India and the Oscars

The whole country went ga-ga when Slumdog was nominated for the Oscars and when it won various other awards. My question is, is all the hype justified? Rahman has won two Oscars, that's fantastic and there was Pookkutty for the sound mixing. But is the general hype justified?

As Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has said, this is not Rahman's best music. The movie is not Indian (remember, the movie got the best movie award, not the best foreign language film). The day we get the latter, we should really be proud. What was showcased to the western world was India's poverty and conditions in the slums. The movie did not even do well in India. What are we patting ourselves on the back for (other than Rahman obviously)?. A friend of mine put up his status message as Rah-maniac...that is one thing that actually seems justified :)

Another point to be noted. This movie was made in India with an Indian (and of Indian descent) cast. But the director was not Indian. Smile Pinki (forgive me if the spelling is wrong) got another Oscar, the film maker was again not an Indian. So what does this prove? We have the potential to make good movies, we just wait for somebody from outside to make use of that? Aishwarya Rai and Mallika Sherawat landed miniscule parts in The Pink Panther 2 and The Myth respectively, but then again there was a lot of hype.

One one hand we have the hype and on the other we have people who think we should not hanker after western approval but should concentrate on making our own brand of movies. Both make sense actually. So we have to decide which path we have to take!

So media, stop hyping everything that can sell! Maintain some standards for god's sake! Today's Delhi Times (I detest that paper, it's a tabloid disguising itself as a newspaper, but yes I still go through it at times) was full of stuff about the movie. Let this movie actually act as an awakening call to our government about the appalling conditions of our slums and of street children. There was an NGO that came to our campus recently. The person in charge spoke well, but ended up grossing us out bygiving us certain details which could have been avoided. When will the government awaken to this situation?

Of taxis and the police

A recent conversation I had with a taxi driver in Kolkata illustrates the principle of give and take pretty well. Justifiably or unjustifiably personnel of Kolkata Police called 'mamus' are pretty unpopular.

The taxi driver said that the police sergeants have targets (like any modern day business, if I may give an example), as in they might be asked to collect such and such amount in the form of fines. Now if the general public follow traffic rules properly there is no way that the policemen can meet their targets. So they occasionally catch hold of the taxi drivers and ask them to take on a small case voluntarily. The taxi drivers also accept. Does this sound strange? Well, there is a reason for this.

According to the taxi driver, legally a taxi is allowed to carry one passenger in the front and three passengers in the back. Thus a total of four passengers (only) are allowed. But occasionally five or six people get into a taxi. On other occasions a person might choose to transport luggage in a taxi, which is not actually allowed. So on these occasions the traffic sergeants turn a blind eye. If the taxi drivers refuse to take on 'voluntary' cases, the policemen will not ignore such violations of rules as mentioned above.

There is another thing I wish to write about today. I have written about the media previously also. This is a small write-up on media hypocrisy. There have been double murders in Noida recently. A girl and a domestic help had been murdered. Arguably, it can be said that the investigation has been swift. There was a telephonic interview on NDTV with a senior police officer. The interviewer had asked the officer if media pressure had had a good effect on the increasing the pace of the investigation. The police officer, instead of supporting her view started ranting against her. He said it was media pressure that caused police personnel to say irrelevant (I don't remember the exact words) things. He said that the media personnel went all over the crime spot thus destroying valuable clues. He was thus ranting on, when suddenly the interviewer said thank you and cut the call short. When the media is unhesitating in criticizing activities of politicians and policemen (among others), it should also be prepared to take some!

A poem

Unknown to this world I have a poet hidden inside me, who makes his presence felt occasionally :) A recent creation of mine. It can be inferred as a metaphorical poem, or it can be taken literally. Either way, I hope it makes sense.

Once there was a lonely knight
tired after a day of war
Behold he could a beautiful sight
a garden lovely from afar

He came to a tree on the land
richly laden which was with fruit
Out he stretched his tired hand
so that his need he may soothe

All of a sudden in front of him
there appeared a beautiful maiden
To her in contrast the sun was dim
oh such was her glow golden

How dare you touch this fruit
she said to the hungry knight
For i am the mistress in truth
of all that is in sight

Know you this my lonely knight
that till the time you have my will
you wil hold your hunger tight
only then can you have your fill

Held back by the lady's words
the knight waited night and day
Made weak by hunger's cords
for the lady's mercy did he pray

Never has come that hallowed day
oh da knight has waited in vain
So da old lore-masters say
their faces painted in pain

He stil waits, they say, the lonely knight
for the word of the maiden golden
For in love he had fallen at first sight
and to her he felt beholden

A 'lil' story

I have had this occasional urge to put my thoughts on paper in the form of a story. Here is a chance to make a beginning :)

Madan was pacing restlessly in his room. One could see the agitation in his face. "Do I tell her or not? Would it not ruin our friendship if I were to reveal my feelings to her?" The reason for his agitation was Pallavi. Of late he had realized he had fallen madly in love with her. But he knew she thought of him no more than as a friend. "Damn all girls, why do they draw a line at friendship?", Madan cursed internally. "Well", he decided, "I can no longer live with this suspense. It's better if she rejected me than to live knowing that I never expressed myself."

