A rather eventful weekend came to an end this Monday morning; drinking and pub hopping from the Cooper Hewitt to the Village Lantern until 5 in the morning, despite a flu attack, a rather sober Saturday since it followed my hyper friday night partying binge and then Sunday was my first close shave in my car.......
The backdrop was the ramp leading onto the Queensboro bridge from Astoria into Manhattan. The ramp is a snaky little thing with a concrete road, narrow lanes and tight turns. After the slight drizzle, driving on it was nothing short of skating on ice. Before I knew it, the car had spun 180 degrees and was facing oncoming traffic. Luckily, the traffic was light and not too close. Strangely, people saw I had skid, but honked as though I had done it on purpose. My girlfriend and I were a little shaken, but we collected our thoughts and of course a broken headlight, only to find out it wasn't mine, probably belonged to some poor soul who might have fallen victim to the treachery of the same venue, and then made our way into the city and shopped as though nothing happened!
In hindsight, I guess my gaming skills with Need for Speed definitely helped as I think I controlled the skid pretty well :) However, the whole thing feels surreal, and I guess its just one of those things that absolutely has to happen at least once to someone who drives a car!
No bones broken, car isn't damaged too bad, had a fabulous night out...so, all's well, that ends well!
Monday, August 29, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
False Glory....
"Desis are rocking on globocorps' boards"
Quite a glorious headline, but somehow, I was unmoved by it. Offlate, the Times has carried several articles about how well Indians are doing abroad, often glorifying them to the extent where it seems as though these people were actually heroes of sorts. Don't get me wrong, I think achievements by these individuals are commendable, but how does piggy-backing on their success help our country in any way??? Agreed, these people may serve as great mentors, but then unless our country eliminates problems which exist at the grassroot, glorifying ourselves as a developing nation based on an individual's success just seems lame.
I see this as a growing trend, where we seem to take the success of an NRI and attribute that to signs of a country on its way to becoming a super-power. We couldn't be more wrong. These people are who they are today not because they come from India, but because they worked hard and they worked hard in a place where they felt their success would be rewarded. Instead of basking in someone else's glory, its high time we try to see why people like them were more successful elsehwere and not their own country.
India has a lot of potential, we seem to have the highest number of educated people, but despite that, the people on the top are ones who are in complete contrast to this statistic. Most politicians are uneducated and most certainly have a criminal record. For a nation to grow it is imperative to have someone on top who is not only sympathetic to his people but is also foresighted, creative and has a thirst for a holistic success, not his individual upliftment. Sadly, most politicians today work more for themselves than their people, and unless this changes, all we can do is falsely glorify ourselves as a nation.
I really hope our country can see what's really happening and make ammends before its too late.
Quite a glorious headline, but somehow, I was unmoved by it. Offlate, the Times has carried several articles about how well Indians are doing abroad, often glorifying them to the extent where it seems as though these people were actually heroes of sorts. Don't get me wrong, I think achievements by these individuals are commendable, but how does piggy-backing on their success help our country in any way??? Agreed, these people may serve as great mentors, but then unless our country eliminates problems which exist at the grassroot, glorifying ourselves as a developing nation based on an individual's success just seems lame.
I see this as a growing trend, where we seem to take the success of an NRI and attribute that to signs of a country on its way to becoming a super-power. We couldn't be more wrong. These people are who they are today not because they come from India, but because they worked hard and they worked hard in a place where they felt their success would be rewarded. Instead of basking in someone else's glory, its high time we try to see why people like them were more successful elsehwere and not their own country.
India has a lot of potential, we seem to have the highest number of educated people, but despite that, the people on the top are ones who are in complete contrast to this statistic. Most politicians are uneducated and most certainly have a criminal record. For a nation to grow it is imperative to have someone on top who is not only sympathetic to his people but is also foresighted, creative and has a thirst for a holistic success, not his individual upliftment. Sadly, most politicians today work more for themselves than their people, and unless this changes, all we can do is falsely glorify ourselves as a nation.
I really hope our country can see what's really happening and make ammends before its too late.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Mangal Pandey - The Rising! Half patriotism, full Bollywood!
