Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Alcohol in the Living Room
Thursday, December 22, 2011
why is AR Rahman a Genius?
The year was 1992 and i was close to being 10, that is when i first heard the sound of Rahman, a sound which would grow with me and has become eternal in my mind and in the minds of many others. AR Rahman was my first instance of music, an entity by himself and a man who was able to talk through his tunes and i know for sure he was not the first person on earth to do it, but he was MY first.
A time when only Ice Cream and Giant Robert mattered most to me, here was a man who made me equally happy every time i heard his songs. He was fun and i loved it, there was no computer and just a B&W Dyanora TV at home which would play his song once in a while and i would wait for hours for it to show up. AR Rahman means a lot to me now and he meant the same when i was 10, that in itself is a stellar achievement.
As i completed schooling, in 1999, i still remember listening to Dil Se uninterrupted without understanding a word of Hindi. He again, introduced Hindi to me and made me think it sounded nice and likable. I have loved the man for his music and had barely seen his interviews or for that matter any video to form an opinion on what kind of person he was, not that it makes any difference to his compositions. When i started to look out for him and his music, thats when i was told that there were better composers than him and hailing from Tamil Nadu, i was often told Ilayaraja was leaps and bounds ahead of the young Rahman. I had listened to Ilayaraja numerous times before and loved his music without knowing they were his, but i have to admit, the feeling was never the same in comparision to Rahman. Ilayaraja sounded Great and his melodies were soulful, but i missed the freshness which i found in AR Rahman. Every time, i think loud of what a Genius Rahman is, i am reminded by some one that he is not better than Ilayaraja.
Now, i am not a musician, but i know what i like and what i love. Ilayaraja, RD Burman are great in their own respect and i have to admit that i cannot compare them with Rahman as i have not listened to all their scores to know what they have done, but from what ever i have heard, they seem right up there and thats precisely what good musicians do. Music, from my experience has the ability to transform ones mood and impacts the soul, there is a huge difference between a good song and a good composition. Having listened to AR Rahman right from Roja Days till Rockstar, i can confidently say he has never composed anything less than a great score. Accepting Rahmans music as my most favorite, doesn't mean i have to compare him with others, it simply means he and his music matter the most to me.
Quite a few seem to have problems with his Achievements and credit the era of globalisation for his immense popularity. Few seem to know that what ever he has done in this era was not done by any of his contemporaries which speaks of his talent more than the marketing, there is something called "cause and effect" and the era helps widen the horizon, no doubt but, that doesn't diminish the cause by any means.
He is definitely a Genius and as the definition goes "a Genius is one of its kind with the ability to influence others" and as far as i know, Illayaraja or RD Burman did not create a want in me to learn music and what Rahman did amazed me and it made me try to learn how to do what he does (like i mentioned before i am not a musician yet) and i think he deserves to be credited for the impact he had in me. I was able to appreciate music in its entirety, Thanks to Rahman, without whom, i would have never known the power of music and for this very reason, i think he is my definition of music and not anybody else.
A time when only Ice Cream and Giant Robert mattered most to me, here was a man who made me equally happy every time i heard his songs. He was fun and i loved it, there was no computer and just a B&W Dyanora TV at home which would play his song once in a while and i would wait for hours for it to show up. AR Rahman means a lot to me now and he meant the same when i was 10, that in itself is a stellar achievement.
As i completed schooling, in 1999, i still remember listening to Dil Se uninterrupted without understanding a word of Hindi. He again, introduced Hindi to me and made me think it sounded nice and likable. I have loved the man for his music and had barely seen his interviews or for that matter any video to form an opinion on what kind of person he was, not that it makes any difference to his compositions. When i started to look out for him and his music, thats when i was told that there were better composers than him and hailing from Tamil Nadu, i was often told Ilayaraja was leaps and bounds ahead of the young Rahman. I had listened to Ilayaraja numerous times before and loved his music without knowing they were his, but i have to admit, the feeling was never the same in comparision to Rahman. Ilayaraja sounded Great and his melodies were soulful, but i missed the freshness which i found in AR Rahman. Every time, i think loud of what a Genius Rahman is, i am reminded by some one that he is not better than Ilayaraja.
