In history, farce and tragedy often come in pairs...

In some ways, the Ajmal Kasab (the lone gunman captured alive in the Mumbai terror attack) saga resembles Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. For want of something better to do, the two tramps Vladimir and Estragon engage in a duel of abuses. Vermin, cretin, moron, they call each other. The winner yells the ultimate insult. “You are a critic,” he screams at the top of his voice as the lights fade.

Long before the court could give its verdict the media pronounced Kasab guilty. But now, case plays itself out, Kasab has done what most people faced with a death sentence do. He has disowned his earlier statement implicating himself. So now he is being called a liar. It’s almost as though being a liar is somehow worse than being a terrorist. What would they ideally want him to do short of confessing to his role in the terror plot? Do they want the man they so revile to act nobly and voluntarily stick his head in the noose?

It is axiomatic that history repeats itself, first as a tragedy then as a farce. Yet sometimes there is such a fine difference between history’s two consorts that it is hard to tell them apart.Take the two events as examples that came towards the fag end of this year. One was the indictment by an inquiry commission of a former prime minister and self-proclaimed charioteer of Indian nationalism. He, along with 68 others was found culpable of razing the Babri Masjid in 1992. In other words they had organised the mobs to tear the Indian constitution to shreds. Much of the media treated it as a minor aberration, a speck of dust merely, and no more, on democracy’s fair name. It was further claimed that Messrs L.K. Advani and A.B. Vajpayee were unjustly dragged in it. It didn’t matter that TV coverage of that event proved otherwise.

Then came the last stages of the Mumbai terror trial in which Kasab, the main accused in captivity, denied any role he had previously admitted to having played in inflicting the gruesome attack. Now he claims that he had travelled from his native Pakistan to act in movies in Mumbai! That’s how he was picked up by police a day before the November 26 attack. He claims he was framed.Perhaps he is lying.

Who doesn’t tell lies to win a court case, particularly when the alternative is a likely death sentence? The great statesmen involved in the demolition of the Babri Masjid have lied even without the fear of the noose.So between the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, which was tragedy and which was farce? The sad truth, however, is that while Ayodhya and Mumbai cannot and should not be juxtaposed or compared, there is a common link. Both have led to rightwing consolidation of the polity, and in the final analysis it is this that has serious implications for India’s democracy.

India’s middle classes want Kasab hanged, they want to lynch him in the tradition of the Ox-Bow Incident. They like to pick and choose their injustices. To them the Liberhan Commission’s indictment of rightwing politicians is passé and boring.The hype around the attacks on Mumbai (the 26/11 incident, as it has come to be called) has similarities with the way the middle classes and the media had approached the attack on parliament on December 13, 2001. On that occasion Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He had cast doubts over the official theory about the attack.We came close to a nuclear war with Pakistan over that incident.

Suppose we look at the hysteria generated by the media in that, which had declared S.A.R. Geelani guilty even before the trial court had sentenced him to death. Considering that the High Court exonerated him of any role in the parliament attack episode, imagine the absurdity, the farce and the tragedy of putting at risk the lives of millions over a false lead.Mercifully then as after the Mumbai attacks a grave possibility of war did not erupt into something more sinister than the attacks had proved to be.

As last week’s Economic and Political Weekly observed, “India could not replicate the US response to 9/11 with its own mini-war of terror by attacking Pakistan, which at one time seemed very imminent but may have been thwarted by the imperative of the US-led war in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a tacit binary was established which effectively blocked legitimate questions around the incident.”

Commenting on last month’s official commemoration of the Mumbai attack, the EPW observed: “The jingoistic hype duly helped by the media reached its crescendo on its first anniversary. While one would expect the nation to come to its senses after the heat of the incident had come down and to ponder over the real questions the incident raised, it was not to be.”

The journal put out an interesting array of statistics. India has faced more than 4,100 terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2004, accounting for about 12,540 fatalities, according to the Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the University of Maryland and the US National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).That accounts for an average of almost 360 fatalities per year.

The earlier attack in Mumbai on 11 July 2006 in the form of serial blasts at seven places in local trains, the lifeline of the city, was executed within a short time of 11 minutes, and the death toll was far higher at 200 and with 714 people being wounded.

In terms of potential, if one may say so, the 2001 attack on the Parliament in New Delhi, symbolising our national sovereignty, in which five terrorists, six policemen and one civilian were killed was far more perilous than the 26/11 attack.

“Why then has the 26/11 episode been singled out as ‘the attack on India’ and projected as India’s 9/11?,” asks the EPW article.The only distinguishing factor in the 26/11 attack is that it is the first time that the elite establishments symbolised by the Taj and Trident hotels were targeted. In terms of casualties, about 61 persons were killed in these two hotels, and of 102 of the rest, 58 ordinary citizens were shot randomly at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) station. In the list of victims there were 37 foreigners.