At 50 crores, this movie stands tall as the most expensive movie of the year, I even read somewhere that its the most expensive movie ever made in Bollywood. Apart from the finance shim-sham, the movie definitely focusses on the first martyr of the independence struggle, which was then to ensue for another 90 years before India was to gain her painful independence at the cost of losing Pakistan.
The movie definitely invokes an underlying passion and feeling of patriotism amongst its viewers, especially if you are overseas and away from home. This was very obvious amongst a theatre crowd that did not hesitate to give a standing ovation at the end of the film. Some were teary eyed, some were fired up and some were actually unmoved, but overall the movie was received well amongst the audience.
Personally, I was very moved by certain scenes and especially the end of the film. I left with all kinds of thoughts in my mind, not just about how hard it had been for us to gain freedom, but I felt I had gained a lesson in life. How often, when we throw trash on the streets, or in so many other scenarios, do we say, "What difference does it make, its just one wrapper!"......etc. etc.........Well, after this movie, I learnt, that's all it takes, One person! This is a very valuable lesson that the film teaches you, never get discouraged because you are singled out, or are in a minority, if you want to make a change, you can do it single handedly.
Mangal Pandey shows us how it’s done, and more than anything else, this is the lesson and value I will take away from this film.
Of course, other than the depth of the film, superficially, it is a bollywood flick designed to reach the masses; personally I don’t think it does a great job at that. The film definitely has its flaws as I found the music to be abrupt in certain parts and Amisha's character to be completely useless. She added no value to the film on the whole; I guess she was there purely for the "masala" factor of an English officer falling in love with an Indian woman.
At the end of the day, I got my $10 worth, and a valuable lesson, so I am nothing short of being a "Happy Camper!"
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Interesting Article in the TImes
So, the headline read "Are we going to see just cartoons on TV?", and that was all I needed, I was elated to see someone finally saying something about the current state of affairs as far as the I&B Ministry is concerned.
The information & Broadcast Ministry, as Pritish Nandy says, has truly overstayed its welcome and requirement, I couldn't agree more with what he has to say. Censorship is no longer a beneficiary act, but more of an ego boosting mechanism for the bored politicians who have nothing better to do than deciding what I should watch on TV.... MY TV! The TV I paid for, the cable service I paid for! How sincere is this censorship anyways, and are we really considered that immature a nation who cannot decide what's best for our own family? Its one thing to suggest what may be better, but to actually go to the length of implementing the opinion of an ignorant few on a whole nation is nothing else but plain old naziism. Hitler would be nothing short of proud of how close to dictatorship our so called democracy actually runs.
The recent events in Bombay, which involved the death of more than a 1000 people because of the rains, was nothing less than ghastly and shocking. The fact that a "World City" such as Bombay should be mortal to mere rainfall, speaks volumes for the leaks and holes in our so called infrastructure. Not only was there a complete absence of concern and responsiblity on behalf of the government after these events, but now they are ensuring that all this sham of being a responsible government is never exposed to the people through news and media. In addition to this, its pitiful that as a nation and as a public we never seem to be raising our voice against any of these atrocities. We may have rid ourselves of the British, but we never managed to shed our subdued shell which compels us to just take things as they come. Remember, even freedom was possible only because a handful felt that whatever was happening wasn't right. Most were content with whatever came their way.
The problem seems to lie in our lack of foresight and the ability to prioritize. In the big picture we as a nation always seem to ignore whatever may be harder to accomplish, and always choose whatever may be easier....this is exactly how our government operates as well. And this, they seem to have accomplished with tremendous success, because of the sheer indifference that the people have towards the government. We are just too used to fending for ourselves in crisis, and the goverment is just too happy to let us do just that.
In the face of the rain crisis, the government that didnt lift a finger to help its people, a week later decides what is suitable and not suitable for us to see on TV....who the hell do they think they are???
It just seems as though, every step forward is followed by two steps backward for us. When the Naraimha Rao government made those changes which revolutionized trade and insustry, one could not help but ask how long all this "change" will last, well it all seems to be coming to a slow down......God help us!
