Archive for April 2016
Agusta Scam: BJP, Congress, Media all culprits
AgustaWestland scam which was relegated to the sidelines by BJP, Congress and Media for last few years is back in news. Courtesy Italian Court which handed sentences to bribers and named prominent Congress leaders.
BJP has been quick to condemn Congress leaders to come clean. Wait what? Yes you heard it right. BJP is asking the thugs of Congress to come clean. Has any thug ever come clean voluntarily? Never! Let’s be every clear, it was gullible on our part that BJP wants to nab the corrupt. Nobody wants to do that. This was just a charade. Even now the posturing against Congress will continue till media flashes the story. No more. Ah! Yes, also during elections.
Media, which has also proven to be a commodity which was bought by these middlemen, will also sooner or later drop the headlines; either by getting paid off or in lieu of breaking news.
To me, more than the scams of Congress, what hurts is the inaction of BJP. Coz I had so high hopes of Modi. Maybe I was naïve.
Two years on, Vadra is still out. Vadra which whose name made many Indians’ blood boil; whose corruption was poll plank of BJP. He is still out of jail. What can we expect of other such promises? We should come to realize that nothing is going to happen to these bigshots. The best that will happen is they might not be allowed to do more of corruption. We should start feeling content with this.
I seriously hope, soon a national party, alternate to BJP and Congress emerges at the National Scene, with less history and lesser baggage. These seasoned politicians have done us in.
Sanskrit in IIT’s: Playing Devils Advocate
HRD Ministry has asked IIT’s to teach Sanskrit. The aim is to leverage the study of science from ancient literature. This literature is primarily in Sanskrit and hence the need to study the language first.
At this point it is not clear if these courses will be optional or compulsory. As much as I know IIT’s, the courses would be optional. Somewhat like the humanities subjects. The reaction to the decision has been mixed. Some have welcomed, some have laughed at it.
Is the decision any good? Is there any harm if Sanskrit is taught? Is the backlash valid or is it just because we think little of Sanskrit. Would the backlash be same if it was Spanish or German? A lot of aspects need to be looked at. Let me play the devils advocate for now.
Pros:
- Back to the roots: Due to better job and research opportunities abroad, every year there is a mass migration. The sense of pride in our own legacy has gone missing. Hopefully study of Vedas from scientific point of view might instill some much needed belief. What I most like about Japanese and Chinese people is the pride they take in their traditions and beliefs. If teaching Sanskrit gives us an insight into the uncharted treasure, would be good to have.
- Fact vs Fiction: We all have read as to how Sanskrit is the most scientific language. How we can use Sanskrit for technological advancement. How our ancient literature was way ahead of its times and can even compete with the contemporary. The study of Sanskrit will give us an opportunity to vet these topics. Since it will mostly be optional, those who want to they can choose to.
- Fight the ills of society: The biggest of the ills of our society has been propagated by people who held on to Sanskrit. I am talking about the so called Brahmins. They monopolized the religion and religious rituals by understanding or simply by-hearting Sanskrit Shlokas. If Sanskrit study kicked off, hopefully these people will not be able to make fool of the populace. The need for the Panditji will subside when we could recite the Shlokas ourselves. This will take time and would require teaching Sanskrit in all colleges and not just IIT’s.
Cons:
- May become compulsory: There are chances that after a trial run, Govt. might make it a compulsory subject for the 1st semester. This might cause the grades to suffer as Sanskrit is hard to master. Most of the students haven’t been in touch with it from some time. This might take away from the time which the students would have otherwise spent on technical curriculum.
- An attempt to propagate myths: There have been attempts to propagate myths such as presence of flying objects during Ramayana era (Vimana). There is an attempt to push through unsubstantiated reasoning’s in the name of ancient literature. Sanskrit might end up just being right wing propaganda to spread such beliefs. Beliefs which go against continuity of advancement.
- Going backward: Top IQ students spending time on an almost extinct language is akin to going backward. India requires urgent development and reading Sanskrit is not going to give us that. Better would have been global language like Spanish through which we would be able to connect to the world better and help in job creation.
Eventually time will tell if Sanskrit is helpful or not. Lets wait and watch!
