Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Sunday, January 9, 2011
No One Killed Jessica...
Alas...Tragic indeed that it took the life of an innocent girl to awaken this country to the power of being united. And it is in this spirit that No One Killed Jessica is a fantastic articulation of expression of hard faced reality that no one is above the law.
Poor child Jessica lost her life for some moron son of a high headed political godfather few years back. Her biggest fault was that she refused a drink to that monster as the party was over. But then what the country witnessed was a no small ordeal of sorts involving everyone from powerful politician, judiciary, media and most importantly the common man.
Everyone who is more than 25 years old or so today must be remembering this whole episode unless they have lived in a skull devoid of media. I remember in my college days every news channel and newspaper carried this news extensively and describing how an influential clout can get someone away from the jaws of judiciary thus leaving a permanent impression on my mind. But then little did anyone of us knew that nation backed by the media can upturn the court's ruling by persuading the legal system to pursue this case suo moto.
And what a turnaround since then. A candle-lit procession in Delhi in support of Jessica made the country stand up unanimously and be at the backbone of support to her sister in fighting this case again.
I just can't forget what happened in those few days in India as for someone who is made to believe by the stereotyped movies and middle class mindset that one can get away with anything as long as he has the phone number of some don / politician. This incident of people movement has thankfully left such an indelible mark on me that I have all again since then started believing that faith needs to be restored in our system and every injustice ought to be fought with unrelenting gut and conviction.
I highly recommend this movie to every adult and teen in India and everywhere else as No One Killed jessica beautifully captures the sensitivity of the issue balancing it with enough dose of inspiration for you and me. Of course not to forget the heart moving songs like Aitbar, Dua and Yeh Pal.
Jessica sadly had to sacrifice her life but I am sure her beautiful soul is lying in peace finally now that there are many in the country today that are just no ready to go down without a fight.
Lastly good job Rajkumar Gupta for directing a meaningful movie for the nation. This will always remain one of my favourites.
Poor child Jessica lost her life for some moron son of a high headed political godfather few years back. Her biggest fault was that she refused a drink to that monster as the party was over. But then what the country witnessed was a no small ordeal of sorts involving everyone from powerful politician, judiciary, media and most importantly the common man.
Everyone who is more than 25 years old or so today must be remembering this whole episode unless they have lived in a skull devoid of media. I remember in my college days every news channel and newspaper carried this news extensively and describing how an influential clout can get someone away from the jaws of judiciary thus leaving a permanent impression on my mind. But then little did anyone of us knew that nation backed by the media can upturn the court's ruling by persuading the legal system to pursue this case suo moto.
And what a turnaround since then. A candle-lit procession in Delhi in support of Jessica made the country stand up unanimously and be at the backbone of support to her sister in fighting this case again.
I just can't forget what happened in those few days in India as for someone who is made to believe by the stereotyped movies and middle class mindset that one can get away with anything as long as he has the phone number of some don / politician. This incident of people movement has thankfully left such an indelible mark on me that I have all again since then started believing that faith needs to be restored in our system and every injustice ought to be fought with unrelenting gut and conviction.
I highly recommend this movie to every adult and teen in India and everywhere else as No One Killed jessica beautifully captures the sensitivity of the issue balancing it with enough dose of inspiration for you and me. Of course not to forget the heart moving songs like Aitbar, Dua and Yeh Pal.
Jessica sadly had to sacrifice her life but I am sure her beautiful soul is lying in peace finally now that there are many in the country today that are just no ready to go down without a fight.
Lastly good job Rajkumar Gupta for directing a meaningful movie for the nation. This will always remain one of my favourites.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
IPL Shocks Again: Ooops
Photo Courtesy by 'The Hindu'Modi, Modi, Lalit for this one:
IPL auctions for new teams shocks the country again by garnering more than $600mn for Pune and Cochi alone in total. Just unable to comprehend the maths behind paying more than $330mn each for Ahmedabad and Cochi as any rationale I am trying to arrive at snubs by left bran thinking as some might call it.
As Harsha Bhogle said on TV sometime ago, to him it's like buying a stock for many a times its face value with an appreciation prospect of many times over. Hmm just hope in this case it was the work of those skilled with investment expertise and not a mere business gamble.
However what is intriguing the most is the means by which the two winners will fund everything from auction price to teams...especially considering that off late Sahara is not in the good books for its not so correct PR in the media. More interestingly, the Cochi owner Rendezvous Sports’ genesis is unknown to anyone. Even our all time favorite sniffer Google too failed miserably in giving us any information on this new entity.
