on Racism and a global conspiracy

TOI, Hindu, DNA and Hindustan Times are in a race to racism! Ausssies beware...Since India is a future superpower, you are jealous of us as u cannot compete with us in the race! Moreover, since we beat Aussies in cricket and we became the T 20 champs, the aussies are seething with humiliation and the entire country is taking it out on singular unsuspecting Indian students!

However, i personally think that the Aussies are not the only one involved. In the CPM Vijayan - Lavlin case, it has been been implied that CIA is behind the framing of Vijayan as US imperialists want to destroy one of the last bastions of communism! Amazing vision , for if the comrades had not told me such, i would never have been able to find the connection between Vijayan and CIA.

Coming back to the topic, i see a CIA hand in the Indian bashing in down under (down under as in Aussie land and not that down under). The evil imperialists dont want us to progress. Since Slumdog millionaire won the Oscar, they have been trying to get back us. The question was how and where.

They could not beat us in sports! They do not play cricket well, and we do not play anyother game well. So if we lose, there wont be any humiliation for us. Who would ever watch a US-India basketball match? Even if Ekta Kapoor produces such a "Klassic" match, do you think the Indian ladies will watch it? Even if India loses the match 110-0, there wont be headlines in TOI, No crowd will go and destroy the players homes, nor will there be demands for removal of captain (one reason maybe we dont even know the name of the captain of the Indian Basketball team).But what about cricket. US had three staunch allies in Australia Pakistan and England. But of late, India, due to its emerging economic status, have been walloping them left right and center, in the cricket field. In a nutshell, CIA realised that it cannot hurt us in sporting arena.

Economically too, Western powers were shit scared of India. They tried to put us down but saying 80% of our population was below poverty line. But this hitting down under (this time body part) did not affect us. To counter this, we produced Bollywood movies, where we showed Indians as rich dudes, who fly around in choppers. Also we showed that all whites were in awe of the cool desi dude! They even danced in our songs. So economically too, we downplayed them.

Frustrated, the CIA decided that it would hit us where it will hurt us most - down under (this time i mean the body part as well as Aussie). As a part of the global conspiracy, they started to attack the future of India. Their diabolical plan was to hit at every indian, when they expected the backlash and reaction to be the least - ie when IPL and T20 world cup is on. They decided that they would finish of this operation quickly and then move to their next india destabilising excercise - making CPM and Vijayan look corrupt in the Lavlin case.

Unfortunately, the CIA miscalculated the power of Indian Media! The mighty alliance TOI, Hindu, DNA and Hindustan Times was formed to counter the greatest threat to Indian culture since Danny Boyle produced Slumdog millionaire. If one indian was taunted and attacked in a mall, they ensured it got the front page headline. Obiously this was more important than 12 cops getting killed by Maoist or Deeepika Padukone getting kissed by whats-his-name Kapoor or the ongoing protests in Kashmir. The later are all domestic problems and dont involve a global conspiracy. Clearly unnerved, the CIA bosses packed their bags and made way to the sandy beaches of Kovalam.

Also, the aussies got s*** scared. Realising that they will be screwed by India in the T20 finals, they ensured that they crashed out in the early stages.

Karna...

Since childhood, i had been intrigued by the character of Karna...somehow, he never fitted into any stereotype...he was not black nor was he white... Who was he? Why was he there in the Mahabharata? Is he the ultimate "Tragic hero" of Greek plays, who were put down by fate? Or was he more of a Shakespeare "Hamlet" type character, who did not make the right choices at the right time? 

I decided to read his story again...after so many years, i was able to understand his story, finally.

Karna was born to Kunti, who decided to experiment her new found power of concieving with her choice of Alpha males. The process ensures she remained a virgin after the birth. However, Kunti never had the courage to face the society as an unwed mother (As i realised then, the same Kunti became such a protective mother to her step sons! Did this change in her motherhood status come due to the fact that she was now married and thus society cannot cast aspersions on her?).

He was reared by a non kshatriya charioter. Talented Karna wanted to study at the best institute of the day (the academy of Drona). However he was denied admission on "reverse quota system". Frustrated, he decided to forge his caste certificate and thus got admitted in the institute of Parhuram. Unfortunately, he was so so devoted to his guru that he did not cry out in pain when a bee bit him. Instead of rewarded for such devotion, Karna was cursed (in effect his degree was not awarded!!!). All along, he knew something was wrong. But he did not crib.