Now, i am not a musician, but i know what i like and what i love. Ilayaraja, RD Burman are great in their own respect and i have to admit that i cannot compare them with Rahman as i have not listened to all their scores to know what they have done, but from what ever i have heard, they seem right up there and thats precisely what good musicians do. Music, from my experience has the ability to transform ones mood and impacts the soul, there is a huge difference between a good song and a good composition. Having listened to AR Rahman right from Roja Days till Rockstar, i can confidently say he has never composed anything less than a great score. Accepting Rahmans music as my most favorite, doesn't mean i have to compare him with others, it simply means he and his music matter the most to me.
Quite a few seem to have problems with his Achievements and credit the era of globalisation for his immense popularity. Few seem to know that what ever he has done in this era was not done by any of his contemporaries which speaks of his talent more than the marketing, there is something called "cause and effect" and the era helps widen the horizon, no doubt but, that doesn't diminish the cause by any means.
He is definitely a Genius and as the definition goes "a Genius is one of its kind with the ability to influence others" and as far as i know, Illayaraja or RD Burman did not create a want in me to learn music and what Rahman did amazed me and it made me try to learn how to do what he does (like i mentioned before i am not a musician yet) and i think he deserves to be credited for the impact he had in me. I was able to appreciate music in its entirety, Thanks to Rahman, without whom, i would have never known the power of music and for this very reason, i think he is my definition of music and not anybody else.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Anna Bandwagon and the state of denial we are in
There has been a huge rage back in India with the whole Anna hazare Lok pal bill and i am happy in a small way that there is a part of the society that wants to have a clean India and shows that it really cares. But, it worries me big time with the way the whole Anna drama has panned out, the bill seems to target the big ticket corruption more than anything else and fails to address the fundamental issue at the lowest level.
There are 2 major things that i personally dont agree with the Anna Drama as i would like to call it, the first one is the way in which the protests are happening and the idea of trying to use the energy seen on the streets to their advantage and not respecting the democratic way in which things ought to be handled. The second part of it is trying to make a sense of Anti Government energy across the nation which seems to be the way of life in India now. This government is corrupt and every one knows that this isn't the first government that is corrupt and neither will it be the last, we need to understand that the government is not the cause for all the corruption that happens in India and a large part of it happens because of the common man who most of the times fails to do abide the law of the land and in turn embraces corruption.
It would be stupid to imagine that a lok pal bill will eradicate all the corruption in India and will make our lives clean and happy, in fact, thats what many people are imagining right now and thats is exactly why this whole movement is stupid in my view. Assuming there is no big ticket corruption and assuming every damn politician out there is clean enough, would it mean a clean India or for that matter less corrupt India?
No way is the answer and why? Corruption is a part of almost every citizens life in India and many a times it happens with an interaction between 2 common men in India. How will the lok pal bill ensure that schools dont demand donation and how will it ensure auto wallas not charging more than they should, how will it ensure that government offices not demanding bribe for every transaction and how will it ensure hospitals not charging more for untold reasons. Corruption has to be tackled bottom up, it has to be curbed at the grass root level and we cannot start at the top and go to the bottom..as long as the base is corrupt, we will stay corrupt.
Our problems lie with us, we cannot adopt a theory that the politicians are the cause for the auto wallas charging more..if there has to be a change, it has to happen with the common man first. He has to believe in what is right and do it without any compromise. Laws need to be respected and the system needs to be trusted, we cannot fool ourselves by having another policing group (lok pal panel) and imagine that all troubles will be dealt with. Keep the streets clean and the desire to keep it clean has to come from within, rather than doing it for the fear of law. Change in attitude is what is needed more than anything else and respect for law has to increase, hate for politicians and the system will do us no good ever. For , we are the ones who voted and elected them. Corruption has to be tackled in many ways and lok pal bill might in all idealness, would form a very small part in ensuing eradication of corruption.
Finally, its disheartening to see the tactics adopted by young Indians to go on the web platform and do trash talk, instead of doing their bit to stay clean themselves for thats what will make India Clean, more than any bill that can ever be formed. Lack of social knowledge, is so obvious amongst many a educated youth in India, who thinks trashing the government means doing their bit and they can go back home and download mp3s from the Internet,watch movies on line, pay bribe when caught at the traffic signal and find all possible means to evade tax.
We have enough laws to deal with corruption and what is needed is the desire to abide them and stay truthful to the country.