Among those killed were senior police officials of the Indian Police Service such as Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare. Although, the CST attack lasted for over 30 minutes just a stone’s throw away from the police posse at the Azad Maidan Police Station the entire resistance effort was directed towards the Taj, Trident and of course Nariman House. Our elitist media also largely ignored the CST tragedy and focused its attention during and after the attack around these places.

At his first press conference after his release, Zakir Hussain College lecturer S.A.R. Geelani referred to the role of the media in his case. It had lent itself to carrying propaganda put out by the police, he said. To the extent that journalists take briefings from the police, often unquestioningly, he is right.

Several of India’s leading national newspapers and TV channels have been exposed as having widely and repeatedly published and telecast falsehoods about the accused in the Parliament attack. The coverage brought India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear war.

A few years later, when the trial was completed, the Supreme Court acquitted two of the four accused. A third was convicted on a separate set of charges altogether. Mohammad Afzal continues to be on death row even though the Supreme Court held that it had found no evidence to prove that he was a member of a terrorist group. However the judgement went on to say that “in order to satisfy the collective conscience of society” it was sentencing him to death. In modern society, it is the mass media that fashions the collective conscience of society. It is the mass media that is deciding which injustices society should tolerate and which it should not.

Whether Ajmal Kasab is found guilty, or whether he lives or dies will not affect the problem of terrorism that India faces. Yet that hardly seems to matter to those who revel in one sordid tragedy after another, seeking a sound bite here or a quotable quote there. Estragon and Vladimir had found their ultimate insult.

The Indian media and Ajmal Kasab are still searching for theirs...

ARTICLE BY JAVED NAQVI.

Our Little Bits that can make the Big Difference!

Do we need a film like 2012 or the media frenzy around Copenhagen to realise that we are headed towards “Doomsday”?

Don’t we realise by simply stepping out of our houses or even looking out of our windows at anytime of the day to know how fucked up we are?

It’s raining in November! The winter is delayed and severe! Last year people embarrassingly wore sweaters in the day in Mumbai!!! Summers are getting hotter!

Government is announcing housing schemes but without water supply!!!What happened to the three basic needs of man?? Basic food crops are scarce and prises are sky rocketing!

We are multiplying at a frantic pace and the place to hold all of us is shrinking!!
These are major problems that seem scarier and far fetched when looked as a whole but what if we break it down into tiny bits and pieces and begin to make the change that’ll benefit us all? It then seems truly simple and manageable.

Why get all hyper about switching off our lights for an hour- once in a year??? Why not do it for 10 minutes every day??? Likewise I was just going through an average day and came up with certain tiny bits of change that make a big difference.

I first applied it to my life for a week and believe me they not only contribute towards the big picture but most importantly make you feel better......A little respite for the otherwise guilt conscious!

A few simple things that i did without any major adjustments to my life-

Switch off the lights as you leave the room- without fail and at all times!
While brushing your teeth - Keep the tap off while you are brushing- every single day and night!
Skip the shower in the morning; use the bucket. I am still discounting the luxury of having a shower at the end of a tiring day. If you can skip that too- great!

Walk all short distances around the house for any chore- grocery store, for a smoke to the paan wala, to the gym, etc.

Instead of each member of the family taking a different glass for water why not share glasses or use bottles and drink without soiling them? Saves water and effort!

Treat the work place as your own- only as far as power consumption is concerned! Switch off the comps/ laptops for the lunch break. Put them on sleep mode for the smoke breaks.

Before switching on the AC or any lights just pause and ask- Do I really need it? If not then… J
I guess the point has been drawn and hate preaching but tiny adaptations are the need of the hour and if I have succeeded in it, I am sure each of us can.

It’s worth it. Keep it simple. Keep it minimal. Keep it consistent. Lets not spoil ourselves and screw the future…what say?

