Tuesday, May 27, 2014
really don't
I don't get it.
Vilifying Nehru and Gandhi has become the "in" thing. To be fair, it is not a new phenomenon, I have been hearing it since I was in my teens. May be I don't know my history well enough and I don't have the information they have. But I don't get it.
I don't think Nehru or Mahatma Gandhi was perfect. I don't expect them to be, not even the greatest of men. Everyone has flaws.
America's founding fathers, the people who said "All men are created equal" had slaves. Knowing that fact helps me get a holistic picture of them and the time/context, it doesn't negate all the good they did.
Nelson Mandela's corruption charges don't take away from what he did for his people.
If learning about their flaws shatters some childish vision of a perfect world, then too bad.
Vilifying Nehru and Gandhi has become the "in" thing. To be fair, it is not a new phenomenon, I have been hearing it since I was in my teens. May be I don't know my history well enough and I don't have the information they have. But I don't get it.
I don't think Nehru or Mahatma Gandhi was perfect. I don't expect them to be, not even the greatest of men. Everyone has flaws.
America's founding fathers, the people who said "All men are created equal" had slaves. Knowing that fact helps me get a holistic picture of them and the time/context, it doesn't negate all the good they did.
Nelson Mandela's corruption charges don't take away from what he did for his people.
If learning about their flaws shatters some childish vision of a perfect world, then too bad.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
no qualifiers needed
English, Hindi words for love are too generic.
I quite like Urdu in this regard. Ishq and Mohabbat don't need an adjective to convey that it means romantic love.
"Ishq waala love"...
Monday, May 19, 2014
mixed feelings
For the past two days my FB, Twitter, Whatsapp timelines have been overflowing with jubilation and excitement. I do not share the emotion.
I am glad Congress is out. I din't vote for Congress in 2009 (because I wanted to punish them for their terrible record on security; remember the incessant bombings each month?), when it was yet to screw up everything so spectacularly, so there was no chance in hell that I would have supported them this time. The discipline, good governance side of BJP was always appealing, but it's ties to RSS/VHP a deal breaker.
I used to believe in a theory, that incentives matter. That BJP would move away from RSS and VHP when it realized that unless it does so, it could never be a real national party that could win 272 on its own. I was holding on to that hope. This election has shattered every assumption about Indian politics. And it has shattered my theory too.
If all it takes for BJP to coast through to 272, is a pathetic opposition and an effective leader, then it has no incentive to move away from it's right wing ideology (as long as it doesn't talk about it too much).
That disheartens me. Not a single one of the 272+ BJP MPs is a Muslim. That worries me.
I refuse to apologize for my liberal views. I retain my right to be skeptical and to call out a false choice (development vs secularism) for what it is. I refuse to allow others to rebrand liberal and secular as dirty words. I hope BJP finds another and stronger incentive to become more plural. A lot of people seem to have projected all their aspirations on to Modi, I hope he does well. For my country's sake.
The nation had an operation to get rid of a cancerous tumor. I am anxious about it's recovery in the hands of a doctor I don't fully trust. I am not excited or jubilant, just anxious with a little relief thrown in.
I am glad Congress is out. I din't vote for Congress in 2009 (because I wanted to punish them for their terrible record on security; remember the incessant bombings each month?), when it was yet to screw up everything so spectacularly, so there was no chance in hell that I would have supported them this time. The discipline, good governance side of BJP was always appealing, but it's ties to RSS/VHP a deal breaker.
I used to believe in a theory, that incentives matter. That BJP would move away from RSS and VHP when it realized that unless it does so, it could never be a real national party that could win 272 on its own. I was holding on to that hope. This election has shattered every assumption about Indian politics. And it has shattered my theory too.
If all it takes for BJP to coast through to 272, is a pathetic opposition and an effective leader, then it has no incentive to move away from it's right wing ideology (as long as it doesn't talk about it too much).
That disheartens me. Not a single one of the 272+ BJP MPs is a Muslim. That worries me.
I refuse to apologize for my liberal views. I retain my right to be skeptical and to call out a false choice (development vs secularism) for what it is. I refuse to allow others to rebrand liberal and secular as dirty words. I hope BJP finds another and stronger incentive to become more plural. A lot of people seem to have projected all their aspirations on to Modi, I hope he does well. For my country's sake.