Then he heard about a great contest that was being helt at Hastinapur. Here all the princes, particularly the prodigy Arjun would showcase their valor. Believing that the only thing that mattered was real talent, Karna set forth to participate.

There he exceled. But he was insulted, humiliated and put down by the most learned people of the kingdoms with racist and casteist comments. Kunti realised it was her son but she did not have the courage to accept him (I believe this was a critical point. Had she shown a bit more courage, millions of lives could have been saved. Karna would have been acceptable to all as the eldest brother). Duryodhana (either out of admiration or seeing his future potential) stood up for him and made him the king of Anga. Maybe this was the first time anyone had appreciated Karna for who he was. Thus, he decided to remain loyal to Duryodhana.

But things did not change. Thought he was a king, Draupadi refuses to marry him, even though he had won the contest (It was like rejecting a person for a job because of his caste, even though he was most qualified). Finally, when Kunti decides to approach him, it is not because she suddenly realised her maternal instincts for him. rather it was a case of her maternal instincts for her five other sons. Inspite of all that he had faced, he agrees to most of her request. His greatest action is when he refuses to take the crown and instead remain loyal to Duryodhana. Similarly, Lord Indra also makes him give up his armour and Karna, knowing the consequences, obliges. In the battle, his valor is known. He is finally killed in a clear violation of the rules of war.

True he was not a spotless person, say like Yudhisthira (which again is debatable)! Karna's behaviour during the Dice game was not proper, particularly his treatment to Draupadi. Also, he himself broke the rules to kill Abhimanyu.

But he was the true hero. He always had to fight in his life (unlike the other who were princes), for no fault of his own. Maybe his purpose was to serve as a tragic hero in the Mahabharata. But , he also made many wrong choices (Taking the crown from Pandavas as advised by Kunti, giving up his armour etc). He is a character, who took life as it came to him. That is his importance in the Mahabharata. He makes it believable. He is a real flesh and blood charatcter. The Pandavas and Kauravas are one dimensional characters (either good or bad), with a fixed sets of virtues and vices. They had no troubled childhood or any identity crisis. The older generation of Bhisma and Drona are shown as idealist. Their view of things were narrow and sometimes slavish (they did not protest during the dice game. Later on they agree to all demands of Duryodhana). Karna is the only person in Mahabharata whose actions are based on his own judgements and how society treated him. Before the war, he knows that they are going to lose (as he says to Krishna). But still he decides to go ahead.

Maybe he was a failure; but the only reason i wish to read the Mahabharata again is because of Karna. The characted developement was way ahead of its time. We can identify the pain and suffering he must have faced for no fault of his own. But inspite of all hardship, he believed in himself and excelled. A person who was never given the due respect by his contempories but who, neverthe less have outshone them in the long run. Thousands of years later, we are still fascinated by him!

"Slumdog Millionaire"

Yashraj Production presents

"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"

Directed by Karan Johar

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Jamal Malik (Zayed Khan) is 1 question away from 2 crore rupees! How did he do it?

The movie opens i a police station. The police inspector (Johny Lever) is puzzled. How did this poor guy, who is surprisingly dressed in Gucci clothes, know all the answer! Jamal looks at him and gives the smile . "its written." he says...... this is followed by name casting.

We are taken back to slums of Bombay (it was Bombay then) where young Jamal is playing cricket. Surprisingly, they are using "NIKE" cricket bats and are dressed in NIKE shoes. Young Jamal (played by Aditya Chopra's nephew) is a smart kid. Though 9 years old, he fools adults! His gang has his brother salim (played by Karan Johar Nephew), a cute sardarji with his turban, a parsee guy (who is fully outfitted in traditional dress) and a girl called latika (played by Rani Mookerjee's neice). Latika is an orphan who stays with the brothers.They are smart kids as seen in "Kuch Kuch hota hai". However, suddenly they break out into a song, wherein we witness all the mischieveous tricks they play on the elders. At the end of the song, the frame changes.