A NEWS ARTICLE FROM THE DNA

Here’s a special quiz: for DNA readers. Which two of the following four men are terrorists: David Coleman Headley Tahawwur Hussain Rana Vilas Pandurang Warak Rahul Mahesh Bhatt American investigators working for the FBI think it’s the first two which is why they have been arrested. On the other hand India’s own National Investigating Agency (NIA) seems to think it’s Warak and Bhatt who are the offenders and has been treating them accordingly. Perhaps this is not a time for levity considering that issues of national security are involved, but the fact remains that the NIA has treated Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Warak with a callousness which goes far beyond mere insensitivity. And in the manner in which it has handled these two young men you can see why the NIA fails in its primary duty which is to investigate terror plots and if possible, foil them. There is no doubt that it has failed in this job. Rana – who has a Canadian passport – was in India for three weeks in November 2008 and left days before 26/11. During his stay here he visited five cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kochi. Headley – who has a US passport -- also visited these five cities; in fact, he made as many as nine trips into India between 2006 and 2009, but neither he nor Rana were on the radar of the NIA as possible suspects who needed to be monitored. Yet, they were under the FBI’s surveillance, Headley for as long as a year before he was arrested last month and Rana for about half that time. Why did the NIA not have any clue of their diabolical intent? In fact, why did the name David Coleman Headley on a former Pakistani national not arouse suspicion? Why was the Indian Consul General in Chicago in such a hurry to give Headley a long term multiple entry visa? And why is it only now that no one found out that the name Headley was a camouflage for the man’s real name Daaod Gilani, and that he had served 15 months in a US prison for drug trafficking in Philadelphia? These are questions Mr Chidambaram, the Home Minister needs to ask those who are allegedly in charge of our nation’s security. After the colossal intelligence failures which led to the 9/11 felling of the World Trade Centre Towers in New York and the tube attacks in London, the United States and Britain have put into place surveillance systems of such magnitude and efficiency that no terrorist attacks have taken place there since then. This is not for want of trying. The US still remains Enemy No.1 for terrorists, and the UK is not far behind as a target. Yet with the help of intelligence gathering of a very high order, terrorist conspiracies have been nipped in the bud, terror networks have been exposed and many terrorists arrested before they could do any damage. In arresting Headley and Rana, the US may have foiled strikes in India, though it’s still possible that the two have installed sleeper cells in the five cities they visited. If so, the onus is on NIA to identify and neutralize them. Intelligence gathering relies on a network of informers, some of whom would be part of an agency like NIA, but many more of whom would be freelancers or people on retainership who provide information for payment or for reasons of patriotism. While the first kind, the freelancers, are essential for a continuous flow of information within groups likely to cause problems, there can be a huge informal network of the latter, citizens who out of nationalistic altruism will report suspicious activities on one, and only one condition. That condition being that there has to be a responsible and responsive person in the police or the NIA who will listen carefully, take notes diligently and ensure anonymity. Instead of that we get a sordid spectacle of Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Warak being hounded by the NIA, their names being made public so that the media could harass them, and worse, being treated as if they were under some kind of cloud. And why? Because they had the misfortune of meeting Headley by chance and getting to know him. How were they to guess that Headley had a criminal past or evil future intentions when the NIA itself had no clue ? In the US or the UK, the identity of witnesses is never revealed. A press release would have merely said “Two men are helping the police in investigations.” If Bhatt and Warak were volunteering information to the FBI or Scotland Yard, they would not have been summoned to the police station in the full glare of publicity; instead plainclothes men would have visited them in their homes and made discreet inquiries. You can’t blame the media for highlighting a story; it is up to the authorities to make sure the media does not get the story in the first place. In a while the frenzy of the current excitement will die down and Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Warak will get back to their normal lives. But will the ordeal they have gone through encourage other people to volunteer information to the police or NIA in the future? Would you go out of a patriotic sense of duty to report suspicious activities if there was a good chance that you yourself would be treated as a suspect? Is anyone now surprised why our intelligence agencies never gather any intelligence?

SHIV SENA IS BATTING ON A VERY BOUNCY WICKET!!!

The Shiv Sena was loosing its ground(Not cricket ground!). They had no issues that they could fight for and those could truely be called as "Issues". Uddhav Thackrey has not been an impressive leader and they are still relying on the charisma of Bal Thackrey whose frailing health is not helping the sinking party. The MNS is creating furthur problems to Sena which anyway was in trouble as the Raj Thackrey syndrome is causing grave damage to their thinking and working.

The assembly results made it obvious what otherwise was only whispered and murmured. The Sena supreme accused the Marathi Manoos of back stabbing him and ended up distancing them further more from the saffron brigade. As if all this was not enough, they come up with a disastrous goof up like the attack on Sachin Tendulkar!!!!!! Of all the people...Of all the millions of sane and insane issues around, they end up picking the most sanctimonious of all!!! Running down the national icon of international repute-our very own and dearly loved- Sachin Tendulkar!!! WHY??

How can someone be so naive? How can someone who has been in the political arena for above 40 years and has emerged and sustained on nothing else-(issues, i cant think of any) but sensing the pulse of the people -go so wrong at this crucial hour??

I am still willing to concede that mistakes happen! An article once written in the surge of emotions cannot be held as testimonial of someones entire IQ and identity, so the first article in Saamna was a blunder but NO- they did not stop!! They go on and on and on...

Statements are made like Sachin did not make it possible for (an out of form and under performing) Kambli to stay in the national team so -shame on Sachin!!! In other words the one who does his job sincerely is a traitor to the marathi cause?? Sachin said he is an Indian first so- Shame on Sachin. What does that mean????