The nation had an operation to get rid of a cancerous tumor. I am anxious about it's recovery in the hands of a doctor I don't fully trust. I am not excited or jubilant, just anxious with a little relief thrown in.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
criterion...
I read a book...
- am overwhelmed by it.
- can't believe how much I liked it.
- come away convinced that it is the best book I have ever read.
When this happens not once, not twice but three times with the same author... it should be enough to call him my favorite no?!
William Dalrymple (City of Djinns, The Last Mughal, In Xanadu)
- am overwhelmed by it.
- can't believe how much I liked it.
- come away convinced that it is the best book I have ever read.
When this happens not once, not twice but three times with the same author... it should be enough to call him my favorite no?!
William Dalrymple (City of Djinns, The Last Mughal, In Xanadu)
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
lack of...
Feeling nostalgic about the days/years past that seemed to have been packed with so much emotion.
Emotion that simply had to flow into words.
Spent the entire day reading every post on this 8 year blog. Life is incomplete when enough time is not spent pondering and over-analyzing the random thoughts that cross one's mind. I am incomplete without this blog, I realize.
Emotion that simply had to flow into words.
Spent the entire day reading every post on this 8 year blog. Life is incomplete when enough time is not spent pondering and over-analyzing the random thoughts that cross one's mind. I am incomplete without this blog, I realize.
Monday, March 24, 2014
hard to wrap my head around...
So there is another report of a honor killing, this time in AP. We are genetically hardwired to do whatever we can to ensure our genes survive. Isn't it amazing then, that society is able to brainwash us with the concepts of shame/honor enough to overcome the primal instinct to protect one's own children.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
what turned on my conductance switch?
I like the head space I am in today.
After not sure how many years, two, three or may be four -
a piece of music has moved me to tears,
can't get a movie I saw a couple of days back out of my head.
And I saw an interview in which 3 celebrities talked of things that seem to have been lifted straight out of those late night terrace conversations one had with old friends.
This terrain is at once familiar, reassuring and disconcerting.
After not sure how many years, two, three or may be four -
a piece of music has moved me to tears,
can't get a movie I saw a couple of days back out of my head.
And I saw an interview in which 3 celebrities talked of things that seem to have been lifted straight out of those late night terrace conversations one had with old friends.
This terrain is at once familiar, reassuring and disconcerting.
Monday, November 04, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wow Ann
Ann Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was a smash hit on publication and sold out faster than Emily's Wuthering Heights. Why is it then not as well known as Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights? Could it be Charlotte's jealousy (the bad review and with-holding the republication)? Was it not romantic enough? Or is the reason a simple 'coz it is just not as good'?
They say the concept was unheard of, for it's time and was akin to a bombshell for the victorian crowd. It is considered to be the first feminist novel. I have seen Jane Eyre described as one of the great decision making heroines of literature. Helen Graham, in my opinion, leaves Jane way behind in feminist credentials.
Just to keep things in context, Ann was the daughter of a poor Irish clergyman who for the most of her life lived on Yorkshire moors. Ann Brontë's achievement is staggering.
They say the concept was unheard of, for it's time and was akin to a bombshell for the victorian crowd. It is considered to be the first feminist novel. I have seen Jane Eyre described as one of the great decision making heroines of literature. Helen Graham, in my opinion, leaves Jane way behind in feminist credentials.
Just to keep things in context, Ann was the daughter of a poor Irish clergyman who for the most of her life lived on Yorkshire moors. Ann Brontë's achievement is staggering.
how did I miss it?
Blown away by Toby Stephens in Jane Eyre (2006).
I kept thinking through out the series that I know him from somewhere, he is not a stranger. Accidentally found out just now that he is the guy who played William Gordon in Mangal Pandey. His friendship with Pandey was the one redeeming feature of the movie. Love this discovery, but slightly mad at myself for not having connected the dots sooner.
I kept thinking through out the series that I know him from somewhere, he is not a stranger. Accidentally found out just now that he is the guy who played William Gordon in Mangal Pandey. His friendship with Pandey was the one redeeming feature of the movie. Love this discovery, but slightly mad at myself for not having connected the dots sooner.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
left right.. left right..