The 2 brothers and Latika then go home to their mother, who had made warm dinner for them, though she works as a domestic maid, she is dressed up well with complete make up. However, to make her seem authentic, the director in a master stroke had added a black scar across he face. She puts them to sleep. On the wall, they have a picture of their deceased father. As the boys sleep, she thinks of the past.

The story now turns fascinating! She was not always a poor girl. She was a well to do lady but the corrupt business partner of her husband, who has 6 fingers in his hands, had robbed them! The film,through a song, takes us to Switzerland, Australia and some part of Africa as she and her dead husband sing and dance. However, the evil partner lusts after her body and her husbands property. When the song is done, they realise that they are penniless. Her husband dies while trying to save her "izzat", falling off a cliff.

Now, she is facing other problems. The local goon has set his eyes on her and as expected, lusts after her. It does not help matters as she always goes around dressed in deep cleavage and body hugging outfits. The local goon, though works for the big Don in Dubai. Inspite of all hardship, she ensures that her kids go to school daily in starched white uniforms! Jamal is the bright kid.

Time goes on. One day the local goon tries to rape her. After showing in graphic detail the rape scene, we are shown how she manages to escape by hitting his eyes. She just has time to make the kids escape. Just as the goon closes in, she kills herself to preserve her purity.

The movie moves forward. The 3 kids, dressed smartly, do petty job. But they all sneak into schools and study under street lights. Now and then, they hum the tune that their mom used to sing with their father. One day, they see the goon who killed their mom. Salim kills him. In the ensuing melee, jamal loses the other 2.

10 years pass. Jamal (now played ny Zayed Khan) works in a call center. Though he is a Chai waala, he is respected by all for his intellect and wisdom. The managers hold him in high esteem and he solves everyones problem. All the call centers female executive (surprisingly all dressed as sluts) plot to get his attention. However, he still loves Latika. This is shown to the audience through a foot tapping item number done by Kareena Kapoor.

Jamal has an idea. He decides to play his family song on radio city. Radio city accepts and on hearing it, Salim (now played by Shahruk Khan) rushes to the station (the time interval for jamal singing, Salim hearing and arriving at the station has been kept at 4 mins). The two brothers embrace as the teary eyed radio city staff look on.

Jamal finds out about Salim. Salim is now the right hand man of the Dubai based gangster. He is rich. Jamal decides to stay with him. He finds out about Latika (Rani Mookherjee). She is now a Bar dancer. Though she is thought as a low woman, she is still pure and virgin. Every morning, she walks around the tulsi plant (always dressed in a body hugging, tight , wet white sari). Latika manages to keep all evil man away from her. She had waited for Jamal. The moment Jamal is about to kiss her, she forgets all about her longing and starts singing.

In this now perfect world, dark clouds loom. The dubai based Don returns and sees latika. As expected, he lusts after her. Salim is in confusion. His girlfriend (played by Priyanka Chopra), who is a prostitute with a heart of gold advises him to leave everything and run away. Jamal realises that the only way he can solve this is by winning a lot of money. So he decides to play KBC.

We then jump into the present. After sometime in the Police Station, jamal slips into a coma. The doctors tells them that they cannot save him now and only God can work out some miracle. After this, we see a song where Latika is praying in a temple, salim is in a mosque and Salims Girlfriend is in a church. When they all simultaneously finish singing their songs, jamal wakes up and is ready for KBC.

The Don realises that if Jamal wins KBC, he will lose Latika. So he decides to attack the KBC station. When they reach there, however, they find Salim baring their way. The Don tries to win him over. Suddenly Salim sees that the Don has 6 fingers on his hands. He realises that this was the same person who had robbed their property. The Don relishes and says he will wipe out the entire family today. But no such luck. Salim wipes out the entire gang. But he takes a fatal shot as he is killing the Don. badly hurt, he staggers inside.

Inside, Jamal is about to answer the last question. It is then the Quiz master (Amitabh Bachan) sees an open locket dangling from Jamal's neck. He is shocked and asks him how he got that locket. He is all teary eyed as Jamal tells him that his dead mom had given it to him. By then jamal also answer the last question correctly and wins the prize. Latika comes and hugs him. The quiz master than reveals, to the shock of everyone, that he is their father. He tells him how he tried to search for his mother but never found her after he came out of the hospital after falling from the cliff.

