Long live the new wave movie maker

When Indian film makers make a movie about a rose, some overemphasize the thorns, others exaggerate the beauty of the flower, and still others try to send out a "message" by showing that beautiful flowers can grow in thorny plants or that even a beautiful flower is surrounded by thorns... as though the viewer cares. But then there are those that don’t make too much of the thorn or highlight the flower more than its fair share or try to send out an unasked-for message... they just say a story of a flower that grew in a plant with thorns... after watching such movies the audience don’t feel bad that their life isn't as good as the rose, they don’t feel bad for some flowers that are surrounded by thorns or take home a message that their life can be better if they learn to appreciate the flower in their thorny lives or strive to blossom despite the many thorns in their lives... they just come out of the theater with a “that was a good story” feeling. And that is the feeling that I want when I get out a theatre. Premam gave me that. So did Neram, Soodhu Kavvum, Jigarthanda, and a few other recent movies… Long live the “new wave” movie maker.

Full many a gem...

Thomas Gray wrote thus in An Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard

“Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”

It is my dad, a writer, who introduced me to these seemingly beautiful lines... but the poem bothered me in a profound way. It portrayed a very grim picture of small town lives. Our country sides are full of geniuses that perish without being discovered. As a boy who grew up in one of the smaller towns in India, I sincerely hoped that one day I will make myself renowned in the world for whatever that I am good at but I feared the curse of the small town.

Thankfully my dad also introduced me to a Malayalam translation of these immortal lines. In it, the poet, a wishful thinker perhaps, added one additional line that loosely translates to "Of those one gets noticed one day".

My observation over the recent years have taught me that it is no longer wishful thinking, it is not just the occasional odd gem that gets discovered but these days several gems are getting discovered in regular intervals, thanks to the internet and the networked world that we now live in. And even some of those gems that have been shining for decades without getting a glimmer of attention are now being spotted with ease. Can anyone forget Susan Boyle?

Today, I would like to introduce one such gem from Madurai: Mr. U. Subramaniam. He is a writer who has published six short story volumes over the years. Here are a few short writeups about him that have appeared recently in the popular press.

Hope this gem gets discovered soon and gains all the accolades he so deserves.

Legacies of Indian Prime Ministers

Most Indian prime ministers who held that office for at least 5 years have left a long lasting legacy... It is Jawarhalal Nehru's vision for an educated India that gave us the IIMs, IITs and AIIMS. It was Indira Gandhi's vision for alleviating rural poverty that gave a strong rural banking network. It was Rajiv Gandhi's vision for a technologically advanced India that paved the way for technological behemoths like Infosys and TCS. It was Narashima Rao's shrewd political acumen at the time of an imminent national crisis that showed that coalition governments can last for the whole term and more importantly, pulled India out of an abyss of poverty and self-destruction and charted a bold new course towards a vibrant India. I fear to imagine what India would have looked like today had he not been at the helm in 1991. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision for a connected India that saw the sprawling national highways of India transform into an efficient highway network that seamlessly connected India's big cities. Also to his credit was the revival of India-US political relationship. It was Manmohan Singh's silence that exposed the many weaknesses of the ailing congress party and brought an end (hopefully) to the Dynasty's control over Indian politics. Our current prime minister, Narendra Modi, I am sure will leave a legacy that far exceeds that which most of his predecessors have left... His vision for a powerful India will see India becoming a permanent member of the UN and eventually transforming into a superpower to reckon with. His foreign policy is of the kind that we have longed for all these years.

To eat or not to eat a cow, that's the question...

I am a vegetarian, but I respect the rights of others to eat meat or whatever they choose to eat (with the exception of a cannibal's diet, I suppose). As they say, one man's food is another man's poison. Just because I don't like a certain food, I have no right to force others not to consume it. Most importantly, the government doesn't have any business telling people what they should eat and what they shouldn't. If cruelty to animals is what you are bothered about, then why be selective and if cruelty to cows is what they are bothered about, then shouldn't they also ban artificial insemination of cattle, which is widely used in India to breed high yield milch cows and cattle. But hell no, where will the vegetarian get his milk from? India is not like the Arab world or Israel which bans people from eating pork... It is also not the Vatican which bans people from having a freedom of choice in matters other than eating food. We are a secular country and religion doesn't have a place in determining what is lawful and what is not...

Why would a batsman retire when he is in immaculate form?

Hitting Four Centuries on a Trot... that too on a world cup... it is simply amazing. What a player! But why the heck is he retiring after the world cup? Will miss him for sure.