That Happiness Shirt
Everyone strives for better shape. For most of us it is an eternal fight to fitness. My body weight fluctuates a lot depending on my eating habits and exercise regime. There are times when I am fit; there are times when I am unfit.
But there is always that one shirt which was bought at the height of fitness. When I am able to wear, it makes me happy. Couple of months of unhealthy lifestyle, junk food, late nights, break from workout and I can’t fir into my perfect shirt.
When I gain around 5-6kgs, and start huffing and puffing, I get back to diet and workout. Junk food gets replaced with fruits and home made food. Regular workout, cycling, Baba Ramdev come back into picture.
I try that perfect shirt daily. It starts from not being able to button up. Moves to buttoning up but with bulging Moobs. A month or so later comes the moment when I am able to wear it to office. The joy of the Perfect Shirt.
I am sure this trait is shared by a lot of people. Whoever you are, where ever you are, I am sure you have that perfect Shirt, waiting to make you happy.
Barber-ism
Going for a haircut have always been an ordeal for me. One can call it a phobia, laziness whatever, I have always felt an inertia heading to a Barber. As a result more often than not, I am found with heavy hair. I started calling it my signature style after the fact.
During my childhood, it was my Grandfather who used to take me for the haircut. “You look Junglee, Come let’s make you human again”, he used to say. That was the only the time when I wasn’t hesitant to go. Since then I have always procrastinated.
I think mostly it is due to me being lethargic. Or maybe it is due the futility of the chore. They will grow up again anyways; also they doesn’t stop me from doing anything. Sure, some people do comment on the long locks, others call me untidy. But I get some compliments too.
The fun part is, whenever I do go for a haircut, I pledge that from then on, it will be a regular thing. Alas! to no avail. In the blink of an eye, 6 months go by. Same long hairs, same untidy look. Another reason can be I was heavy built during my teenage. And subconsciously long hairs would have made me look a bit lean. Silly reason, but that’s all I can think of.
I went for the haircut yesterday. Pledged to come back sooner than later. But I know it is an exercise in futility.
कोई आस है वापस आने की
एक दर्द दबाए बैठा हूँ,
सीने में चुभन सी होती है,
दूर तेरे चले जाने की,
कोई आस है वापस आने की?
एक तूफ़ान समाये बैठा हूँ,
मन में उफ़न सी होती है,
श्रृंगार की बेला जाने की,
कोई आस है वापस आने की?
एक राज छुपाए बैठा हूँ,
ओठों पे कशिश सी होती है,
क्षितिज पार न देख पाने की,
कोई आस है वापस आने की?
एक आह समेटे बैठा हूँ,
आँखों में टीस सी होती है,
झर-झर मोती बह जाने की,
कोई आस है वापस आने की?
एक स्वप्न संजोए बैठा हूँ,
रातों को करवटें होती हैं,
नींद मेरी खुल जाने की,
कोई आस है वापस आने की?
एक आग लगाए बैठा हूँ,
हर अंग तपन सी होती है,
भस्म इसमें हो जाने की,
कोई आस है वापस आने की?
एक सांस को थामे बैठा हूँ,
भीतर से घुटन सी होती है,
ईश्वर से जा मिल जाने की,
कोई आस है वापस आने की?
Intolerance Debate: Understanding the Celebrity Shaming
A lot of celebrities were shamed, trolled for speaking their mind on intolerance. According to me they have every right of sharing their feelings. No one can take that away.
Somewhere media belittled the issue by highlighting the cases of Shahrukh and Aamir. What started off as celebrity trolling was relegated to an issue with religious undertones. In reality it was not just about the two superstars, a lot of writers were trolled too who did not share the same religion. But this angle was forgotten.
I want to explore the celebrity shaming issue in totality. I feel that even if Akshay Kumar would have said what Shahrukh said, he would have been subjected to the same. I am not defending the social media abuses that were hurled at anyone who said the country is intolerant. I am trying to understand why these celebrities were taken to task.
What I feel is, when common people saw these well off people cribbing about intolerance, somehow the anger erupted. It was like, when common Indian were struggling for water, food, shelter, the people who have everything were busy cribbing about first world problems.