The scene is broken by Salim staggering inside in a pool of blood. The audience sitting inside sit in rapt attention as a family reunion takes place. After talking to everyone for 5 mins, Salim dies in Jamals arm. Before he dies, he finds out that his girl friend is pregnant with his child. As he dies, the sad version of the family song is played.

Finally, we have the marriage of jamal and Latika, both dressed in traditional Punjabi outfit. Their is song and dance, while salims girl friend keeps on thinking about him. Finally, the song is over. The director fast forwards us to the future. We see all of them in a hospital room, with Latika holding her newborn baby and Jamal holding her. They decide to name it salim. As they dim out, the family song plays in the background.

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This is a sure contender for best movie, best direction, best actors and best actress at the Filmfare awards.

A Bird eye view....

I went for my grocery shopping a few days back...while i was waiting for my bus, i noticed something strange...it is worth writing about....

I was a very cold day...the previous day has been even colder...Because of that, the birds were behaving strangely.... there were thousands and thousands of birds in a a small area, just flying randomly in groups.... in fact the whole sky looked full of birds...they came, sat on an electricity line, then flew away, came again...it was very fascinating to see this....suddenly i observed something peculiar....

I am no Ornithologist, a person who studies birds.... Also all my prior experience of "Bird watching" were totally off the track!!! so i started this exercise without any prior bias...

Next time you see a large flock of birds sitting on a cable, you will observe that 90-100 % of the birds sit facing the same direction!!!! Agreed its not a path breaking observation...but i could not ignore the beauty of it....it looked so planned and much more sophisticated arrangement than a simple "bird brain" thought!!! I decided to observe it for some more time...

As the number of birds kept on increasing, the probability that the new bird will sit facing the popular direction increased...infact, after some time, i could have bet thousand rupees that the next bird will sit in which fashion!!! it was strangely funny... closer examination....i saw an even more funny thing...a new bird who come to the line can approach it in any direction...he then takes a right turn and comes and sits in the "normal" way.... if he sits in the opposite way, HE OR SHE ACTUALLY LOOKS AROUND, and changes the position.....I know all this sounds weird...I suggest you can try this excercise on your own and i am confident that you will come out with the same results!!!

Then one more thought hit me...why this is so? I could think of only two possible reason... One that there is some source of stimulus (like sunlight) in that particular direction, or secondly, it is just herd instinct!!!I think it is a combination of both the factor...then again there is something else i noticed.... the birds did not necessarily search for places where their allignment towards the maximum stimulus would be optimized!!!!! (I hope you are still with me....If u think this guy is going way over board with his birdy thing, i can understand!!!).... Like if you have 2 parallel cable across the road, birds on both side will face each other and the road!!!

Then i thought wheteher everything depended on how the first bird who came sat down.... unfortunately i could not observe this...but i could make an extrapolation.... if the first bird came and sat down in a particular manner, the probability is 90% that the next bird will sit in the same manner. For the third bird, it will be 95% and we can keep on going ahead!!!! btw dont quothe the figures anywhere!!!!!

Now, why does the first bird choose a particular direction? Here i think stimulus plays a part....I refuse to accept it that it is a total random event! The first bird has all possible options to choose from and he chooses the one that best suits him...the stimulus may be weak, but it may push him or her towards a particular orientation....what follows next i have already discussed!!!

Funny..... I think this is exactly how our traditions, culture and ethics developed... At one point somewhere in the past, the first person or first group of who came to a place started following a practice.... The other who came later copied them!!!

Audacity of Hope...

I start my story...


Anecdote 1:


When i was in bangalore, i used to go office through a busy throughfare called Commercial Street. I passed this part anytime between 9-10 Am (this time being a linear function of the time i get up!). However, whenever i went past this place at around 9.10-9.15, i would see this particular sight. It was a Muslim family, pushing a cart of some fruits. Not that the frruits were any special to look at. The family comprised of the Dad, Mom and a kid. The father looked haggard and old. The lady was always in a Burqa so i was never able to judge her age. But it was the kid i noticed. He was always dressed in white shorts, white shirts and a green tie - a school uniform. He would be there, pushing the cart along with his parents, trying to negotiate that big cart in the midst of the bikes cars. I never talked to him (well, guess its called class barrier!!! LOL). But, i would always look for them if the time was right. Why? I seriously dont know but i found that kid very inspiring. He was helping his parents in earning , and at the same time not giving up going to school. Infact, by the way he dressed up, i could see that he was very serious about the whole "school-business"! it was so sweetly romantic... if this kid from nowhere can dream of a bright future, can't this "well brought up" guy dream of bigger things!

