stole my picture of red chillies in a sieve. I happened to eat there and that’s when I noticed it. I complained, I yelled, made a big fuss, followed up for a while and as life took over, prioritized other things.

Now I find that a picture of my meatless, wheatless haleem shows up on Google attributed to some restaurant in some other country. I am going to file a DMCA complaint but meanwhile I want to curse all plagiarists and content scrapers to my heart’s content. You can join in too.

But first, a little classical inspiration: “There is a very pretty Eastern tale, of which the fate of plagiarists often reminds us. The slave of a magician saw his master wave his wand, and heard him give orders to the spirits who arose at the summons. The slave stole the wand, and waved it himself in the air; but he had not observed that his master used the left hand for that purpose. The spirits thus irregularly summoned, tore the thief to pieces instead of obeying his orders.” – Thomas Babington Macaulay

• Yes, may your business/blog/website be torn into pieces! 
• May you flail in a vat of meatless, wheatless haleem and be discarded like some unloved vegetable!
• May the heat of a hundred ripe, red chillies burn your bottom before you think of plagiarising again!
• May your apricots rot before you steal another picture!
• May your computer self-combust every time you think of stealing! Better still, may your computer bite you in your sensitive parts every time you attempt to steal! 
• May visitors to your website get an Error 404 every time they try, and stop visiting!
• May you be shown up for the lazy and dishonorable bum that you are!

How would you curse a plagiarist?