I was talking to a friend of mine and he had this to say. “So the country is too intolerant for these stars who have all the luxuries in the world. They who spend most of time abroad, whose children study abroad, who have havens abroad, they find the country intolerant. By that reasoning, we who have no money to go abroad and have been living in India and will continue to live in India, are ch****a.”
People might have perceived it as rubbing the salt in their wounds. I don’t think it was related to national pride, as it was related to being laughed at. A rich person cribbing is never a humble figure. Feeling is like, “they crib with all the wealth, we who don’t have much should commit suicide then”.
Better would have been if these celebrities would have cribbed after donating part of their wealth. It would have given them some moral weight. In the absence of that, they came out as greedy people who are not content even with the entire world at their feet.
I might be wrong here. But this is what I feel.
Unravelling of Brand Shahrukh Khan
Unthinkable has happened. Fan is going to be SRK movie which falls short of 100 crores. Best estimate is 85 crore by the end of run.
For people like me who have grown up on movies during 1995-2010, it comes as a shock. It was an era when Shahrukh churned blockbusters one after another. There was a famous quote, “In Bollywood either Sharukh sells or sex sells”. This was the era when Salman, Aamir, Akshay were relegated to bygones. Since then Salman has went on to become Bollywood’s Rajnikant; Aamir is on a different planet altogether when it comes to box office collections. Even Ajay, Akshay have come back strongly. All this while Shahrukh has slowly faded.
They say a Superstar don’t need good story to make a movie a hit, he does it by his star power. A super star is defined not by the final collection of the movie, but by the initial (first weekend) it takes. Final collection depends on the content. With Fan even the initial was bad. With Dilwale at least the initial was respectable. But the signs of stagnancy were there.
When Dilwale was beaten by Bajirao Mastani, SRK was humbled. Shetty-Kajol-SRK combined, which was supposed to be a winner, ended up second to Bhansali’s magnum opus. With Fan, there was no zeal even among Shahrukh’s diehard fans.
I am a fan of all kind of cinema. Meaningful or Masala, Hindi or English. My only criterion is, movie should not bore me. With that yardstick, SRK movies have been somewhat boring of late. Bit by bit, they chewed up his stardom. This has led to the present when SRK is not able to command even a blockbuster opening.
How much fans he lost by various controversies in last few years is debatable. Does the intolerance debate lose him following? I hope not.
Maybe age is finally catching up with him. Is this curtain on a fairytale career? I for one would like to see many more romantic blockbusters from SRK. Way ahead looks tricky though.
Free Land to Hema Malini for Dance Academy: Public Service. Really!
Recently the issue of free plot (almost) allotted to Hema Malini was in news. That she was a BJP MP, made things murkier. That the plot was in plush area of Mumbai made the deal sweet. Sometimes I wonder why these people want freebies. Then the realization, who doesn’t like freebies? Would I not like to get a free piece of land, if I can bend the system to my advantage?
The mere explanation we get is that these artists have earned it by their hard work. In this case, she will build a Dance Academy. Earlier there was a case of acting school of Subhash Ghai with same reasons. Ok fine, I can understand Govt must promote such endeavors but at what cost?
Will Hema Malini teach there for free? Has she given in writing that students won’t be charged? Of course not. Is Subhash Ghai not charging fees? Of Course not. This issue is age old. Most of the private schools are given land almost for free across India. They promise to take certain percentage of Economic Weaker students for free every year. But we all know what they do. Rich parents don’t want their wards to sit with poor people. Hence to maintain status, schools grease some palms and voila! No more poor students.
Apart from AAP Govt in Delhi, I haven’t seen any other state taking steps to see that EWS get through and that these people keep their word.
I have an admission to make. I have standing serious issues with Hema Malini. She is MP from a constituency of Mathura, which is next to my hometown Agra. I for one know that she has done nothing for Mathura. She got elected on back of Modi wave. She hardly spends any time in Mathura. Now I know why. She is busy grabbing land in Mumbai. It takes a lot of time lobbying anyways.
Thanks to RTI such people are getting exposed. Otherwise all these years, they grabbed land and no one knew. I am just venting out. Nothing else I can do. Hopefully things will change. But I suspect not.