However all it means to cricket aficionados is only one thing...IPL is going to get bigger and more fun (‘going to’ because from where the players will be sourced is yet unclear).
Hmm now I am going offline and will be back shortly to end this post.
March 23, 2010:
Just resumed writing this post as the headline in Business Standard today said 'Sahara Mulls IPO For New IPL Team'. WOW WOW WOW...looks like Indian businessmen have really come of age or at least are trying to be there where the Wall Street-goers blink. I mean ‘AN IPO!!!’
As this ongoing surge in confidence of Indian businessmen and their thinking looms large, the day is perhaps not far when Indians give developed countries a taste of their own medicine by redefining how businesses are run and thus clinching new deals which are unheard of :)
Monday, February 8, 2010
One Hell Of A Curious Case
Went to a DVD library to rent out a movie yesterday evening and ended up bringing 'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button'. Now after having completed this two and half hour movie I must say it was one joy ride worth not missing. The entire story with every emotion of human life embraced in it makes up for ones cravings to watch a quality movie.
Everything in this movie right from script (adopted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) to dialogues to perfect delivery of scenes by actors of the likes of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett have taken it to a class of its own altogether. One very interesting reason why most including me have watched this movie is because of its Oscar glory in 2009. Now after having watched two highest Oscar winners of 2009 'Slumdog Millionnaire' and 'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button', I now believe that Slumdog was simply overrated vis-a-vis the latter. With due respect to the makers of Slumdog, one thing that takes the cake out of its way is the intricate decipherment of every aspect of ones birth till death that is otherwise shadowed in our subconscious alacrity.
From a rather deemed intellectual point of view some may argue that there is something to be learnt from everything. But either in an ignorant or a snobbish manner most tend to dismiss eternal statements many make and that is where this movie beautifully conveys the importance of Human Life in probably or perhaps one of the most spectacular ways possible. If not more there are at least few dozen instances and dialogues in the movie that uphold one or the other fabric of life and relationships which act like the source of constant inspiration and direction to tread the remaining life.
Few of my favourite dilogues from the movie are as follows;
Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?
Life can only be understood backward. It must be lived forward.
Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.
For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
Everything in this movie right from script (adopted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) to dialogues to perfect delivery of scenes by actors of the likes of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett have taken it to a class of its own altogether. One very interesting reason why most including me have watched this movie is because of its Oscar glory in 2009. Now after having watched two highest Oscar winners of 2009 'Slumdog Millionnaire' and 'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button', I now believe that Slumdog was simply overrated vis-a-vis the latter. With due respect to the makers of Slumdog, one thing that takes the cake out of its way is the intricate decipherment of every aspect of ones birth till death that is otherwise shadowed in our subconscious alacrity.
From a rather deemed intellectual point of view some may argue that there is something to be learnt from everything. But either in an ignorant or a snobbish manner most tend to dismiss eternal statements many make and that is where this movie beautifully conveys the importance of Human Life in probably or perhaps one of the most spectacular ways possible. If not more there are at least few dozen instances and dialogues in the movie that uphold one or the other fabric of life and relationships which act like the source of constant inspiration and direction to tread the remaining life.
Few of my favourite dilogues from the movie are as follows;
Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?
Life can only be understood backward. It must be lived forward.
Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.
For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Mourning Stephan Gately's Death
Back from a drive with my friends and incidently switched on TV...and guess what! 'We miss Stephen Gately' was getting flashed on News 9 with 'Words' playing in the background. What a shock to have heard this news. Somehow missed this news in Print and TV earlier, but really aghast to know the lead singer of Boyzone is no more alive.
This year surely is one among the many black years in the history of music. First MJ and now Stephen's loss is highly dissonant.
Thanks Stephen for giving some wonderful music for us to cherish forever. As they say you never know when one is gone...I pray to almighty that may the loss be for the better and may your soul rest in peace.
Love you forever. Your 'Words' will never be forgotten in this world.
This year surely is one among the many black years in the history of music. First MJ and now Stephen's loss is highly dissonant.
Thanks Stephen for giving some wonderful music for us to cherish forever. As they say you never know when one is gone...I pray to almighty that may the loss be for the better and may your soul rest in peace.