Is there no one in this entire Sena enterprise who can think well for themselves and advise the party decision makers that they must save the very little grace of theirs by shutting up...at least now!!

This is beginning to seem like an ideal case study of a downfall for the desperation is getting the better of them. The helplessness is beginning to seem very obvious.- They attacked Sachin Tendulkar as guardians of marathi manoos!!!!!!!! Hasava ki radava aamhi??

LOVE IS GOD…GOD IS LOVE…is it??????? YES IT IS!!

STATUTORY WARNING: I am fully aware of the cynical and satirical nature of the write up to follow however the idea was to highlight the analogy between LOVE and GOD and smile on its usage here under!

I have started to believe that most poetic and mystical concepts that we know off-LOVE and GOD taken here- are actually products of excellent marketing!! They are avenues that have supreme potential for economic exploitation!!

Both Love and God seem to be marketed not only aggressively but also successfully as we’ll find out…

In both these cases- if you observe- the target audience is enamored and in awe making them extremely vulnerable to be induced into believing anything!!!

In both the scenarios there is a subjects desire to please and please fast! The reactions of being pleased are also wanted fast by the one in love and by those that pray!! In other words better the gift-faster the sex and higher the donation-faster the wish granted!
Keeping this in mind it is only natural that a lot of money is at stake on both these supposedly spiritual emotions…and keeping this in mind the entrepreneurs have developed a market that provides fodder to the above non-materialistic feelings and concepts.

The brilliance of the entrepreneurs is that they have also cushioned their position by developing a market at the other end of this tunnel. That is when a person has fallen out of love or given up god. That is the time when the liquor barons come into play or even worse another start of the same process---falling in love again or turning to religion and spirituality and lastly being violent and unlawful!

The last one herein which is that of being unlawful leads to the encounters with the law, judiciary, governance and thus into a much corrupt and thriving set up!!

Imagine if one does not fall in love or believe in god! There would no acts of illogical sentimentality, there would be no loss of focus or a surge of happiness which when goes missing and one hits the ground and feels the world falling apart!

That would mean a consistent life with a balanced frame of mind that is based on practicality and sensibility…would it??

Hmmm…

LIGHT THE CANDLES AGAIN- IT IS TIME!

I was ridiculed by a group of certain young college kids when I did not applaud them for their candle gathering at the Gateway of India post 26/11. In order to urge me into joining them they attempted to arouse my nationalistic senses by reminding me about the grave tragedy that they were gathering in the memory off. No amount of my explaining to them that ‘Terrorism was a very deep rooted problem that will require persistent and very intelligent efforts on a day to day basis’ seemed to hold any ground before their excitement to make a difference- NOW!

The difference so far has been that nothing has been done!
The difference has been that everyone has got busy and tied up in their lives which is yet not touched by the sting of terror.
The difference is that the media and radio channels continue to wait for an event that they can milk for their own benefit and making people believe that it is being done for them! The difference is that those who cause all the damage are laughing at our business and continuing to be miles ahead of us!!

Else why would there not be an uproar or inquisitiveness when two innocent young men by the name of Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Varak who volunteered information to the cops about terrorists- terrorists who were involved in the terror attack and about whom the investigative agencies had no clue as to where to look for their foot prints- are finding themselves crucified amidst the web of lies and sensationalism and even vandalism.

Rahul and Vilas did not realize that- by doing what all the candle carrying mobs of the city should have actually done- they brought to light in a very unintentional manner the lackluster working of the NIA (National Investigative Agency) who at that time believed that the “Rahul” mentioned in the phone excerpts of David Headley and Rana was either Shah Rukh Khan or Rahul Gandhi!!! How close!!!

Let me now state a few revelations that are so far very conveniently underplayed-
1) No questions are asked to the management of the gym where David Headley was a member! He could also run a business in the city and get an apartment here!!
2) The snap of Headley shown on all channels so far is wrong- it is not Headley!!
3) The true pic of Headley has been located now and in there he is seen having wine with the ex US Counsel General- Michael S Owen in Feb 2008!

This is only the beginning for more is yet to be buried under the carpet because we are not going to take this lying low.
If this can happen a reputed and socially credible man like Mahesh Bhatt what will you and I do if tomorrow one of your loved one is accused of being a terrorist because his/her name was taken by some terrorist in some phone conversation?????

It is time to light the candles but not carry them to any place where they die out in the wind but to use those flames to burn the lies and the liars to ashes.

I DOUBT IF ANYONE WOULD WANT TO HELP THE POLICE EVER!!

…after what is been happening with Rahul Bhatt.

A Mahesh Bhatt or Pooja Bhatt does not need any endorsement or certification from me for the absolute innocence of Rahul Bhatt who is presently being crucified for discharging his duties as a responsible citizen. However it is my very own frustration and extreme anger at the ongoing circus of sensationalism at the cost of someone’s life that is making it impossible for me to stay quiet.