I stand with Kangana Ranaut
3rd class as Times of India newspaper is, it sunk to new low yesterday when it published leaked emails allegedly between Hrithik and Kangana. What’s more pathetic was the tone of the article which without any verification, insinuated that it was a one sided affair. That Kangana was obsessed with Hrithik. That it was an imposter who was emailing Kangana. That she was all at fault and not Hrithik.
When a leading daily has this sort of skewed mentality, what can we say about others in its ilk. I am appalled with media which is directly or indirectly siding with Hrithik. Such chauvinistic mindset is not helping anyone. Just because Kangana is not as big a brand as Hrithik, no one is coming out to support her? Just coz Kangana’s father is not Rakesh Roshan, everyone will laugh at her?
What right does Times of India and other pathetic papers have to publish about her illness? Why no news channel has taken this attack as a debate topic? It is evident now that Hrithik’s side is the one leaking the stories and email correspondences to the media. Why the need for character assassination?
I tell you why. Coz it doesn’t suits Hrithik’s stature to be associated with someone who does not come from family of Bollywood; the Roshan, the Khan, the Kapoor, the Bachchan cartels. If she were related to some Bollywood cartel, Mr Roshan would have been hiding and not attacking her.
She is a single lady who has come up on her own. She has been attacked all along. The Johars, Chopras and other big banners have stayed away. They would better work with other cartels’ sons and daughters. Despite all that, she has made a place for herself. Won National Awards.
I stand by Kangana in this hour. I am not a big fan, but I side with her on principle. It is saddening to see people like Bhoomata Brigade who would fight for women’s rights to worship inanimate stones but has nothing to say when a woman is attacked by a Superstar. God knows Bhoomata is Hrithik’s fan too? I haven’t seen National Commission for Women (NCW), taken suo moto action here. Maybe this doesn’t give them political mileage. Or maybe they too are Hrithik’s fans.
No other female Bollywood star has come out in support of Kangana, when the whole spineless industry was out in the open supporting the infamous Sanjay Dutt, who was then a terror accused. Even Mr. Kher is silent here. They are all ‘You scratch my back, I scratch’ yours’ kind of people anyways.
Don’t lose heart Kangana, millions of people scattered around the country are with you. The Media, Bollywood, Feminist cartels are silent today or are siding with Roshan. But people are with you. Hrithik’s attempt to attack you publicly (when no one even knew about this matter), has only shown that one may become a Superstar, but that doesn’t make one a Gentleman.
When skirts in pubs are banned, it is attack on women’s rights. But when a Superstar attacks a woman, she had it coming. That’s the apathy of the society we live in.
Reporters or Talk Show hosts?
On Fox News in USA, a long running news show is telecast ‘The Hannity’. It is run by a person Hannity. It’s just like any other prime time shows that come on News channels. People are interviewed and occasional panel discussions. Recently Hannity admitted that he is not a reporter but a Talk Show Host.
It was a very honest admission unlike the hypocrites we see in Indian News Media. Don’t get me wrong, US media is much worse. But let’s concentrate on India for a little bit. Every night on various news channels, we see Talk Show hosts posing as reporters and maligning the name of media.
My assertion is they are mere actors and their shows are not unlike ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’. They should not be allowed to call themselves reporters. Booming of News channels is a recent phenomenon in India and has grown during last 10-12 years or so. Initially these TV hosts were chosen from career reporters, who till then were foot soldiers. They got the opportunity to enter the TV studios but they just never left. Slowly they lost touch with the reality, with people. The lure of fat pay and big AC Studios was far too much when compared to heat/dust/sweat/pain that comes with real reporting.
Situation is even grimmer now. People without any experience in reporting are directly hired as Debate show hosts. Only requirement is one should be able to speak good English. Their knowledge of political, social situations doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is the eyeballs they can generate. The TRP’s!
Why I cited example of Hannity was, at least he was true enough to admit what he really is. A Talk Show Host. After a smug political breed, a new smug Media breed has emerged. They want special treatment, passes, perks and what not. My only advice to these people is, be honest and admit you are Talk Show Hosts. Maybe then real reporters will be able to redeem the profession.
ArpitGarg's Weblog 