He remembered that they had planned to meet that evening. He decided to tell her then. When they met, Pallavi could immediately sense that something was not right. "Oii, what is the matter with you, are you feeling all right?", she asked him. Madan could only mumble a reply, "Ya, everything is ok."

"Well, thank God, I was worried something was wrong. Now wait till you listen to what happened today at work!!...." Madan could only watch with adoration as she continued narrating her day's experiences.

"Pallavi, I love you."

"....., so I was telling him he had written his code wrong, huh, what did you say?", said Pallavi, unsure whether or not she had heard him correctly.

Madan gulped. He realized that he had just spoken out loud what was in his mind. "I have wanted to say this to you all this time. We never knew each other in college and I have known you only for the last one year. Initially I felt you were one of the hottest females I knew". He went red when he said this. "Later on, I realized that I care for you too. Please believe me, what I am saying is the truth." Pallavi was pleased with his words, but she could not come to terms with the fact that he loved her.

"Madan", she began, "I am flattered to hear you say that.."

"Please don't say but...", Madan begged her.

"But, please realize that you are no more than a friend to me. I value your friendship, but beyond that I am sorry." Each word of hers was hurting Madan like a needle directly to his heart. He abruptly turned and walked away from her, unwilling to show her his tears.

Over the next few days, Pallavi received no communication from Madan. She thought, "He will soon recover. He is anyway taking a transfer out of town. That should help." She went to sleep still thinking about Madan and wondering why he had to fall in love with her.

It was six in the morning. Pallavi was an early riser. She was preparing for her GMAT and liked to study early in the morning. One of the first things she liked to do in the morning was to surf the web. She opened her email website when suddenly the door to her house burst open. It had rained heavily the previous night and it was still very windy. She was startled by the sudden noise. She closed the door and looked at her laptop monitor. She had received a mail from Madan. "Ah well, he has finally recovered I hope", she thought. She opened the mail, started reading and froze.

It had only two sentences. "I do not want to live this life without you. I still love you and will always love you, good bye." Her phone suddenly rang. It was Paritosh, Madan's flatmate. He sounded hysterical. "Pallavi, Madan committed suicide yesterday night! I saw an empty bottle of sleeping pills beside him and saw a mail that he had written to you!"

Pallavi woke up suddenly, sweating. "What a frightening dream!" She quickly had a glass of water to calm her nerves and then saw that it was time for her to wake up anyway. She opened her email account, when suddenly the door burst open.....




No brickbats please :)

Food for thought

There is a food crisis facing the world today and the world bank has warned that 100 million(more than 4 Australias) people can be forced into extreme poverty. There have already been food riots in Egypt and the Philippines and a viewer poll on NDTV's 60 Minutes said that these are possible in India also. West Bengal has already seen PDS shop owners being attacked after being accused of hoarding.

What has the government done? It has banned the export of certain items like rice and pulses. The PM has sent out a request to states to check hoarding. What is the agricultural minister doing? He is probably trying to ensure that the upcoming IPL series will receive sufficient media coverage (the media has been threatening to boycott the event due to some restrictive clauses put forward by the BCCI)!! Before the economic reforms of the early 90s India had what is referred to as the 'Hindu growth rate'. Fortunately the same cannot be said to be the case today. But agriculture still is languishing. Farmers are committing suicide on one hand and on the other hand, consumers are complaining of increasing prices. Today agriculture employs more than half of India's workforce while producing less than 20% of the GDP. Steps need to be taken to ensure that the productivity is commensurate with the employment figures. This does not mean indiscriminate use of fertilizers and the likes, which bring their own set of problems. Instead there should be better irrigation facilities, consolidation of small holdings, very importantly, better farmer education etc. When will these materialize?