I am no major fan of the Bhatt’s to make me blindly stand up and speak for them but I have had the esteemed opportunity to work as an Asst. Director on two films directed by Ms. Pooja Bhatt. It is during this process of over 2 years that I did got an opportunity to see and know the Bhatt’s more closely than the average film and news watcher does. It is a result of this experience that I can vouch for the fact about the current buzz around Rahul Bhatt and his connections with an LET operative are not only bizarre but scary- for what it means is that one can get crucified for doing the right!!! One can get tortured for daring to speak the truth!

Again let me emphasize I am not reacting because of any attachments or bias with the esteemed and celebrated family of the Bhatt’s but for the simple reason that a very innocent citizen who did the right by volunteering information to the authorities is being crucified because it makes good news and more importantly helps cover the lack luster affairs of the law and investigative agencies. It pains me no end to see the plethora of news channels and publications all playing the tune of “Poor Rahul” instead of “Atrocious Justice”!!

In short stop writing and showing pictures of Rahul Bhatt with the haunting back ground score or writing about how he is sitting in seclusion at his home and instead highlight how without the revelation made by this guy we would have never known about this now sensationalized terror trail.

The Gym Mr. Hadley was a member off, the visa agency he ran, the house he stayed at and so many other things are more important to be talked about…and if nothing else at least give the credit due to Rahul and his friend Vilas for daring to speak the truth.

Right now the manner in which the episode is being handled I doubt whether anyone would ever want to help the police!!

DELHI- POWER, POLITICS...

A model working in a high end bar refuses to serve drinks to a son of a politician because the bar has been closed. The angered son shoots the model. She dies on the spot.

Some witnesses testify and a nationwide hunt is initiated by the Delhi Police. They cannot find him!!
However the accused surrenders himself but only after acquiring anticipatory bail!! So he is out again...
As the trial runs over the next 7 years the witnesses turn hostile and thus the politicians' son is acquitted and set free owing to insufficient evidence!!

However a year later owing to public uproar the case is re-opened and new evidence is presented as a result of which the hot blooded son is indeed found guilty of murdering the model and is to 'Life Imprisonment'!!

But...A couple of years later the same dude is seen clubbing at another high end Delhi pub and is found out that he has been out on parole for quiet some time owing to his mother being unwell.

His mother however is openly campaigning for some elections rallies and is fit and fine.

I wish this was a fictional short story or a concept for a feature film but it is neither. It is a true story from the nation's capital. It is what we all know as the Jessica Lal Murder Case. It is something that has been going on for the last 10 years. it is something that reeks of Delhi's power circles and its inherent corruption and power games.

It is something that is considered to be part of living. The media can go only to the extent permitted and will do so only till they get another news item to fill space. The common man is to only discuss this in his living room or at bus stops...

Dear Mobile Ringers,
It was truly an experience to watch the film festival being surrounded by you’ll at all times. I speak to you humbly for at a most unlikely place you have shocked me by your numbers and reach. I say ‘unlikely place’ because at a festival venue I had expected myself to be away from ‘your kind’ as your personalities seemed to conflict with the kind that cinema lovers are supposed to have. I was wrongly under the impression that being from the same field or being connected to it in some way would have made you maintain decorum by putting your phones on silent but you proved me wrong at every screening. The phones rang, sometimes repeatedly during a film disturbing all around you and exhibiting your strength of indiscipline and disregard.

One does meet your kith and kin at various theaters when you go in to watch movies in general. However their presence there seems valid as the purpose of their visit there is exclusively to pass some time and get entertained. It is unreasonable to expect them to care for the time and effort it takes to make a film. They have a life to lead with problems of their own and the films are meant to relieve them of the stress or distract them as per their convenience. Thus they are such and cant be expected to unanimously regulate themselves.

But you claim to be cinema lovers, many of you depend on this medium for your bread and butter and most importantly a lot loose sleep over the filmmaking process and rejoice to see their names roll away at a time when the rest are rushing towards the exit…sometimes already cursing the film!! Despite this you talk while a film is on and your mobiles are not on silent. Your mobiles ring loudly which you then pick up and talk on!!!!! I have been thinking about this all through the festival for not a single screening has gone by when I have not sensed your presence. There is no explanation I can find as to why despite repeated announcements and slides put up before the each show you continue to keep your phones on and talk while a film is on!

