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I can’t help but notice the irony in these two news items :
RTI activist murdered in Talegaon
An anti-corruption crusader for the last 15 years, Shetty had started wielding the Right to Information Act (RTI) Act to expose the irregularities in government offices since the last five years. His brother, Sandeep (34), told the police in his complaint that Shetty may have been murdered by some persons whom he had exposed. He said his brother had exposed many land scams in and around Talegaon.
and
I am not sure how much noise has been made by the media about this murder. The Chief Minister promised swift action, and last I read, 4 men were held in the case. But justice will only be served if the real culprits are booked. Else his death will be in vain and all he will get is a couple of lines in another Rabbi song.
This one’s too special to delay posting :
Air India breaks sarod, Ustad Amjad Ali’s heart
For the last 25 years, this instrument has been Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s constant companion. It has travelled with him far and wide, earning applause for the maestro and laurels for the country. On Thursday, however, the jugalbandi between the Ustad and his beloved sarod ended somewhat abruptly. The instrument came out of the belly of an Air India flight — cracked and broken and perhaps unplayable for ever — after about an hour of spending time there.
The polite-to-a-fault musician does not intend to sue or ask for compensation from the airline. “Had it been any other international airline, I would have sued it. But the damage has been done by our national carrier and I want to appeal to the officials to at least learn to take care of musicians like us,’’ he said.
Right from the headline, to the first paragraph — reading which the writer would’ve learnt yoga for a month and then patted himself on the back — every detail of the article is delightful. I can also envision future headlines :
Air India breaks Hariprasad’s flute, heart.
Air India breaks bat, Tendulkar cries at airport.
Air India breaks Sreesanth’s balls.
More power to you Air India, as long as you don’t use the power to break things. As for Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, may I suggest writing a song on these lines :
The first look of Rajneeti, a film by Prakash Jha, is out :
It has a dream star-cast and Katrina Kaif. And from the look of it, this might complete Ranbir Kapoor’s hat-trick of performances after Wake Up Sid and Rocket Singh. I have a tough time convincing people that Ranbir Kapoor is one of the best mainstream actors we have right now : his acting is invisible while audiences can only see loud acting. I’ll go ahead and say he is the best thing to have happened to Hindi cinema in recent times.
Google today made a public announcement at their blog vis-à-vis China’s nuisance (and nonsense). It started with some GMail accounts of human rights activists being targeted by Chinese hackers. Here’s the concluding para of the post :
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.
TechCrunch — which, incidentally, has introduced tabloid reporting to technology — was quick to dismiss it cynically :
Enter the now famous blog post (that was notably, only on the English-language site) saying that Google was no longer playing by the Chinese government’s rules and was prepared to close down Chinese operations if it came to that. Valley elites erupted into applause on Twitter and blogs saying Google was showing more backbone than the US government and was a model of integrity for the world.
I’ll give Google this much: They’re taking a bad situation and making something good out of it, both from a human and business point of view. I’m not saying human rights didn’t play into the decision, but this was as much about business. Lest we get too self-righteous as Westerners, we should remember three things:
1. Google’s business was not doing well in China. Does anyone really think Google would be doing this if it had top market share in the country? For one thing, I’d guess that would open them up to shareholder lawsuits. Google is a for-profit, publicly-held company at the end of the day. When I met with Google’s former head of China Kai-fu Lee in Beijing last October, he noted that one reason he left Google was that it was clear the company was never going to substantially increase its market share or beat Baidu. Google has clearly decided doing business in China isn’t worth it, and are turning what would be a negative into a marketing positive for its business in the rest of the world.
I am myself tempted to view Google’s announcement with weighed skepticism, but I don’t want to go down that road : Not today, when this remarkable step has been taken or atleast attempted.
Say what you want, Google has a certain non-zero presence in the Chinese market, and this step took guts. What if Google had China as its primary source of income ? I don’t know what they would’ve done then, and I don’t care. Most corporations will not take public stand on any issue and for this, Google must be commended.
Blogging will be slow for the next 2 days as I’ll be in transit. That was all in this trip home, but I can’t wait to get back to work. There are plenty of posts in the pipeline — all after this break. I also won’t be able to reply to the ongoing discussions in the 3 Idiots, Paa and the Baba Ramdev posts. If any of you readers wish to reply, feel free.
Namaste.
What a day !
I was listening to live classical music after a few months, and I would have lapped up anything. But seven and a half hours of music at Sawai, and not a minute worth missing (even when I almost slept, thanks to the jet lag). I had planned to take a break in between, but that didn’t work out either. I hope to post details later, but again — if you’re around Pune, I urge you to pick any day (leaving today) and attend.
Tomorrow, I have PIFF, Sawai and some plays.
P.S. : Blogging might be slow for a few days. Meanwhile, you can check out the Paa post — the debate there just refuses to die down. If you don’t have any opinion on it, feel free to jump right in.
If you remember, Amar Singh announced his retirement in May with these words :
I want to give more time to my wife and my family. Therefore after the last day of polling (on May 13), I will retire from politics.
I wrote a post bidding cheerful adieu to the great man. Of course, he didn’t retire.
Yesterday, he finally stepped down from the post of Samajwadi Party Gen. Secy. for different reasons :
I have to devote more time towards my responsibilities to my family.
The post of SP Gen. Secy. is never going to be the same. With Amar Singh, the post was often confused as Gen. Sexy. — such was the man’s charisma. Now it will go back to being boring, old Secretary.
In remembrance, I am re-posting my earlier post. Hope you enjoy, Mr. Amar Singh, and go on to live a thousand years .. assuming the Mayans are right.