Love you forever. Your 'Words' will never be forgotten in this world.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Zhansi Ki Rani Lakshmibai: Pride of Every Indian or Rather Every Human
I was browsing channels few hours ago and incidentally came across a title of one Zee TV sop Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani...Zhansi Ki Rani, literally translating into 'story of a brave woman....Queen of Zhansi'. We all have heard and read about Lakshmibai from elementary school level but little did we know then that personalities like hers have actually shaped and have sown a seed of new wisdom for us to follow even when the British are no more around. In spite of being habitual of paying no heed to Zee TVs and Star TVs for their saas-bahu kinda serials, this time I decided to hang on for few minutes to see what this serial is all about. As many of such history inspired TV dramas are preposterous in nature for not stating the history as it is, this one seemed a fairly less extravagant effort in portraying the life of a legend called Zhansi Ki Rani.
Few scenes in the 30 minute serial were perhaps so appealing in nature that it even made me question could these incidents shown be real? A quick googling later helped me understand that in fact the very nature of Lakshmibai's life, account by account is an intriguing narration in itself.
That's when I decided to know more of her larger than life persona by reading her biography on http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/jhansi/index.htm And as author N S Ramaprasad has rightly put it in the prelude "She was the queen of a small state, but the empress of a limitless empire of glory."
The inspiration from this moving introduction was far more than just convincing for me to spend my last 45 minutes in reading her small yet highly significant life story. As is being shown in TV and as present in her biographies one thing that catches ones attention is how she had shown a character of 'patriotism, self-respect and heroism' par excellence from her pre-teens. Hence as we proceed through the pages the things become more and more clear that her childhood marriage to the King of Peshwa, early demise of her husband, denial of travel permission to Varanassi by British to shave her head, even the death of her infant were not mere facts of an unjust Almighty but a means of self discovery for Lakshmibai to take reigns of Zhansi one day and live a life no one in this world has ever lived...though only for 22 years.
I urge everyone to go through the biography of Lakshmibai and take part in process of self discovery. We may no longer have colonial powers around but dominant ills like dowry, rape, domestic violence, infanticide, foeticide etc are still looming large going by disgusting national statistics, we need 21st century Zhansi Ki Rani like Lakshmibais who will stand the test of time and fight the menace.
On an emotional but logical end note, her biography has once again after many days has made me ponder on after all what is it that people like Lakshmibai, Jeejabai, Onake Obavva, Tipu Sultan, Bhagat Singh....Maj. Sandip Unnikrishnan and many such souls are made of. Circumstances, values, or what is it that has defined their conscience far outweighing their own will to live for themselves like most of us do.
Few scenes in the 30 minute serial were perhaps so appealing in nature that it even made me question could these incidents shown be real? A quick googling later helped me understand that in fact the very nature of Lakshmibai's life, account by account is an intriguing narration in itself.
That's when I decided to know more of her larger than life persona by reading her biography on http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/jhansi/index.htm And as author N S Ramaprasad has rightly put it in the prelude "She was the queen of a small state, but the empress of a limitless empire of glory."
The inspiration from this moving introduction was far more than just convincing for me to spend my last 45 minutes in reading her small yet highly significant life story. As is being shown in TV and as present in her biographies one thing that catches ones attention is how she had shown a character of 'patriotism, self-respect and heroism' par excellence from her pre-teens. Hence as we proceed through the pages the things become more and more clear that her childhood marriage to the King of Peshwa, early demise of her husband, denial of travel permission to Varanassi by British to shave her head, even the death of her infant were not mere facts of an unjust Almighty but a means of self discovery for Lakshmibai to take reigns of Zhansi one day and live a life no one in this world has ever lived...though only for 22 years.
I urge everyone to go through the biography of Lakshmibai and take part in process of self discovery. We may no longer have colonial powers around but dominant ills like dowry, rape, domestic violence, infanticide, foeticide etc are still looming large going by disgusting national statistics, we need 21st century Zhansi Ki Rani like Lakshmibais who will stand the test of time and fight the menace.
On an emotional but logical end note, her biography has once again after many days has made me ponder on after all what is it that people like Lakshmibai, Jeejabai, Onake Obavva, Tipu Sultan, Bhagat Singh....Maj. Sandip Unnikrishnan and many such souls are made of. Circumstances, values, or what is it that has defined their conscience far outweighing their own will to live for themselves like most of us do.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sexuality Through Our Myopic Lenses And Beyond: Scrap Article 377 In The Country
References: The Economic Times and Deccan Herald
Who established heterosexuality as the only 'natural' means of expressing your sexual orientation? A question mainstream social India has no answer for but is thriving on the basis of this myopic assumption. Right from the time one is born society imposes on you a belief that the only natural instinct of a man or a woman in this country is to find a soul mate of the opposite sex. Your schools, friends, parents, movies, government and everybody else believes it and so are you expected to believe it.