I thus humbly ask each one of those like minded souls whose mobile rings loudly in the middle of a film screening as to what keeps you’ll from putting it on silent. Despite repeated announcements to turn it off, despite being fully aware that the loud ring in the middle of the film is very disturbing and a conversation after that is very wrong and is often objected by all around you, what is it that makes you shamelessly let your phone scream out your foolishness and indecent personality? You’ll who pretend to be the well read intellectuals of the cultured world and expect the security guards to not stop you and ask for your pass every time you enter the festival venue or seem to sneer every time your bags are opened and checked, Why do you allow yourself to be degraded as morons and exhibit yourself as an illiterate arse-hole by not paying any heed to the announcements asking you’ll to put the mobiles on silent? I’m sure there must be some reason for esteemed people like yourselves to flaunt such cheap and chutiyatik behavior.


For all it takes is a click of two buttons to put the phone on vibrator mode. In this case you can sense the call coming and then decide whether to take the call or ignore it. Even if you wish to simply ask the caller to ‘call back later’ you can pick up the call, whisper the same and disconnect it. If the call is still important then you can leave the hall and talk to your hearts content. It seems so freakishly simple that your contempt makes you that much more ignorant and dick heads.

However I have finally agreed that there is something reasonable behind your actions for why else will you continue to do something that makes you come across as moronic arse-holes?

Please enlighten me with the same so that I can look beyond my narrow mindedness that makes me follow rules and discipline without causing myself any inconvenience!

Awaiting your reply and thanking you in anticipation.

Regards

P.S. - If in case you call me to reply to this letter I might not attend the same in the middle of a film, please bear with me for I’ll call you back. Thank You.

MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT: 29TH OCTOBER 2009- INVITEES ONLY!

Film festivals have always attracted me over the years but somehow it has never worked out to be present all through any festival. This once it seemed possible and as such I was determined to witness the entire MFF this year. However I was under the impression that the festival begins on the 7th of November. It was only a day prior to its actual opening (29th Oct) that I realized I had one day to arrange for the pass and plan my week ahead!!

The same was immediately done and I was ready for an entire week of movie watching from all over the world.

Fun Republic, the multiplex in the Mumbai suburb of Andheri was my chosen camping ground for the week, Metro Cinema and R City mall also being the venues where the fest was going to be held. However Fun was much closer in terms of traveling and fortunately was also the main center with 5 films being screened everyday in each of its 4 screens which meant at least 20 films per day and for 7 days!! Make the maths- its mind boggling!

On going through the schedule the fair seemed impressive with approximately 140 diverse films to choose from which had a mix of world cinema- fiction along with nonfiction docu dramas, first time directors and retrospectives of legends.

There was confusion on the first night over whether the film to be screened was open for all or invitees only!! However I reached with my calculation that since the film was going to be screened in all 4 screens it would be silly to keep the general film hungry crowd away as there weren’t that many celebs/ invitees. But silly was the theme they chose to take and that’s precisely what happened. The film ran to deserted screens as some celebs just made an appearance and left whereas the ordinary film lover was left stranded. Never mind… it was too early to judge anything and too unpleasant to spoil one’s mood right at the start.

Keeping with the tradition of sketchy organization the catalogues were not available even on the opening night so my choices were dependent on my vague knowledge of world cinema and some expertise of a few learned people. I however was hungry for anything as long as I watched at least 3-4 films a day.

Some obvious must watches were circled even without synopsis like Costa Gavras’s Eden is West and the Iranian films that I so dearly love. I was also looking forward to French cinema and had decided to avoid the films from UK, US and the films by any Gurinder Chada clones!

It would thus be fair to say that my festival began on the 30th October’ 2009 wherein I had circled the first film to watch as- Petition- a Chinese docudrama!

NOISY DIWALI AND A DESTRUCTIVE NEW YEAR.

As we edge increasingly closer to destroying ourselves ecologically we have thoroughly destroyed the true essence of certain aspects of our lives which were meant to give joy and peace to one and all. Two of such terms that instantly come to mind are- “Love” and “God.” They are the most widely misunderstood and thus violently disputed concepts of our lives and times. Lately one more such aspect added to the group is “Festivities”.

Festivals were meant to be times when close family and friends came together letting go of all malice in their hearts and spending quality time together indulging in peaceful rituals. Today however the definition could read like this-
Festival means:
1) Primarily making MAXIMUM NOISE…More the noise the better you are celebrating. It does not matter whether the noise has any relevance to the festival being celebrated,
2) Spending more money than your neighbor even if it means borrowing and surpassing your means making you curse the festival later on!,
3) Making sure you give the best gift… it’s a tough task since you not only have to better the gift but also the gift wrap paper!
4) Being insensitive to the trouble caused to people who are not part of your group since it serves them right for staying away, so what if they have serious problems!

Take any festival, be it the ‘Navratri’ where the pre-festival write ups- appearing in all periodicals- are not about the sanctity of the festival or its history but about tips on one night stands and safe sex. ‘Ganeshotsav’ is no more about Lokmanya Tilak and why he started the festival but about the most expensive Mandal decoration and the tallest Ganesha idol not to mention the richest with celebrity attendance and there is ‘Dahi Handi’ which is all about politics with each political party and its loyal workers edging each other in the race to sponsor the costliest handi and pulling the largest crowd!