Some might suggest that privatization is the key. But we have to remember one thing. The main objective of a business organization is profit. As Milton Friedman said, "The business of business is business". Hence it is only normal to assume that private businesses will have an eye on more 'valuable' crops. Whatever they do in their five (or fewer) years in power, governments lose no opportunity to tomtom their 'achievements'. It would be a welcome change if a government actually did something and left the judgment to the masses. This is the land of Annapurna. I wonder how she would feel if the nation which was once the world's most prosperous were to descend into rioting for food!

Attachment and desire

'Greed is good' was the topic for a group discussion I had taken part in. I had actually supported it talking about man's thirst for knowledge and had linked the greed to thirst. But did I actually believe in my points? Honestly, no. A recent disappointment I had reminded me of Krishna's words from the Gita (it is funny that you think of God only when you are down and out, probably people are right in saying that He gives us problems so that we do not actually forget Him). Courtesy of bhagavad-gita.org I found the verse I was looking for -

dhyaayato vishayaan pumsah sangasteshoopajaayate
sangaat sanjaayate kaamah kaamaat krodhobhijaayate (2.62)

(While concentrating on objects of the senses a person develops attachment to the sense objects. From attachment desires are born, from desire anger arises.)

So the next time we feel angry towards someone, we should ask ourselves - is the anger justified? The problem is that such compartmentalization is not very simple. Emotion and rational thinking are not exactly the best of friends. Enter emotion, reason exits.

Arjuna asks Krishna how to control the mind. Krishna concedes the difficulty involved but also says it can be done by practice and detachment from sensory enjoyment. We should also remember that this does not mean withdrawal from the world, but rather maintaining a balance. We are advised to be like the lotus leaf which while standing in water is not made wet by it.

The relevance of the sloka I mentioned in the beginning is apparent in our daily lives also. For example, let us say A loves B. Whether or not there is reciprocity, expectations set in. The attachment of A manifests itself as desire (in any sense of the word). If the desire is not fulfilled, anger sets in. If this is the case when there is reciprocity, we can expect some choppy waters ahead in the relationship. Another example. I attach a lot of importance to a particular task of mine and expect others to finish it on time and properly. If that does not happen, once again I feel angry.

From a simple discussion itself, the Gita seems to be the answer to our daily problems. Is it time people, you and me, paid more attention to its timeless message?

Protection and human nature

Another mixed bag as usual. There is a new ad nowadays on the FM channels for a pill that prevents 'unwanted' pregnancy. The woman in the ad says that she took a pill post-intercourse that prevented her from getting pregnant. Now, imagine that some day in the future the couple decides to have children and the woman gives birth. She holds the new-born in her hands for the first time and is overcome with emotion at the sight of her child. Now what would her reaction be if somebody tells her that she once killed a life-form which would have taken the same form as the baby in her hand? Well, I do not wish to enter a discourse on the ethics of abortion, but still, is it ethical?

The Roman Catholic Church forbids abortion under any circumstance. A similar, if occasionally slightly more flexible stand is taken by other religions. A few popes were of the opinion that the foetus does not possess a soul till it starts kicking inside the womb. If I remember right, according to Hindu belief the soul enters the embryo as soon as fertilization takes place. So well, an abortionist would be guilty of what is called sisuhatya paatakam or sin incurred through child-murder. So should we say, that prevention is better than abortion? This opens up a further debate (which issue in today's world doesn't?) . Islam forbids birth control as does the Roman Catholic Church. I personally feel the prevention route is always better.

There is another interesting thing that I would like to discuss here. This point was once raised in the Andhra Pradesh assembly after Chandrababu Naidu's campaign about AIDS which promoted the use of condoms. A BJP member asked whether the government was encouraging infidelity by asking people to use condoms. His question was why would a guy contract AIDS if he was faithful to his wife? A point to be noted! Is this a general assumption that men are always likely to cheat on their spouses? Is this justified?

(Written with some help from Wikipedia).

Coming to the other topic. In Kolkata there are these private vehicles on certain routes that offer you rides for a small amount. It is better than getting on to a bus but less expensive than hiring a taxi. There is one thing I have observed. Let us say that the vehicle is going from A to B. The driver stops frequently at bus stops asking people if they would come. Let's say a prospective passenger wants to go to D. Though the car does not go there per se, it passes through a location C from where the passenger can take another vehicle. In many if not most cases, the passengers refuse to get on to the car unless it is going specifically to where they want to go. In my opinion they want 'value for their money'. So I am curious as to whether this is a local phenomenon or is this the case anywhere in India or for that matter the world? The passengers don't get on to it probably because they know they will get another vehicle which actually will go directly to D. Well, see what man becomes when he has choice. This is probably one of the disadvantages of having a lot of options, in any aspect of life, people become extremely choosy!