I learned today that in United States, field hockey or what we just call hockey... is a girl's sport and not really played by men that much.
*shakes head from left to right.. closes eyes and sighs. I don't understand this country and it's sports sometimes.
*shakes head from left to right.. closes eyes and sighs. I don't understand this country and it's sports sometimes.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
fair game
The content of the show (satyamev jayate) is fair game for debate and Farah Naqvi (member of National Advisor Council) raises some relevant points in this article. I agree with her on the need to focus on the nuances of the issue, esp the motives and socio-economic factors. But it's just not fair to expect a one hour TV show to address everything. Audience looking to meaningfully engage with the issue, will ask the question 'why'. Helping them find the answers if they are not already painfully obvious, seems to be the government's / activists' job. The show never advertised itself as the beginning and the end, as the disperser of all gyan. If people are talking about the issue, then the show has accomplished what it has set out to achieve. To burden it with our desperate expectations of finding a resolution to this issue is simply not fair.
The WHY?
Like most things one can trace the motive back to economic factors. Dowry, capacity of the girl child to contribute to the family income and social security (after retirement). The girl child is gotten rid off because keeping it doesnt add up financially (esp. for the lower income parents). The balance sheet is marked negative on birth because there is dowry to be paid in future. Investment in her education is not given priority because she is not expected to get a job and earn. Even if she does work and earn, she will be married soon enough and that puts a stop to any financial contribution.
Our social structures were built for an age when people had multiple children and statistically there was bound to be atleast one boy and he is expected to take care of them in retirement. Today, if we expect people to have just one or two children and raise them happily even if they are girls, then we also have another question to ask ourselves.. how many men and in-laws are willing to let married women financially support her own parents.
What about the parents of women who dont work? Do we have a social security program in our country that allows people to retire in dignity?
I also agree that popular rhetoric doesnt lead to nuanced legislation. Precisely the reason this is different from the Anna movement. This is not an attempt to legislate. People appreciating this show know that at the end of the day this is just a TV show, they simply hope that it will be a start of wide-spread discussion and inward search in the common populace.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
long list of shame
Lets keep aside for a moment, the horrifying argument about how homosexuality is immoral and against Indian/eastern culture. How sloppy is this?
Add another one to the govt's long list of shame - instances where our dear government comes across as incapable of performing its basic functions. Remember how, after raising all the fuss about THE list that we were going to hand to Pakistan, they embarrassingly botched it up. And now they have no clue what the solicitor general is gonna argue at the SC on their behalf. Seriously?!
Now to the actual issue on hand. Is it the govt/court's job to lecture me on morality? I am sure the same 'these are western values, our society and culture are different' argument was used against people fighting caste discrimination or gender inequality. Heck, weren't 'untouchability' and 'sati' part of our so called culture? Did being part of our culture make those practices any less inhuman?
In this particular case though, the culture argument doesn't even apply. Homosexuality is not a fashion trend that we'd pick up from the west. If you think it is alien to our culture, may be you should read our scriptures a tad more carefully.
It is not a cultural or social issue. It's a basic freedom and equal rights issue. And most of the civilized world agrees that - fundamental rights are not subjected to a majority vote. They are called 'rights' for a reason.
Add another one to the govt's long list of shame - instances where our dear government comes across as incapable of performing its basic functions. Remember how, after raising all the fuss about THE list that we were going to hand to Pakistan, they embarrassingly botched it up. And now they have no clue what the solicitor general is gonna argue at the SC on their behalf. Seriously?!
Now to the actual issue on hand. Is it the govt/court's job to lecture me on morality? I am sure the same 'these are western values, our society and culture are different' argument was used against people fighting caste discrimination or gender inequality. Heck, weren't 'untouchability' and 'sati' part of our so called culture? Did being part of our culture make those practices any less inhuman?
In this particular case though, the culture argument doesn't even apply. Homosexuality is not a fashion trend that we'd pick up from the west. If you think it is alien to our culture, may be you should read our scriptures a tad more carefully.