There are 2 major things that i personally dont agree with the Anna Drama as i would like to call it, the first one is the way in which the protests are happening and the idea of trying to use the energy seen on the streets to their advantage and not respecting the democratic way in which things ought to be handled. The second part of it is trying to make a sense of Anti Government energy across the nation which seems to be the way of life in India now. This government is corrupt and every one knows that this isn't the first government that is corrupt and neither will it be the last, we need to understand that the government is not the cause for all the corruption that happens in India and a large part of it happens because of the common man who most of the times fails to do abide the law of the land and in turn embraces corruption.
It would be stupid to imagine that a lok pal bill will eradicate all the corruption in India and will make our lives clean and happy, in fact, thats what many people are imagining right now and thats is exactly why this whole movement is stupid in my view. Assuming there is no big ticket corruption and assuming every damn politician out there is clean enough, would it mean a clean India or for that matter less corrupt India?
No way is the answer and why? Corruption is a part of almost every citizens life in India and many a times it happens with an interaction between 2 common men in India. How will the lok pal bill ensure that schools dont demand donation and how will it ensure auto wallas not charging more than they should, how will it ensure that government offices not demanding bribe for every transaction and how will it ensure hospitals not charging more for untold reasons. Corruption has to be tackled bottom up, it has to be curbed at the grass root level and we cannot start at the top and go to the bottom..as long as the base is corrupt, we will stay corrupt.
Our problems lie with us, we cannot adopt a theory that the politicians are the cause for the auto wallas charging more..if there has to be a change, it has to happen with the common man first. He has to believe in what is right and do it without any compromise. Laws need to be respected and the system needs to be trusted, we cannot fool ourselves by having another policing group (lok pal panel) and imagine that all troubles will be dealt with. Keep the streets clean and the desire to keep it clean has to come from within, rather than doing it for the fear of law. Change in attitude is what is needed more than anything else and respect for law has to increase, hate for politicians and the system will do us no good ever. For , we are the ones who voted and elected them. Corruption has to be tackled in many ways and lok pal bill might in all idealness, would form a very small part in ensuing eradication of corruption.
Finally, its disheartening to see the tactics adopted by young Indians to go on the web platform and do trash talk, instead of doing their bit to stay clean themselves for thats what will make India Clean, more than any bill that can ever be formed. Lack of social knowledge, is so obvious amongst many a educated youth in India, who thinks trashing the government means doing their bit and they can go back home and download mp3s from the Internet,watch movies on line, pay bribe when caught at the traffic signal and find all possible means to evade tax.
We have enough laws to deal with corruption and what is needed is the desire to abide them and stay truthful to the country.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Time to address the Fundamental Issue
I have always been against LTTE as i have seen it as a part of the problem and never a part of the solution, having said that i don't quite think that all is good in the island nation. Now is the time for foreign nations, especially India to play a part in bringing a political solution to the issue. One has to remember that the issue still exists and would require honest efforts from the Government of Srilanka to address the same and gain the confidence of the Tamil minority in the nation. The Srilankan government has achieved something very small by defeating the LTTE relative to what awaits them in the form of providing equal rights to all communities in their nation, they need to make the minorities feel them to be a part of every process in the country and only that can heal the wounds of many a decade.
Now that the LTTE has become a thing of the past, this would leave a few politicians high and dry as this has been a very vocal issue among the politicians in the state of tamil nadu. The issue was adopted by many groups in Tamil Nadu only expecting electoral dividends and were in a state of shock, post May 16th. The lesser it is said, the better it is about the so called tamil film fraternity which managed to capture the headlines for a few days for all the wrong reasons. At least now, i hope they get back to what they do better, film making.
The war has ended which has only cleared a confusion in the name of LTTE, the real issue remains firm on the ground which unless honestly addressed might gain strength to attain the magnitude of a global war. One strongly hopes that all necessary changes are implemented in the Srilankan political system which makes way for every Srilankan citizen to live in joy and peace which they have been deprived of for many years. Any amount of rational thinking, however emotional one might be, would only help us understand that violence is never a way to achieve anything constructive and history tells us that the doing away of the LTTE has taken us a few inches closer to the much needed peace in the land of Srilanka.
India along with other countries should do all it can, to ensure that justice prevails in the island nation and that amendments be made to the system that led to the ethnic conflict in the first place. A failure to do so, will lead to an insecure future to the whole of south Asia and will possibly rollback decades of world development.