Anecdote 2:

This was recounted to me by my freinds. He was telling me the story of a girl he met at the canteen. Let me call her Jane (Well ! I kin of like dat name!) Jane is a school going kid in Texas, US, around 17. But this cute gal leads a very interesting life... She goes to school, does well in acads, and als0o works and earns living for her family. Why? Well her Mom is disabled and i assume her father is not with them. So she has to earn and pay the bills. She work in a cafeteria ..She wants to go to college but she does not have the money. So she is planning to work for a year after school to save some money. Life is not easy for her, but she hopes for a better future! In her privacy, she may complain that all this hardship is unfair, but she wont stop at that... She knows what she wants to and where she wants to go...

Anecdote 3:

His father was an international student from a a poor african country and his mom was a white girl from Wichita, Kansas. His father returned back to his nation, when he was a young. His mom then married an Asian and they shifted to Indonesia. There, he spent ten years of his life. In due course, his mother died of cancer. He came back to the US. He had no Godfather here, but he did not give up. He tried hard and got into Harvard Law School. I wont try to maintain any suspense here - He is barrack Obama. From there onwards, everyone knows the story! Ya, i copied my title from his book "the Audacity of Hope"....

I cant help smiling when i think of all this...there is something in us that does not allow us to think that our future is going to bleak!!! However dark the present may be, there will be a flicker of light somewhere which will still keep on dragging onwards!...defies common sense...we may define it as survival instinct or love for life!!!Hope.... something that makes us wait for tomorrow!!! The beauty of hope, the foolishness hope, the courage of hope, the optimism of hope......the audacity of hope!!!

"To the moon and back..."

First of all, I want to point out that the title is a direct copy of one my favourite songs by Savage Garden...But i felt nothing would be a more apt title!

Last Sunday was one of the most memorable days in my life... I went on a visit to the Johnson Space Center of NASA in Houston, Texas...Also, India is launching its first lunar mission this week...I am literally over the moon with all these developments!!!

Why? Should i be happy? well read on!I am shamelessly biased in favor of space exploration...

Since 1958, NASA has been a pioneer in space exploration...Along with the Soviets, they paved the way for the future generations..at the Johnson Space Center, the history of space travel is well documented... While one walks through the galleries, one does not feel jealous of US of feel indimidated by their technologies... As one looks into the faces of smiling men and women in spacesuits from the picture frames, one cannot help smiling back!!! its not a feeling of inferiority one feels...rather one gets the feeling that we humans have achieved something! It may sound like corny and phony socialism but looking at them makes one feel proud at the technological progrees humanity has made.
We were taken to the place where astronauts are trained, where missions are controlled (yes..there is an actual room like "Houston Calling!") and the rockets that carried humans to the moon...It was so inspiring... There were some kids who were always lifting their hands when someone asked "who wants to be an astronauts?"! I remembered my own childhood when i dreamt ( and i think everyone does) of being a pilot or an astronaut and flying! how time flies...i really envied them, for my elevated status as an "adult" did not entitle me to some simple child like priviledges!
Then there is the human story...how normal people become astronauts (Warning!!! they are not so normal..they have impressive resumes!!)...how they are trained and how they are ready to take all risks willingly... They have rigorous training for 3 years but the most difficult part is, as one lady-astronauts put it "...is the last week before blast off, when you have to say bye to your family, not knowing if you will see them again"...It was such a beautiful expression...afterall, they are not that out-of the world person!
Again, the immense respect given to the departed...for every every astronaut who died, a tree is planted...The name Columbia often comes up and is one of the most tragic days in their history... they play a speech by Bush when one reaches that memorial spot "... We choose the best among us to go out and discover for us...these brave men and women knew the risk they were taking and they took it willingly..." he sums up nicely when he says that if we stop space exploration because of such an incident, we will be sacrificing the very cause for which they died!!!
I fully support India going for the lunar mission-as a a man of science,as a citizen and as a rational person...Maybe 800 Mn of us are below poverty line....but to say that is like saying that our cricket players should not go to Australia or to say that "No more IITs and give money to poor"... I can argue for a whole day on the merits of the lunar mission, technically, but i dont want to do that as i am more drawn out to the human angle... the most valid reason, i feel , has been given by an ISRO official .."It will draw talented youngsters to scientific research and space and aerounautical engineeering"...When this happens, maybe i ll type my blog from the moon in a few years!!!!
I know that there are many people who claim that moon landing was a hoax and blah blah... they have some convincing agruments... My reasoning is simple...proving that US did not land on moon does no one any good except some petty nationalistc person... but knowing that a HUMAN has set foot on the moon- that means something to ME, and i think to many of us...The first Appolo mission was destroyed, killing all astronauts inside the rocket in the fire... these people were the best we as humans had to offer....if we claim that all this is a hoax and these "best"people, with the best technology humans had invented had failed, and We actually did not land on the moon, we are actually looking down on ourselves...the choice is ours...

