Books and Movies

While reading Pather Panchali , I could not help but compare the average Indian Novel with the average Bollywood movie. Ok so average Indian book is a misnomer. The books are certainly not average. Perhaps I should be comparing Art movies with the Bollywood potboilers. Anyway the best Indian books by Indian authors mainly deal with typical Indian lives. Typical as the authors know it. But the books are almost always devoid of happy endings. The book normally ends at some point of the life of the major character with some things left unresolved. Certainly i can't remember a they lived every happily ever after ending. On the other hand , the movies almost always have a happy ending. The poor villager overthrowing the zamindars. The angry young man getting rid of the oppressors. Deaths of only minor or supporting characters. And while i accept unhappy endings in books, I know that i too would not accept unhappy endings in the typical Bollywood movie. The good guys must win and if it involves some fight sequences so much the better.

Giving the US the Middle Finger

I was reading Miss Indra Nooyi's remaks about the 5 continents being equivalent to the five fingers (lets leave aside the USA not being a continent , left to themselves Americans believe the USA is the entire universe) and stating the US is the middle finger!
The speech is somewhat humorous has some lessons , but of course it would be too much to expect Americans to think rationally or logically. They have reacted as expected, Pepsi Co. have published an apology , Miss Nooyi has made all the appropriate noises. So much for free speech.

Rat Killer

My first encounter with a Rat. A real one (not the ones you find in top management).
I like nature and i dont think i have any more right to existence than any of Natures creatures. So i find myself in a moral dilemma , an aluminium stick in my hand, the rat cornered behind a cupboard. Should i try to bash the rats head in? How do i justify this?
Or should i let it go.
I ask my Mom , she says bash it.
I think of the books that the Rat might potentially eat. And I make up my mind
I try shove the aluminium rod with all my force. i dont think I aimed right. Cornered the rat flees and hides under the bed , which is full with suitcases and i cant see it anymore
Conscience eased , I Put the rod back to its place.

Weekly News Roundup

The sad state of wildlife protection in India is revealed with the massacre of the tigers in sanctuaries and indeed all varieties of wildlife.
With the wild in their eyes It is they who must die , we who must measure the loss
With the wild in their eyes It is they who must die , we who will measure the cost
John Denver - You say the battle is over

Arsenal wins a match which they don't deserve to win (though i was supporting them over Manchester United ) in the FA Cup Final. But the thing that struck me is that most professional players (of all teams) are cheats. Blatant foul'ers, Divers, Arm across face , shirt tugging abusing etc. etc. And this is all accepted and encouraged behavior!. Heck if you played this way at recess in school , all the students would boycott you . In school you played hard but you played fair and admitted your mistakes. But I guess money does that to you. Winning at all costs.

And I can't help laughing at the chumps involved in the dance bar fiasco , best summarized by a dance bar owner who said he will convert his dance bar into a disco theque, charge a cover sum and dress his *girls* in party wear. Indian society is fast becoming a hypocritical one , though i think this has always been the case. Its just that its more obvious these days

And Ferrari are still screwed in F1. Yeah!!. Now if only we see Narain get a point. And hopefully Coulthard wont finish at the podium , he's promised to moon people. Ugh!!

And Greg Chappell is India's coach. I would have thought his under arm bowling advice should have disqualified him.

And i absolutely refuse to read books/ watch serials/movies where the writer/director/producer can't spell either their names or the serials /movies correctly. If you don't have enough faith in the content you have produced that you need the additional numerological hogwash , why the hell should I?

Cheated?

I was moving towards Platform 5 to catch the Churchgate fast, when a Man with a sleeping child on his arms asked me to spare two minutes and recounted how he was from some village and his pocket had been picked (aai shapat!) And how he needed 300 Rs to go back home and how some good person had already given him Rs 100 (aai shapat mi jhoot nahin bolto!). He pointed to his wife who was seated , a fat woman with a an expression of anger on her face, which looked to be directed to her husband, sometimes alternating with holding her head in her hands. I paid the Rs 200 and ran back to platform 3 where the 9:27 fast had arrived.
It is of course quite possibly a classic setup and even knowing that i paid the money. Why?
Well there are actually two options , the man is telling the truth, in which case i pay the sum quite gladly. Its better than paying it say to a beggar for whom next week it will be back to normal. Atleast this will make a difference
Or the man is lying in which case he wants to cheat the people actually willing to help him!. Its quite a paradox - The people you cheat are the ones who were willing to help. The people who get away are the one with no sympathy or compassion in their hearts. And i always have believed you will pay for such sins in this life. And the money is my contribution towards the same.