Now that the LTTE has become a thing of the past, this would leave a few politicians high and dry as this has been a very vocal issue among the politicians in the state of tamil nadu. The issue was adopted by many groups in Tamil Nadu only expecting electoral dividends and were in a state of shock, post May 16th. The lesser it is said, the better it is about the so called tamil film fraternity which managed to capture the headlines for a few days for all the wrong reasons. At least now, i hope they get back to what they do better, film making.
The war has ended which has only cleared a confusion in the name of LTTE, the real issue remains firm on the ground which unless honestly addressed might gain strength to attain the magnitude of a global war. One strongly hopes that all necessary changes are implemented in the Srilankan political system which makes way for every Srilankan citizen to live in joy and peace which they have been deprived of for many years. Any amount of rational thinking, however emotional one might be, would only help us understand that violence is never a way to achieve anything constructive and history tells us that the doing away of the LTTE has taken us a few inches closer to the much needed peace in the land of Srilanka.
India along with other countries should do all it can, to ensure that justice prevails in the island nation and that amendments be made to the system that led to the ethnic conflict in the first place. A failure to do so, will lead to an insecure future to the whole of south Asia and will possibly rollback decades of world development.
Most Responsible Election Verdict
I have been truly happy for the past few days, thanks to the most responsible & sensible election verdict that i have seen all my life in India. The verdict quite easily raced past my expectations and it gave a clear idea of the mindset of the voting population in the country. The verdict has rejected negative politics, it has simply dismissed irresponsible politicians and in many ways is the best verdict that the country could have provided at this crucial period of economic depression all over the globe.
A fractured mandate was the first element of danger at this juncture and had the mandate been anything like the '04 election results, it would have been party time for the political brokers (read regional chauvinists) who would have made the national politics, a mere joke. The people had to vote very clearly and had to provide definite answers to some questions created by the previous verdict, a verdict which helped in a very limited manner. The Congress have every reason to rejoice and celebrate their victory and should also understand the responsibility thrusted on them by the 'Great Verdict' of '09. I have always been positively interested in politics, not because it makes intresting news but because its the mirror which shows where we stand as a nation. Politics in India plunged to a disgusting low in the past few years, mainly because of the rise of caste/religion/region based politicians who tend to believe that there is no reason to have an ideology to be a political party and that to win an election by any means is the ticket to smart politics. The developments in many parts of the country seemed to give way to yet another national joke, but the verdict proved everyone wrong. I personally call this a 'Great Verdict' simply because it has given one party a chance to prove themselves without providing them any constraints what so ever in the form of non cooperative allies, now it is completely upto the party to reciprocate in the form of good governance.
There is only a limit upto which a government can take responsibility for the state of a nation, as the nation itself has a bigger responsibility which takes shape during elections. One can only say that the nation has proved to be completely responsible and now the minority (in the name of government)has to do everything they can to live upto the promises and make sure that the responsibilities are fulfilled with utmost sincierity. Opportunistic politics, regional confusions have proved to bear no place in the minds of the voters and this must show some signals to the power hungry people, who are ready to switch any light off to attain their political goal. The next 5 years only give me hope and i positively look forward to a great change that would take place in a country which is in the verge of becoming an envy of the world.
A fractured mandate was the first element of danger at this juncture and had the mandate been anything like the '04 election results, it would have been party time for the political brokers (read regional chauvinists) who would have made the national politics, a mere joke. The people had to vote very clearly and had to provide definite answers to some questions created by the previous verdict, a verdict which helped in a very limited manner. The Congress have every reason to rejoice and celebrate their victory and should also understand the responsibility thrusted on them by the 'Great Verdict' of '09. I have always been positively interested in politics, not because it makes intresting news but because its the mirror which shows where we stand as a nation. Politics in India plunged to a disgusting low in the past few years, mainly because of the rise of caste/religion/region based politicians who tend to believe that there is no reason to have an ideology to be a political party and that to win an election by any means is the ticket to smart politics. The developments in many parts of the country seemed to give way to yet another national joke, but the verdict proved everyone wrong. I personally call this a 'Great Verdict' simply because it has given one party a chance to prove themselves without providing them any constraints what so ever in the form of non cooperative allies, now it is completely upto the party to reciprocate in the form of good governance.