In the last few years when Sachin, Dravid and Kallis called it quits, I thought they had still a lot of cricket left but deep inside I felt that it is about time. I feel the same about Mahela's decision but Sanga is still at the top of his form... I truly believe that he must reconsider his retirement plans. He is still a match winner, a dependable fighter and above all a true treat to watch. I really hope he will gift us with some more years of his brilliance...

A cynical view of charity... charity by the church in particular

Recently when a RSS leader questioned the motive behind mother Teressa's charitable acts, it raised a lot of ruckus from ardent believers in the mother's nobility. I personally have high admiration for her. I put her in the same pedestal as some of the other notable god men and god women who have made a significant difference in the lives of the poor. But despite my admiration of the mother's service to humanity, I am cynical of her motive...
Mother Teresa 'only helped poor to convert them to Christianity'
Charity by definition is " the voluntary giving of help"... giving without expecting anything in return. But reality is grimmer than that, as the pope openly acknowledged in one of his recent tweets, "practicing charity is the best way to evangelize."

Practicing charity is the best way to evangelize.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 24, 2015

Every giving comes with an expectation of something in return... quid pro quo. The question is, will there be charity if there is no room for evangelism? I can show a hundred instances where there is charity in the absence of preaching/conversion... but none that involves the church, its pontiff, or its many missionaries. Perhaps it is because I dont have as much exposure to the true charity of the church. I may be totally ignorant here. I will be happy if someone can correct me and show me instances where the utilitarian goal of conversion is not what drives the "charity" of the church. Right now, I am an agnostic to that idea.

I did my schooling in missinoary run schools and I have often been told of the many great things that the church does to the society. "What a noble gesture", I often thought. But I started questioning the "noble" aspect of the gesture when I started observing a the method to their "nobility". One personal experience in particular, when I was 13 years old kid, has had a profound influence on my cynicism... I usually go to a temple on way home from school and I often see few homeless people asking for alms. Occasionally, I give them some spare change... the change that I would have otherwise dropped into the offerings box. One Thursday afternoon, my school ended early and I was on my way home when one of these homeless men whom I normally see in front of the temple asked me, "do you know the way to XYZ home?" (for the sake of anonymity I will not mention the actual name of the home). I said, "I know the place, it is on my way home, if you want you can walk with me". He accepted the offer and started walking. He was rather weak. So I had to walk slowly for him to keep pace with me. I thought if I am walking slowly I might as well strike a conversation. I asked him casually, "what is your name?". He said, "Krishnaraj, but recently the mother named me Anthony"... Perplexed, I asked "your mom?". He replied, " no, the mother in the XYZ home"... "she changed my name and arranged for free lunch every Thursdays"... "That is why I am going there today". For that day forward, I have started seeing any act of charity with a cynical eye... especially if there is an organized religion involved.

But some other examples challenge my cynicism... For example, Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero, the Buddhist monk who donated his kidney to save the life of a Christian missionary certainly stands out. There are also numerous others who don't take the name of religion to engage in charity...

I really don't mean to belittle the acts of kindness Mother Teressa showered on the needy and poor of Calcutta... I would in fact say, even if the cost of taking alms from a charity is losing one's religion, it is not a big price to pay... if converting the whole world to Christianity will solve hunger and poverty in the world, why not. After all, meeting the basic needs should take precedence over meeting one's spiritual needs... 

Strategic voting in Delhi and lessons for AAP and BJP.

I would be happy to see a strong two party scenario emerging in India (ideally AAP and BJP as the only two parties out there)... I am sure this is a more likely scenario going forward, thanks to the growth in informed strategic voters... just like what happened in Delhi.

In particular, staunch INC fanboys (for lack of a better word) who invariably are anti-BJP would have learnt from the previous election and the nationwide trend that INC has lost its grounds and the only way to keep BJP out would be to vote for AAP. The result: AAP strengthens its victory margins in all places and gains wins where BJP were marginal winners in the previous election... So this win for AAP, in a way, is a de facto win for INC fanboys :)

A very good test of my argument will be the actual vote share for the parties in swing constituencies... In places where AAP won a seat that was previously held by BJP, BJP's vote share would have remained the same, AAP's vote share should have increased and Cong's vote share should have decreased.

I used to be a huge fan of the INC during the Narashima Rao regime... It really felt like the end of nepotism in the INC but INC simply didn't have a legitimate, democratic succession planning. In addition to getting rid of nepotism, a legitimate democratic succession planning would be one where the parties set term limits for its leaders. Just because a leader is popular among the masses should not mean that she/he gets a longer run at the helm. Had sheila dixit  step aside after her second term, she would have gone out as a revered leader and she would have let Delhites taste some variety in leadership from within the INC.