Taiwan

From http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23042 TAIWANESE JOURNALISTS won’t be allowed in to cover the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva later this month because Taiwan is not a state recognized by the UN General Assembly .... and ... but does say representatives of the People's Republic of China are "the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations"
And my gut reaction is to criticise this till i realise if i substitute Taiwan with POK or Kashmir and China with India, Im conflicted.
And a concluding line from the same article
Those still alive or uninjured obviously aren’t doing their jobs properly

Weekly News Round Up

The Labour Party has won its third term. The conservative party's Liar campaign didnt work and is best summarised by a journalist who says that 'Most people believe all politicians are liars. There is not much achieved by telling them that someone is a particularly effective one'The Sun's headline of 'A Kick in the Ballots' is also particularly funny. But this is not a vote for the War on Iraq. The conservative party too supported the War so the only alternative was the Lib Dems and no one seems to want to trust them with the running of the entire country
Irregularities in the NDA governments functioning are now being found (sale of the centaur hotels , the India shining campaign etc.) by the CAG. And what the hell were they doing till this time?.
The hunt is on for a Coach for the Indian Cricket Team. I think we are wasting our efforts. We should be searching for good players for the Indian Cricket team
More suicides by young students afraid of failures. I wonder what sort of parents these children had that they are so scared of failing an exam. And what a society we live in.
And the BAR team is banned from the race at barcelona. Now i can pray for another 7 retirements and maybe Narain will be in the points. But even if he isn't Best of Luck to him. And i laugh at Ferrari (master? strategists) and Michael Schumacher(greatest? driver). If nothing else the first four races have proved how much of schumachers greatness lies in the simple fact that the Cars he drove were better than everyone elses. And from what i can see of the last race he's probably going to win this season as well. And everyone will laud the greatest comeback by the greatest driver. Hmmpf!
And chelsea are out of the champions league. I was afraid of this, but perhaps it will be a good lesson for Chelsea to learn. Expect them to win next year.

Taxes

Just got my salary without TDS . There is a significant difference in this amount and the amount i normally get with TDS cut. I have no problem paying taxes. In India , Im part of an elite group. I have a job , It pays more than what a large percentage of Indians earn. I have a house to stay in and am mostly free of financial troubles. So i dont really mind the concept of a Tax. But and heres the problem , If the tax was used to improve the infrastructure , or fund some social schemes or feed some poor children , I'd be happy.
The fact that most of my money will wind its way into the pocket's of some politician or some businessman is what irks the hell out of me.
And there is nothing I can do about it presently

IIT

Read an article in the Times about the IIT's wanting to replicate their success and standards in institutions abroad. Disclaimer - I am not an IITian, I have never given the entrance exam for IIT , never studied for it, never wanted to study for it (knowing fully well I'd fail).
Lets see , we have a damn tough academic entrance exam , for which students cram for 2 years. After appearing for the test , the top 2000 or so students (top by marks obtained) are selected. Note that the IIT takes only those students who are academically sound to begin with , and dedicated enough to spend two years cramming for an entrance test simultaneously with their HSC in most cases.When they pass out of the IIT , these very students are said to be the best around. Isn't this a great achievement .. Hmmpf!
Lets not even look at the ragging practices in the IIT's. Lets not wonder that most IITians go abroad and live there , thereby representing a wasted investment.
If you could take a duffer , an average student , and a smart student , teach them and and at the end have 3 competent people , then yes thats an achievement.
Till then the IIT is a run of the mill institution

Proper Dress

After the recent rape of a college going girl, The Saamna (The shiv sena's or Thackerays mouthpiece) published a piece condemning the rape.
It also wanted Indian women not to wear revealing clothes. Im wondering what would keep Thackeray happy ? dress all the women in Burkhas?. religious fundamentalists are all the same. So are all male chauvinist pigs.
I have never bought the theory that if the man has *impure* thoughts on seeing a scantily clad woman, Its the woman who must be made to dress up. Id rather the man was blindfolded. Surprisingly enough my mother agrees with the Saamna's recommendations. This is one of the reasons i think women are mistreated in our country (indeed everywhere) - A majority of the women are not willing to stand for their rights. And till that changes things are not going to improve significantly