As such keeping with the tradition should I be ‘shocked’ when I open the newspaper after the third day of Diwali and all I find on the first 5 pages are the following stories?-
1) Noise pollution norms go up in smoke this year! - Firecrackers were being burst in hospital premises!!!
2) Traumatic weekend for animals, many left dehydrated and with burn injuries all due to firecrackers!
3) Most of 22 fires reported in the city over the last 48 hours were caused by carelessly launched rockets by Diwali revelers!
4) Woman suffers 70% burns as Sari catches fire.

If from the daily chaos of our competitive lives we take a break to celebrate a festival and end up causing more harm then we would otherwise would have…I am sure we are in serious trouble!

Wish you all a Noisy Diwali and a Destructive year ahead.

GANPATI BAPPA MORYA

“Ganpati Bappa Morya! Phudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya!”- DHAN TE NAN…..
MUSIC! FIRE CRACKERS! DANCING! CHANTING! GULAAL! EVE TEASING! DRINKING! FIGHTING! And of course… the lord!!
They were all out on the streets to bid adieu to their beloved Bappa. Dancing and singing while he headed to his final abode! Music was playing –LOUD AND CLEAR. Old couples cringed, babies cried, others yelled in their houses to speak to each other. For instance, “Dinner is served” became “DINNER IS SERVED! DID YOU HEAR? DINNER IS…” But that’s the price they got to pay for having a low religious quotient! What were they doing inside anyways???
It is because of such people that a little movement of traffic was possible! Had they too been as religious and pious as their fellowmen then the roads would have been barred of any moment or activity but for the roaring processions. Bappa Morya!
What a holy evening that was when no one was allowed to have any emergency or work of any kind… each and everyone had to surrender to the mighty Ganesha. Bappa Morya!
Of course everyone knew when Anant Chaturdashi was and thus everyone had enough time to prepare themselves for this occasion. Either you make noise or disappear. Also how religious and devoted we have become over the years was proclaimed by every political hoardings that illegally hung from between trees and lamp posts…one above the other…one behind the other… with the beaming faces of our do gooders!
Devotion was in full display and could have been measured that evening in decibels and generator capacities. Nothing was going to be held back for the love of the lord and even if it needed gulping down the forbidden liquid to show him our limitless supply of energy and stamina- it was going to be done! Bappa Morya!
The songs played made no reference to the lord but they gyrated the beats that were essential to keep the feet moving and the eyes exchanging naughty glances! The air was thick…with prayers of the sufferers and smoke of the pious. Security was provided to make sure that nobody caused any disturbances to the hordes of devotees who danced in the middle of the streets, yelled at motorists who were not as devoted as them and made cat calls to girls who simply stood by to watch and did not dance with them- atheist girls!

God looked over all of this and smiled. After all it was done to please him. It was all done only for him… and will be done year after year until of course he wishes otherwise! Bappa Morya!

Religion is the biggest scam of the human race!!

This might shock a few, infuriate many and scandalize some. However the fact that this will happen is proof enough for my above statement!! ‘Coz the moment any other person begins to dictate my religious beliefs or notions to me they loose their most primary attribute- that of being my very personal and intimate belief system. Is it not that what religion or god is supposed to be? It is only between you and the power above. No one is meant to be concerned or bothered about it.

However keeping with our nature to complicate all things simple- for the sake of vested interest sometimes and at times out of stupidity- we have made religion into an all encompassing charade of hate, politics and hypocrisy! And how well have we used it to manipulate society! The brilliance of man!

Consider this- Hindu scriptures state that god is omnipresent and has no shape or form. Giving any shape and form to this power is demeaning and degrading the very stature of this power. Now this not only makes sense spiritually but also socially for most of the problems we face today are because someone said this is how Ganpati looks and any disrespect to that shape calls for protests. One breaks a coconut and finds a Ganesha like shape inside it- even an eye straining one- the coconut is worshipped and revered. Does that mean there is no god in the rest of the coconuts that satisfy your needs? I say how do you decide this is how he looks and this is the only shape he has??? Who gives you the right to tell me that this is how my god looks???

Most ancient religious practices are governed by nothing but a science of convenience and brilliance I may add. Like fasting was introduced so that one could ration the food intake and give a break to the digestive system. It never was meant to be your barometer of devotion. Today however it is. Chips are allowed and so are fruit juices. You can lie, cheat and steal all through the day but you are pious because you missed your meal!