There is only a limit upto which a government can take responsibility for the state of a nation, as the nation itself has a bigger responsibility which takes shape during elections. One can only say that the nation has proved to be completely responsible and now the minority (in the name of government)has to do everything they can to live upto the promises and make sure that the responsibilities are fulfilled with utmost sincierity. Opportunistic politics, regional confusions have proved to bear no place in the minds of the voters and this must show some signals to the power hungry people, who are ready to switch any light off to attain their political goal. The next 5 years only give me hope and i positively look forward to a great change that would take place in a country which is in the verge of becoming an envy of the world.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Elections 2009 - I root for Congress
There have been many days when we sit and ponder why India is still a developing country, why can't India transform into a power to reckon with instead of being a country with potential. Any average Indian would point the fingers to the government and say - it is corrupted, politicians are the villains who take the country back ten steps once we make 2 steps forward and i Disagree.
In my personal opinion, Politics in India is in a state which was/is/will be dictated by the people of the nation. In almost every way, India is what every Indian is - one cannot blame the government which is existing in the first place because of "US" - the very own muted citizens of the country. Coming to the prospects of the political parties that i consider fit to rule the nation, i don't really see any other party apart from the Congress alliance forming the government - i hope not to be proved wrong in the coming days.
Whom do i want to run the nation?
This question has only one answer at this point of time and i actually prefer a Non-Coalition government ruling the nation which of course seems highly unlikely. Now that i prefer a single party to rule the country, who should it be and yet again its a clear answer which spells Congress. The reasons are manifold and the primary being:
Congress is the only national party which has the capacity to run a government for the full term which it dervies mainly from the leaders they have in their ranks and that means stability to me. Congress is the party with some outstandingly promising young stars in their ranks - just to name a few:
Sachin Pilot
Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia
Rahul Gandhi
Dr G Vivekananda
Ajay Maken
There are a lot more whom i can name and apart from these young leaders,the Congress boasts off some of the most Qualilfied men the nation has to do the top job. The Congress has a lot of positives which are comfortably ignored as everyone were not able to see the results when they were in power, i owe this to the fractured mandate which was given to the party and to the alliance parters they had to share room with. There are quite a few complaints about the Congress having done nothing to the nation inspite of ruling the country for most part post independence, i share the same thought to a lesser extent as the leaders they have had in the past were not as agile/active as they should have been and that does not out weigh the positives in my opinion.
I have always opposed BJP as a party and the reason is the tag that is associated with them of being "Communal". BJP is a real threat to the nation and the rise of BJP and the Communal issues together in the country is not just coincidental, we have seen enough evidence of what will happen to India if Communal forces come to power. What seemed as strong point for congress turns about to be a huge negative for BJP which is "having qualified leaders in their ranks". The BJP has some of the most disgraceful leaders in their party who make some shameful comments which has them running for cover on a daily basis.
I would have asked for Development as the only priority in the coming elections, but looking at what my nation had to go through in the recent past - i ask for Peace first and only when in Peace can i think of life and its betterment and who better to give us that than the Congress with the help of Mr. Manmohan Singh, Mr.Chidambaram amongst many other responsible leaders.
In my personal opinion, Politics in India is in a state which was/is/will be dictated by the people of the nation. In almost every way, India is what every Indian is - one cannot blame the government which is existing in the first place because of "US" - the very own muted citizens of the country. Coming to the prospects of the political parties that i consider fit to rule the nation, i don't really see any other party apart from the Congress alliance forming the government - i hope not to be proved wrong in the coming days.
Whom do i want to run the nation?
This question has only one answer at this point of time and i actually prefer a Non-Coalition government ruling the nation which of course seems highly unlikely. Now that i prefer a single party to rule the country, who should it be and yet again its a clear answer which spells Congress. The reasons are manifold and the primary being:
Congress is the only national party which has the capacity to run a government for the full term which it dervies mainly from the leaders they have in their ranks and that means stability to me. Congress is the party with some outstandingly promising young stars in their ranks - just to name a few:
Sachin Pilot
Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia
Rahul Gandhi
Dr G Vivekananda
Ajay Maken
There are a lot more whom i can name and apart from these young leaders,the Congress boasts off some of the most Qualilfied men the nation has to do the top job. The Congress has a lot of positives which are comfortably ignored as everyone were not able to see the results when they were in power, i owe this to the fractured mandate which was given to the party and to the alliance parters they had to share room with. There are quite a few complaints about the Congress having done nothing to the nation inspite of ruling the country for most part post independence, i share the same thought to a lesser extent as the leaders they have had in the past were not as agile/active as they should have been and that does not out weigh the positives in my opinion.