**********
Samajwadi Party politician Amar Singh has managed to touch me deeply with his latest disclosure :
I want to give more time to my wife and my family. Therefore after the last day of polling (on May 13), I will retire from politics.
To quote Monica from Friends, this is like the end of an era ! It is like Batman and Robin (Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh) breaking up. With a heavy heart and tears in my eyes (as I cut onions), I present to you some of the most special moments spanning across his illustrious career :
Here he is radiating more attitude than the King Khan himself.
With the queen of SP, Jaya Prada, seen sans Jeetendra and pots for the first time.
Seen with his latest muse, Sanjay Dutt
At Cannes. This snap was believed to be the best morphed snap ever, until revealed that Amar Singh was actually present there.
Seen with Dev Anand, who has been the favourite actor of all the ancestors of Amar Singh
In a snap that epitomizes his relationship with the Bachchan parivar
The only snap in existence where Amar Singh is seen without a celebrity.
and a video which proves that Amar Singh is too big for the stage of politics :
To summarize, let’s just say that Amar Singh, just like the Amar from Andaz Apna Apna, India ke liye kabhi bana hi nahi tha (was never made for India). In a country where politicians are known for being corrupt and immoral, Amar Singh was the only politician with a spotless clean image, except for the controversies, corruption charges and criminal cases.
As the saying goes, they don’t make them like they used to.
Here’s wishing him luck in all his future endeavours. If I may humbly recommend alternate career choices, he could start his own chain of ATM’s (“Amar Singh’s brain counts cash faster than an ATM”) or be the mascot for Hutch giving that ugly dog some rest.
But we shall bid adieu to him like a war hero. In the shortest words possible,
Mr. Singh, whenever we see an unwanted object in a photograph, whenever we see a random guy posing with filmstars, whenever we see cash in these times of credit, we shall be reminded of you.
Goodbye, friend.
Images Courtesy vluvshahrukh.com, barbarindians.blogspot.com, www.zorsebol.com, rediff.com, www.masala.com, news.sawf.org, blogmantra.org.
This trip to Pune is turning out to be special. First, Sawai Gandharva coincided with my visit, and now I hear PIFF (Pune International Film Festival) is from the 7th Jan. to 14th. Jan. I’ll be here only till the 10th, but I am excited nevertheless.
It is funded by the government, the management is pathetic and they still haven’t given out a schedule. Today, a day before it begins, they released the list of Marathi and International films that would be competing. As badly as it is managed, the films usually make up for it. Among Marathi films, I am eager to see Ek Cup Chya, Rita, Natrang and Vihir — let’s see which among these is played during my stay.
I’m still looking for Gabhricha Paus, Harishchandrachi Factory, Gandha and Jogwa — Marathi movies released in 2009. I don’t think these are running in theaters, so I’ll be grateful if anyone has a copy of these.
As for me, I’ll be juggling Sawai and PIFF from 7th onwards, having gained adequate karma at home by lazying around at home since I landed.
**
I promise this is the last in the please-do-if-you-are-around-Pune series, but a few of my friends and acquaintances from college are putting together 3 plays this week. These plays (in Marathi) were finalists at Purushottam Karandak (an inter-collegiate theater competition in Pune) in the 2006, 2008 and 2009 respectively. Here are the details :
Date : 8th Jan. 2010
Venue : Bharat Natya Mandir.
Time : 9 p.m. to 12 p.m.
Schedule : 1. Asach Kadhitari / 2. Children of Heaven / 3. Ivalas Abhal
I have seen the first two and can vouch for them. Children of Heaven is an adaptation of Majid Majidi acclaimed film of the same name.
If you’re around, do drop by.
I didn’t realize how much I missed The Daily Show until it resumed after the winter break. I am watching yesterday’s episode, and the writers are as masterful as ever. May I share this bit :
Re : the recent failed attempt to bomb a plane in the U.S.
Voiceover : Federal investigators say the man accused of the attempted bombing, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, hid a powerful explosive powder in a specially made underwear.
Jon : So even if the bomb works .. there’s going to be 72 very disappointed virgins.
OK, shush ! Back to the show now.
I read about 2 unfortunate incidents today :
Reality TV star, 11, commits suicide.
Hours after watching 3 idiots, student commits suicide in school bathroom.
The first is the story of an over-achieving dancing talent; the second, a normal child. The common link — both were doing badly in studies, and unable to cope up with the resulting societal pressures.
I believe I am not a parent, so I’ll be within my limits on this issue. It is heartbreaking to read such stories, but I am even more concerned about parenting in general. It was better earlier when parents did not care much about ‘parenting’ as long as the kids did something worthwhile. Success was vaguely defined, and in many cases, it wasn’t even defined. With educated parents who realize that they have in their hands a piece of clay they can mold as they wish, they try to do just that. I maintain that parents are to be a vehicle, not a chauffeur. I have myself seen many instances where failures of parents become templates of their offspring’s life. Either that, or the desire of discovering a hidden genius in one’s child. After all, who doesn’t want a child prodigy in their home ?
Speaking for myself, I wouldn’t want a child prodigy anywhere near my home.
***
A few days back — after I flew in to Pune for the holidays — as I was catching up with people, I met this kid in our apartment whom I used to babysit and play with (I’m not sure if it is sounding as intended) when I was younger. He is now in his 9th grade and next year, is the all important 10th. Within 10 mins. of talking to him, his mother came over to our place and said she wanted to talk to me before I spoke to the kid. The reason — she wanted me to advise him to study hard(er) for his 10th grade, and tell him that if not, he would find it hard to get into the IIT. I assume I fit into their definition of a success.
I politely refused.
Now I don’t want her to sound like an unreasonable person. I’m sure she had valid points. I just didn’t want to be a part of it.
