Archive for the ‘India’ Category
Why 3 Idiots might become a Flop
Since every idiot worth his/her salt is opining on the row between Chetan Bhagat and Vidhu Vinod Chopra & Co, I thought I should contribute to such a rich national debate. This story has dominated the news cycle in India for the last few days and before it starts testing people’s patience, I wanted to express my solidarity for Chetan.
Let me put in a few disclaimers – I am a big Aamir fan, I have always admired VVC’s vision, I can’t stop loving Raju Hirani’s knack for comedy and some of us have long appreciated Abhijat Joshi, the supposed dark horse. Despite some minor flaws, I loved ‘3 Idiots’. I have not read Five Point Someone (or any other book written by Chetan) and for this reason, VVC might have questioned my right to even have an opinion. However, my solidarity with Chetan has nothing to do with VVC’s deranged outburst at the now-famous press conference. I am not letting it cloud my judgment in the same way that I am discounting Chetan’s melodramatic statements on the television – he has been supplying a lot of lowly grist that is the staple in most news channels now-a-days. I keep wondering if the writer in him is incapable of escaping cliches. Also, legally, Chetan’s gripes have no locus standi and he knows it well. The contract he signed with VVC & Co in 2005 is now a part of the dirty linen that is hanging dry in public. The contract has been abided by and nobody can even contemplate a lawsuit. That said, here is why I believe Chetan has been wronged.
My Name is Singh, Rocket Singh!
By the time I post this, Aamir Khan must have moved to another city of India. There is no telling whether it will be big or small, famous or obscure. A legion of his fans and curious onlookers await the fifth clue. Though Aamir calls it an Alternate Reality Game, what he is doing would be interesting by any other name too. And unprecedented. His bharat-darshan has raised film marketing to a new level. Though film-makers have long strived to create buzz around upcoming movies, never has it taken on the kind of aura as in recent times. It is high time that they instituted a Filmfare and an Oscar for Best Marketing of a Feature Film.
I Do Not Worship Thee, O Motherland!
Should Muslims in India refrain from singing Vande Mataram?
To answer the question fairly, one must consider some other questions such as:
Should the state government of Maharashtra make it compulsory for cinema halls to play Jana Gana Mana before every show and exhort the audience to stand up for it?
Should Turkey make it unlawful for women to wear scarfs as a symbol of their piety?
Should China continue to ban the practice of Falun Gong?
Why I Know English Better Than I Know Sanskrit
The following is a faux excerpt of the famous ‘Minute on Indian Education’ by Lord Macaulay doing rounds on the internet. It struck as a bit incredulous to me. Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay was a highly learned man and 1835 was hardly the Golden Age of the Indian subcontinent. Unrest must have been rife – beggars and thieves might have commonplace. But, someone has taken the pain of creating an authentic-looking excerpt from his famous minute to the British Parliament on 02Feb1835.
Macaulay
Happy Diwali and Sal Mubarak
Obama scored another first. No, not the first American president to win the Nobel in the first year of presidency. That too – but perhaps more sanguinely, the first American president to light a ceremonial diya at White House on occasion of Diwali. He also recorded a video message to convey Diwali greetings to a cross-section of minority groups in the US of Indian heritage. As I watched his message, I thought of all the possible machinations in the background that would have culminated in Obama recording the message.
‘Road, Movie’: The Next Slumdog
Normally, people make such pronouncements after watching a movie but I am basing this on the trailer: I think ‘Road, Movie’ could very well be the next Slumdog Millionaire.
A Book-Banning Nation
I can imagine a lot of things that could really harm us – like nuclear bombs, cigarettes and speeding vehicles. But books? I have never known a book that exploded as soon as you read the preface. I feel sorry for the gentlemanly Jaswant Singh who has been thrown under the bus by his colleagues for publishing a book (Jinnah – India, Partition, Independence) that does not demonize Jinnah. I feel sorrier that a society could be so intolerant of books. Books?!!
Debate as the Test of Faith
Recently, I happened to read the wikipedia entry about Adi Shankara. Although his story is well-known to those who grew up in India, I kind of re-discovered his larger-than-life personality. His iconoclastic thought, the legends of his childhood, his deep yet humble intellect, his travels across India, his enterprise in establishing lasting centers of learning came across as heroic. While reading about him, one learns of how he single-handedly reversed the declining course of Hinduism against the formidable school of thought that was Buddhism in the 8th-9th century AD. He did that largely by inviting people to engage in Shastrartha (Scholastic Debate) with him. Whoever lost the debate would accept the supremacy of the winner’s philosophy / religion and convert to it. Typical of Shankara’s times, whenever a big Buddhist scholar lost a debate, several of his followers would automatically convert to Advaita (non-dualism), Shankara’s brand of Hinduism. I imagine this method of winning over people is perhaps passe in today’s times – today, politeness (and political correctness) demands that you can not even broach religion with anyone.
Let’s Get Offended: Jana Gana Mana Rann
India’s Censor Board has been known to waver between connivance and censure when it comes to the increasingly liberal show of affection and skin on the silver screen. However, I think they didn’t have to think twice before taking Ram Gopal Varma to task over the recent song ‘Jana Gana Mana Rann’ from his to-be-released film called ‘Rann’. When it comes to protecting national honor, they can be unflinchingly ruthless and remorseless. Even the people are offended, as if on cue. I write this post in the defense of the song and in doing so, I am not just questioning whether the song was unfairly branded as insulting to the national anthem; I go a step further and wonder whether the national anthem needs protection.
Congress Landslilde: India’s Lucky Break
Indians in the western hemisphere woke up this Saturday morning to the dreadful prospect of Mayawati being sworn in as the next prime minister of India. That calamity has been averted. Most pundits had forecast another hung parliament in the general elections; so hung that the regional parties would play haughty kingmakers and a Congress or a BJP would struggle in cobbling together their patchy umbrellas called UPA and NDA. Such worries have proven to be unfounded, thanks to another exit polls debacle. In practice, I don’t see much difference between Congress and BJP today – though BJP sprang upon the national scene due to its pursuit of right-wing Hindutva and Congress traditionally espoused sclerotic socialism, both the parties have followed a centrist agenda in the last two decades in the matters of economy, national security and foreign policy. Most significantly, Congress introduced market reforms in 1991 and BJP kept them on course in 1999. So, at this crucial time in India’s coming-of-age when a global recession is gnawing everywhere, Congress’ decisive victory provides India what it needs most i.e. stability without melodrama – and for that reason alone, I celebrate this outcome.