I have always opposed BJP as a party and the reason is the tag that is associated with them of being "Communal". BJP is a real threat to the nation and the rise of BJP and the Communal issues together in the country is not just coincidental, we have seen enough evidence of what will happen to India if Communal forces come to power. What seemed as strong point for congress turns about to be a huge negative for BJP which is "having qualified leaders in their ranks". The BJP has some of the most disgraceful leaders in their party who make some shameful comments which has them running for cover on a daily basis.
I would have asked for Development as the only priority in the coming elections, but looking at what my nation had to go through in the recent past - i ask for Peace first and only when in Peace can i think of life and its betterment and who better to give us that than the Congress with the help of Mr. Manmohan Singh, Mr.Chidambaram amongst many other responsible leaders.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Why the hue and cry about Slumdog?
I was truly impressed when i came out of the theatre after watching "Slumdog Millionaire" on a December weekend here in the US. I left the hall with some pain, a pain that you feel when you are thrusted with a cruel truth which we have so comfortably ignored for so long.
May be , all those people who feel offended after watching the movie are not able to digest the truth - a common thing for all hypocrite Indians. When in Bombay, you get an unpleasant yet beautiful view of the slums from a Plane as you land into the economic capital of the nation. There has always been a habit of claiming glory in a "not so correct" way by us Indians, be it Kalpana chawla, Sunitha Williams, Bobby Jindal, Lakshmi Mittal or any famous personality who happen to have his/her origins (no matter whether he/she likes it or not). We do not understand the fact that in a nation of 1.3 billion people - we are bound to get scattered across the globe and as it turns out we will grow where ever we are, just like any other human race.
To me "Slumdog Millionaire" is the most honest film i had seen after a Tamil movie called "Mozhi", it is an effort to show the world what it is to live in the hell of "Bombay" and i say it with due respect to the beauty of the city. It is only human to accept the fact that the slums shown in the movie is no exaggeration and is a true picture of the maximum city. I was indeed take aback by the statements of Amitabh bhachan on the movie who happens to live in the same city and that also gave me some idea of how success and honesty may not be always together as he can be touted as the most successful media person of this era of the nation and yet not honest enough to accept a blatant truth about our own dirty backyard.
Slumdog Millionaire is a capture of the rashes your heart goes through as you see the slums in Bombay, but who has the time to be immersed into it when the city has so much to offer. Danny Boyle has to be praised for his work and a truly Patriotic Indian would only Thank him for bringing in the harsh reality to the center stage of the world which otherwise would have been a thing-to-hide for all of us.
May be , all those people who feel offended after watching the movie are not able to digest the truth - a common thing for all hypocrite Indians. When in Bombay, you get an unpleasant yet beautiful view of the slums from a Plane as you land into the economic capital of the nation. There has always been a habit of claiming glory in a "not so correct" way by us Indians, be it Kalpana chawla, Sunitha Williams, Bobby Jindal, Lakshmi Mittal or any famous personality who happen to have his/her origins (no matter whether he/she likes it or not). We do not understand the fact that in a nation of 1.3 billion people - we are bound to get scattered across the globe and as it turns out we will grow where ever we are, just like any other human race.
To me "Slumdog Millionaire" is the most honest film i had seen after a Tamil movie called "Mozhi", it is an effort to show the world what it is to live in the hell of "Bombay" and i say it with due respect to the beauty of the city. It is only human to accept the fact that the slums shown in the movie is no exaggeration and is a true picture of the maximum city. I was indeed take aback by the statements of Amitabh bhachan on the movie who happens to live in the same city and that also gave me some idea of how success and honesty may not be always together as he can be touted as the most successful media person of this era of the nation and yet not honest enough to accept a blatant truth about our own dirty backyard.
Slumdog Millionaire is a capture of the rashes your heart goes through as you see the slums in Bombay, but who has the time to be immersed into it when the city has so much to offer. Danny Boyle has to be praised for his work and a truly Patriotic Indian would only Thank him for bringing in the harsh reality to the center stage of the world which otherwise would have been a thing-to-hide for all of us.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Where did it all Start?
In a time when half the world is filled with anger and wants to tame a rather inhuman behaviour of some of our fellow humans, its the need of the hour to maintain solidarity and remain united to pass through these unfortunate hours.