Not that am trying to defy the age old myth mainstream Indian population holds by saying we are utterly incorrect in our assumptions but today the times are different. The onset of globalization along with the free media in this country have given us enough instances to count on the definition of what each of us believe of those who think otherwise about heterosexuality as the only 'natural' thing. Because of the wisdom our values and the very culture, that everyone in this country seems to own and understand, have given us it is seemingly becoming obvious that somewhere by imposing this myth onto ourselves as the eternal truth we are doing injustice to the very spirit of human life.
Nobody has the intrinsic right to define what ones sexual preference should be and especially in the context of the world rising to the occasion and understanding this and thus scrapping their laws that once identified anything other than heterosexuality as the crime. Not to look for away, Delhi High Court's phenomenal verdict on PIL filed by Naz Foundation is a first towards correcting the historical injustice the Article 377 was exhibiting. What is highly appreciable is the detailed painstaking effort the duo of judges have put in while decriminalizing consensual sex between people of same sex.
Thankfully at least in Delhi today proclaiming one’s sexual indentity as a gay or lesbian is not a taboo (not that it is any important but as a matter of equalty) and individuals can lawfully make the decision of choosing their partner of any sex. All this means only one thing, even though Article 377 once criminalized homosexuality, the fundamentals on which constitution is based honoring the right to equality and freedom is above all worth admiration.
As Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Ajit P rakash Shah, who gave the verdict along with Justice Muralidhar, said "moral indignation, howsoever strong, is not a valid basis for overriding individuals’ fundamental rights of dignity and privacy. In our scheme of things, constitutional morality must outweigh the argument of public morality, even if it be the majoritarian view.”
It is always true that human perceptions or beliefs are formed and influenced by environment, consisting of upbringing, education, exposure via reading, media, and existing beliefs among people that get imparted to during our interaction. It is quite understandable then that people confide themselves in social values even though at times overriding the principles of equality as in this case. As Dr Ambedkar wrote it “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realize that our people have yet to learn it.”
It is then in the interest of all us that society as whole opens its eyes in the midst of our divergent views upholding the basic thread of our culture of being inclusive to diversities.
Who established heterosexuality as the only 'natural' means of expressing your sexual orientation? A question mainstream social India has no answer for but is thriving on the basis of this myopic assumption. Right from the time one is born society imposes on you a belief that the only natural instinct of a man or a woman in this country is to find a soul mate of the opposite sex. Your schools, friends, parents, movies, government and everybody else believes it and so are you expected to believe it.
Not that am trying to defy the age old myth mainstream Indian population holds by saying we are utterly incorrect in our assumptions but today the times are different. The onset of globalization along with the free media in this country have given us enough instances to count on the definition of what each of us believe of those who think otherwise about heterosexuality as the only 'natural' thing. Because of the wisdom our values and the very culture, that everyone in this country seems to own and understand, have given us it is seemingly becoming obvious that somewhere by imposing this myth onto ourselves as the eternal truth we are doing injustice to the very spirit of human life.
Nobody has the intrinsic right to define what ones sexual preference should be and especially in the context of the world rising to the occasion and understanding this and thus scrapping their laws that once identified anything other than heterosexuality as the crime. Not to look for away, Delhi High Court's phenomenal verdict on PIL filed by Naz Foundation is a first towards correcting the historical injustice the Article 377 was exhibiting. What is highly appreciable is the detailed painstaking effort the duo of judges have put in while decriminalizing consensual sex between people of same sex.
Thankfully at least in Delhi today proclaiming one’s sexual indentity as a gay or lesbian is not a taboo (not that it is any important but as a matter of equalty) and individuals can lawfully make the decision of choosing their partner of any sex. All this means only one thing, even though Article 377 once criminalized homosexuality, the fundamentals on which constitution is based honoring the right to equality and freedom is above all worth admiration.
As Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Ajit P rakash Shah, who gave the verdict along with Justice Muralidhar, said "moral indignation, howsoever strong, is not a valid basis for overriding individuals’ fundamental rights of dignity and privacy. In our scheme of things, constitutional morality must outweigh the argument of public morality, even if it be the majoritarian view.”
It is always true that human perceptions or beliefs are formed and influenced by environment, consisting of upbringing, education, exposure via reading, media, and existing beliefs among people that get imparted to during our interaction. It is quite understandable then that people confide themselves in social values even though at times overriding the principles of equality as in this case. As Dr Ambedkar wrote it “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realize that our people have yet to learn it.”
It is then in the interest of all us that society as whole opens its eyes in the midst of our divergent views upholding the basic thread of our culture of being inclusive to diversities.
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