Last night I was informed of another such anecdote of our beloved Ganesha. It turns out that many centuries ago the soldiers wore masks to cover their face and because the elephant was the symbol of strength and might, the masks were designed to look like the mammoth animal. They had the large ears to protect the soldier’s sides and a trunk to protect his throat and chest. The Ganesh Chaturthi was far from beginning till then! Does that give some reasoning with reference to the look of our beloved sweet toothed Bappa? Further on a group of these soldiers were referred as ‘gan’ meaning group and their head became the ‘gan-pati’!!!!! Now, tell me about the mysterious aura of devotion and its shapes!!

The problem is never with who believes what, the problem begins when you begin to influence each others beliefs. If nothing else I can state one thing for sure! Religion can only be personal. It can only be formless and mysterious. We are not meant to know too much about it except that being truthful and sincere and peaceful is all that we are supposed to be.

WE HAVE RS 300 CRORE TO SPARE?

The first person to vehemently object the 321 ft statue of Shivaji Maharaj to be built in the Arabian Sea, 1 km off Marine drive in Mumbai, at a cost of Rs. 300 Crore would have been Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself!

To the “King of the People” who gave importance primarily to the welfare of the people and administration of the state, such an extravagant expense by the state government at a time when as many as 221 talukas in 27 districts have been declared drought prone, more than 40 farmer suicides have taken place in the last three weeks and there have been reports of 3,000 child malnutrition deaths in tribal areas would have been acrimonious.

Those in favor of this massacre of reasonability are contesting that the city needs monuments that will serve as Tourist attractions and thus rake in the income through tourism. It is observed by those in power that Gateway of India as well as Bollywood star mansions have now become redundant and hence tourists landing in Mumbai head immediately to Rajasthan or Kerala. Reasonable as this may be one needs to point out a very conveniently overlooked point to these state administrators that although a delicious dessert makes for a fitting end to any dinner, it makes no sense at all if the dinner is rubbish and the dessert excellent!!! In this case the dinner is the day to day working of the city, the welfare of the state and its residents and the dinner ofcourse are tourist attractions!

Where shall I start venting my anger from? The roads? Or the make shift patches that one fills them with making them further disheveled and jerky? The health facilities that were seen stretched in the recent event of swine flu? The garbage cleaning networks? The hutments under the sparkling flyovers? The non-availability of toilets for woman? Men are ofcourse to pee on roads or latrines with no doors, right? Thane I believe is still reeling under daily power cuts. And yes, should I even dare to venture into crime and TERRORISM measures in the city???

Yes, the British built the current monuments that the city boosts off but they did that after or simultaneously while giving complete attention to the planning and working of the city. They did not build monuments at the cost of the city and state administration! Oh, let’s not draw comparisons for it gets embarrassing after a point to praise the British.

All the same the point is very simple and clear if it’s not been drawn across yet- the statue is good from the tourism point of view BUT there should be another 10 years before it can be considered. There are other far important areas that need the 300 Crore right now!

And I have not even touched the environmental angle yet considering we are going to nail it all in the sea! Shall we stop messing with nature please? It might just turn back and smack us so hard that we won’t be able to take it for sure!!

Jai Maharashtra.

EVOLUTION!

There is some beauty in the circle, the round which connects the beginning and the end. It symbolizes the never ending quality of the cosmos. On and on and on and on it goes with no definite start or end…

The human race in its last phase- as we know- came out from the forest. We began from the darkness and headed towards light (FIRE)….towards motion and speed (WHEEL). That was our evolution and we always perceived it as progress. An ascending movement which we were so proud off. Today I wonder as to what it really was…

The progress required us to create a lot of our resources for which we needed large processing units and industries. The space had to be acquired for our growing needs which we justified under progress and we did so by depleting acres and acres of green cover. Today we have a severely bad monsoon and the first reason for this is lack of green cover!

We don’t have water now for all the luxuries we provided for ourselves through our intelligence and progress. All our appliances which stood as symbols of our greatness as creators have emitted gases that have affected the ozone layer and caused the glaciers to melt in large scales! The water levels are rising in the sea and our cities and shores will drown in water despite us having water shortages!

We made the wheel to travel fast and smooth. Today we have the cheapest car but we don’t have roads to drive it on or space to park it in!! walking today if made a part of life will come across as cost effective, healthy and a logical way of commuting!!

The rich and the busiest declare to have got saturated and exhausted. They head to nature to unwind and recharge their batteries. Is it not from there (the nature) that we escaped to create our own world?

Its amusing how we never seem to realize very genuinely that we are not controlling much and should not even try to pretend to because every time we have taken ourselves too seriously…we have suffered!

From the minuscule events in our very personal life to the larger issues of community and society- man’s ego has disillusioned him and failed his reasoning and instincts.

Today we are screwing nature and nature soon is going to start fucking us. As and when that happens it’ll be time for us to call it quits…and all our progress, intelligence and planning is going to be shoved up our arses finishing us all under the term that we have so far called- Evolution!