Being an Indian, one has the unique privilege of claiming oneself a truly secular human on earth - of course with the mind and heart willing to do so. Its so unfortunate to see the rise of intolerance amongst us, wanting to claim blood for blood and willing to talk without heart. One has to remember that pointing fingers at a particular community for every other blast that happens in the country is detrimental to the secular state of India. We need to see people beyond their religion,language and any other communal label that is attached to them. In India, everybody has the right to practice their own religion and enhance their own culture or disagree with opinions - that is what is true democracy. Deep inside we know who the real culprits are and if one has to list them down, one would see that there are no reservations there , with people cutting across religions, languages have equal hand in everything.
When ever a politician stands up and speaks about being Secular - he's considered as targeting the so called minority votes, in my opinion , hes the most responsible social citizen of the nation. I am tempted to think back and see when did all this Start?
It is pretty simple to think it all started on December 6th 1992 with Hindu Nationalists destroying a Mosque in Ayodhya despite a commitment to the supreme court that the mosque would not be harmed. My Nation was peaceful till that day and what followed from December 6th 1992 is just a kid fight between 2 groups which are not fit to call themselves the "race with the sixth sense". India is not a nation of Hindus, its a nation of Indians - it might sound cliched and that's the very problem that it still remains a cliche to many minds in India. No one wants to believe that there is no minority, everyone wants to think that we, the Hindus ought to have a upper hand in all that's Indian.
What is more devastating is that, with the increase in terror, the increase in the Hindu extremists and the existence of Political parties based on castes along with acts of people gaining popularity by favoring a particular Language - all this happening in India , a land which was once filled with Peace and Joy inspite of being relatively less developed. We have bought ourselves some really harmful possessions which could take the country back to the days of Adam and Eve and in my opinion , these harmful outfits are only growing by the day.
What do we have now?
1. Shiv Sena - A political party favoring the influence of Marathis in Maharashtra, lately famous for wanting to evict "North Indians" out of Mumbai. The Shiv Sena claims the members are willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believe is India's rightful existence as a Hindu nation.
Shiv Sena is a shame to the nation in my opinion.
2. PMK - Pattali Makkal Katchi : A Party founded, formed and works for a Caste in Tamil Nadu. The PMK founder is Dr. S. Ramdoss and the president is G.K. Mani. Ramdoss had earlier worked with the Vanniyar Sangham (Vanniyar Union) founded by him in 1980. PMK is based on a caste, an OBC community. PMK has advocated the bifurcation of the state of Tamil Nadu, a proposal that was seen as a casteist line.
The very existence of this party to me means India is back to the days of 1700s.
3. J&K issue: The mother of all issues which we have today. The pakistani terrorists have been troubling the Nation for decades claiming Kashmir to be theirs and its a shame that after 60 years of independence we still don't have a solution to the problem.
4. Naxalites: Naxalite or Naxalism is an informal name given to communist - groups that were born out of the Sino-Soviet split in the Indian communist movement. Ideologically they belong to various trends of Maoism. Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal. In recent years, they have spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist) The CPI (Maoist) and some other Naxal factions are considered terrorists by the Government of India and various state governments in India.
5. LTTE: LTTE is a terrorist outfit which claims itself to be the representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka who are being ill treated by the Government fo Srilanka. The LTTE never really had support in India ever since it assassinated the then Prime Minister of India, recent happenings show that the LTTE seems to have infused their thoughts into the minds of few idiots in India who believe "Tamil is bigger than India". In My opinion LTTE is breathing their last and the real threat is the presence of a few groups which have boldly voiced their opinion of wanting a separate state "Thani Thamizhagam" blowing fire in the thoughts of a united India.
Being a Tamil myself, I was shattered to say the least when i witnessed the support for LTTE in India.
I had listed Shiv Sena and PMK at the top just to voice my opinion that they are the most dangerous outfits today as they have been accepted by the people and its just a matter of time before they work towards their communal ideology causing more harm to the nation.
I only wish, that we Indians gain some insight on whats the ground reality in our nation rather than go by the inflammatory voices of communal forces which have the vocal ability to turn a chaos out of our nation. India's culture is marked by a high degree of "Syncretism" and "Cultural Pluralism", It has managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants and spreading its cultural influence to other parts of Asia.
Let us preserve the Culture of our Nation and Embrace our Tolerance which is the treasure unearthed by us and presented to the world.