I once read an story of how several british officers helped 3 british officers helped escape from a German POW camp during WWII... only 3 escaped, but all the officers were over the "moon" on successfull completion of the project.... At that time i thought how was this possible...but i think i understand it now...I may not know the person who goes to space.....but i know that somehow it has been the collective efforts of all humanity that has made possible for one of us to break free of restraints like gravity and soar!!! Only a few may have actually gone to space, but each of them is a story of human success...human being refused to be bogged down immense ans seemingly unsurmountable hurdles nad perform "Earth-defying" adventures!!!! Yes, to the moon and back....

No mans land....

I left for US last month. The thought i penned while sitting at Indira Gandhi International Airport...

"An idle mind is a devils workshop...so people they say.. i have my flight at 2.30 in the morning and i have 3 more hours!!! 3 more hours and i don't have anything to do n too scared to sleep!!! so this idle mind decided to write....
Frankly, i don't understand why i am feeling so low on leaving India.. i don't want to sound being unpatriotic!! jus i wanted to understand... what is a nation, or a country...
i mean, what is India or what is USA - A political entity, bounded by clearly demarcated geographical boundaries, and added to it a good deal of socio-economic, military, historical and religious factors... add all this together and we get it - The birth of a Nation!!!
Not that i am a cynic... i and jus trying to examine something in detail - something that i have taken for granted always...theoritically then, me leaving one geographical confinement for another should not make me feel down... but in actual, the fact that maybe i wont be able to come back here for some years was upsetting... i was like a doctor who has broken his leg... he knows what is causing the pain, but this knowledge does not reduce the pain!!! OR, was my definition of a nation wrong???
This geographical and cultural concept also raises some serious question..to what extent are we moulded by our surroundings? Am I an indian because i was born in this country? suppose i was born in US or say i was a Paki... would i have been different? would i have still liked the same tastes, the same colours ar the same type of music? Would i have liked Rock and blues if i was born in US? I dont know the answer...
one more flaw that i am observing in the geographical model is that the nation then becomes a function of time... patriotism, limited by the view of nation in such model then becomes extremely fuzzy...suppose we take the case of a soldier from Tamil Nadu, who died for undivided india who died protecting Sindh. So is he a patriot? think about it... he was a fellow born in India who died protecting Pakistan.. In todays scene, he will be called a traitor, a spy etc etc etc..but we know he is an Indian patriot... the fallacy in the argument is obvious... then we have to accept that geography model needs serious correction...
so what is a nation - a concept? a philosophy? a way of life?... a nation is a concept no doubt, but there is much more to it ... it is not a philosophy like Marxism... I think nation is a way of life...the way ones goes about his or her day to day life.. makes sense? actually does not much to me but thats the only option left my method of elimination!!! but i makes sense... i am missing india because i will be leaving a lifestyle with which i was very familiar... i was venturing into a world whose lifestyle was not the sane as mine...
However, though it made sense, it seemed very simplistic... if it was a way of life, why did i feel happy when India won T-20 cup? why i feel elated when Tata buys Corus? do people can die or take life for a way of life??? well i don't know..."
I dont wan tthis to be read as an article as it was never meant to be one... i had extracted it from my diary because i felt its something many people might have felt... i don't want the answer because i know that there is no correct answer for my question....