It is not a cultural or social issue. It's a basic freedom and equal rights issue. And most of the civilized world agrees that - fundamental rights are not subjected to a majority vote. They are called 'rights' for a reason.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Without you
If the reader goes... "I wonder what the writer could have meant";
The writing has fundamentally failed no?
---------------------------------------
Chariots of Fire
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Girl Who Kicked the Hornet Nest
Girl Who Played with Fire
Iron Man 2
Billy Eliot
Limitless
Next 3 Days
A Soldier's Story
J Edgar
Daddy Long Legs
Star Trek
Agneepath
Mujhse Fraandship Karoge
Ladies vs. Ricky Bhal
Saahib Biwi aur Gangster
Inglorious Bastards
Ides of March
Fawlty Towers
Fast Food Nation
Food Inc
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead
Last Night
One Day
----------------------------------------
The only good thing about the long commutes is the dedicated time I have each day to catch up on my fav podcasts.
Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Missed in History Class
Freakanomics
The Rachel Maddow show
Real Time with Bill Maher
The SYSK podcasts especially are little gems. Each one of them.
----------------------------------------
What would I do without you Netflix?
Seriously what?
The writing has fundamentally failed no?
---------------------------------------
Chariots of Fire
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Girl Who Kicked the Hornet Nest
Girl Who Played with Fire
Iron Man 2
Billy Eliot
Limitless
Next 3 Days
A Soldier's Story
J Edgar
Daddy Long Legs
Star Trek
Agneepath
Mujhse Fraandship Karoge
Ladies vs. Ricky Bhal
Saahib Biwi aur Gangster
Inglorious Bastards
Ides of March
Fawlty Towers
Fast Food Nation
Food Inc
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead
Last Night
One Day
----------------------------------------
The only good thing about the long commutes is the dedicated time I have each day to catch up on my fav podcasts.
Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Missed in History Class
Freakanomics
The Rachel Maddow show
Real Time with Bill Maher
The SYSK podcasts especially are little gems. Each one of them.
----------------------------------------
What would I do without you Netflix?
Seriously what?
Monday, January 23, 2012
couldn't you eat a green vegetable now and then..?
Stieg Larsson...
Thank you for bringing me back to fiction after a long time. The joy that your Millennium series (or 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' series) gave me was only followed by despair when I learned that you died shortly after delivering the 3 manuscripts. The despair doubled on knowing that you had a series of 10 books planned. Tripled when I realized that your real life experiences provided a fertile ground which you could mine for any number of books. The series shows how satisfying fiction can be when the author is more than just a career writer; An idealist, feminist, expert on neo-nazi right wing terrorism, editor-in-chief of a magazine and involved in politics.
Just when my heart was about to leap with joy on learning that you wrote enough of the fourth book that your partner could put it together, I learn your family and her are feuding over the control of your literary estate.
They say your diet consisted solely of coffee, cigarettes and hamburgers. The reason for your death - a massive heart attack. Oh dear Larsson, couldn't you have touched a green vegetable now and then..?! :-(
How I wish you were around to see the success of your books; we could hear from you directly and not rely on second hand accounts; you wrote more books.
*sigh
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Larsson-t.html?pagewanted=all
Thank you for bringing me back to fiction after a long time. The joy that your Millennium series (or 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' series) gave me was only followed by despair when I learned that you died shortly after delivering the 3 manuscripts. The despair doubled on knowing that you had a series of 10 books planned. Tripled when I realized that your real life experiences provided a fertile ground which you could mine for any number of books. The series shows how satisfying fiction can be when the author is more than just a career writer; An idealist, feminist, expert on neo-nazi right wing terrorism, editor-in-chief of a magazine and involved in politics.
Just when my heart was about to leap with joy on learning that you wrote enough of the fourth book that your partner could put it together, I learn your family and her are feuding over the control of your literary estate.
They say your diet consisted solely of coffee, cigarettes and hamburgers. The reason for your death - a massive heart attack. Oh dear Larsson, couldn't you have touched a green vegetable now and then..?! :-(
How I wish you were around to see the success of your books; we could hear from you directly and not rely on second hand accounts; you wrote more books.
*sigh
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Larsson-t.html?pagewanted=all
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