Being an Indian, one has the unique privilege of claiming oneself a truly secular human on earth - of course with the mind and heart willing to do so. Its so unfortunate to see the rise of intolerance amongst us, wanting to claim blood for blood and willing to talk without heart. One has to remember that pointing fingers at a particular community for every other blast that happens in the country is detrimental to the secular state of India. We need to see people beyond their religion,language and any other communal label that is attached to them. In India, everybody has the right to practice their own religion and enhance their own culture or disagree with opinions - that is what is true democracy. Deep inside we know who the real culprits are and if one has to list them down, one would see that there are no reservations there , with people cutting across religions, languages have equal hand in everything.
When ever a politician stands up and speaks about being Secular - he's considered as targeting the so called minority votes, in my opinion , hes the most responsible social citizen of the nation. I am tempted to think back and see when did all this Start?
It is pretty simple to think it all started on December 6th 1992 with Hindu Nationalists destroying a Mosque in Ayodhya despite a commitment to the supreme court that the mosque would not be harmed. My Nation was peaceful till that day and what followed from December 6th 1992 is just a kid fight between 2 groups which are not fit to call themselves the "race with the sixth sense". India is not a nation of Hindus, its a nation of Indians - it might sound cliched and that's the very problem that it still remains a cliche to many minds in India. No one wants to believe that there is no minority, everyone wants to think that we, the Hindus ought to have a upper hand in all that's Indian.
What is more devastating is that, with the increase in terror, the increase in the Hindu extremists and the existence of Political parties based on castes along with acts of people gaining popularity by favoring a particular Language - all this happening in India , a land which was once filled with Peace and Joy inspite of being relatively less developed. We have bought ourselves some really harmful possessions which could take the country back to the days of Adam and Eve and in my opinion , these harmful outfits are only growing by the day.
What do we have now?
1. Shiv Sena - A political party favoring the influence of Marathis in Maharashtra, lately famous for wanting to evict "North Indians" out of Mumbai. The Shiv Sena claims the members are willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believe is India's rightful existence as a Hindu nation.
Shiv Sena is a shame to the nation in my opinion.
2. PMK - Pattali Makkal Katchi : A Party founded, formed and works for a Caste in Tamil Nadu. The PMK founder is Dr. S. Ramdoss and the president is G.K. Mani. Ramdoss had earlier worked with the Vanniyar Sangham (Vanniyar Union) founded by him in 1980. PMK is based on a caste, an OBC community. PMK has advocated the bifurcation of the state of Tamil Nadu, a proposal that was seen as a casteist line.
The very existence of this party to me means India is back to the days of 1700s.
3. J&K issue: The mother of all issues which we have today. The pakistani terrorists have been troubling the Nation for decades claiming Kashmir to be theirs and its a shame that after 60 years of independence we still don't have a solution to the problem.
4. Naxalites: Naxalite or Naxalism is an informal name given to communist - groups that were born out of the Sino-Soviet split in the Indian communist movement. Ideologically they belong to various trends of Maoism. Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal. In recent years, they have spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist) The CPI (Maoist) and some other Naxal factions are considered terrorists by the Government of India and various state governments in India.
5. LTTE: LTTE is a terrorist outfit which claims itself to be the representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka who are being ill treated by the Government fo Srilanka. The LTTE never really had support in India ever since it assassinated the then Prime Minister of India, recent happenings show that the LTTE seems to have infused their thoughts into the minds of few idiots in India who believe "Tamil is bigger than India". In My opinion LTTE is breathing their last and the real threat is the presence of a few groups which have boldly voiced their opinion of wanting a separate state "Thani Thamizhagam" blowing fire in the thoughts of a united India.
Being a Tamil myself, I was shattered to say the least when i witnessed the support for LTTE in India.
I had listed Shiv Sena and PMK at the top just to voice my opinion that they are the most dangerous outfits today as they have been accepted by the people and its just a matter of time before they work towards their communal ideology causing more harm to the nation.
I only wish, that we Indians gain some insight on whats the ground reality in our nation rather than go by the inflammatory voices of communal forces which have the vocal ability to turn a chaos out of our nation. India's culture is marked by a high degree of "Syncretism" and "Cultural Pluralism", It has managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants and spreading its cultural influence to other parts of Asia.
Let us preserve the Culture of our Nation and Embrace our Tolerance which is the treasure unearthed by us and presented to the world.
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