The information & Broadcast Ministry, as Pritish Nandy says, has truly overstayed its welcome and requirement, I couldn't agree more with what he has to say. Censorship is no longer a beneficiary act, but more of an ego boosting mechanism for the bored politicians who have nothing better to do than deciding what I should watch on TV.... MY TV! The TV I paid for, the cable service I paid for! How sincere is this censorship anyways, and are we really considered that immature a nation who cannot decide what's best for our own family? Its one thing to suggest what may be better, but to actually go to the length of implementing the opinion of an ignorant few on a whole nation is nothing else but plain old naziism. Hitler would be nothing short of proud of how close to dictatorship our so called democracy actually runs.
The recent events in Bombay, which involved the death of more than a 1000 people because of the rains, was nothing less than ghastly and shocking. The fact that a "World City" such as Bombay should be mortal to mere rainfall, speaks volumes for the leaks and holes in our so called infrastructure. Not only was there a complete absence of concern and responsiblity on behalf of the government after these events, but now they are ensuring that all this sham of being a responsible government is never exposed to the people through news and media. In addition to this, its pitiful that as a nation and as a public we never seem to be raising our voice against any of these atrocities. We may have rid ourselves of the British, but we never managed to shed our subdued shell which compels us to just take things as they come. Remember, even freedom was possible only because a handful felt that whatever was happening wasn't right. Most were content with whatever came their way.
The problem seems to lie in our lack of foresight and the ability to prioritize. In the big picture we as a nation always seem to ignore whatever may be harder to accomplish, and always choose whatever may be easier....this is exactly how our government operates as well. And this, they seem to have accomplished with tremendous success, because of the sheer indifference that the people have towards the government. We are just too used to fending for ourselves in crisis, and the goverment is just too happy to let us do just that.
In the face of the rain crisis, the government that didnt lift a finger to help its people, a week later decides what is suitable and not suitable for us to see on TV....who the hell do they think they are???
It just seems as though, every step forward is followed by two steps backward for us. When the Naraimha Rao government made those changes which revolutionized trade and insustry, one could not help but ask how long all this "change" will last, well it all seems to be coming to a slow down......God help us!
Friday, August 05, 2005
Raise your voices Mumbai!
Its heartening to have read what the people of Mumbai endured while nature was its worst. Each and every person had stories to tell of how they battled the odds with no help whatsoever from the people who are supposedly minding the State. Even now after all that has happened, rest assured, the whole political system will forget about this in a month or two and life will go on as though nothing happened. But who is really responsible for rendering this government so useless, irresponsible and insensitive? Its us, the people of Mumbai. Why are we not raising our voices, dont we willingly give away a chunk of our hard earned money to the welfare of our state and our city? Where is all this welfare then??
Until we raise our voices, these politicians will sit in their cushy chairs being minimalistic in their so called welfare ventures for the city. Day after day I keep my eyes peeled for news of any ground breaking developments that the states will announce in order to alleviate the pain and suffering the people have gone through, I keep hoping that they will do soemthing to make sure the people have to never go through something like this again, but tragedy followed by negligence has just become too commonplace. Its as though the politicians know that the dust WILL settle and they can get away with anything and sadly this is the truth.
Ever heard of the Asashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan? Its the world's longest suspension bridge, but no, it wasnt built for this reason, the government of Japan built this bridge for all the right reasons. A boat carrying school children to the mainland sank killing all children on board. Saddened by this calamity and moved by the outrage of the people the government decided to take on this almost impossible task just to make sure something like this never happened again. Can our politicians learn nothing from this?? Let alone a bridge, why cant we at least have some urban planning to ensure that the city doesnt get bitten in situations like this? These are all the reasons why a state needs educated and intelligent people to administer it. But we are a land so drenched in the waters of bureaucracy, that all the wrong people are always up there. People who dont give a damn, but are there only for the power and money.
I love Mumbai, as much as I hate it for how despite having all the education and knowledge we are still third world. And this will not change unless we the people make a concious effort to bring the right people to office and make sure they do their jobs. If not, not even God can't save us.
Until we raise our voices, these politicians will sit in their cushy chairs being minimalistic in their so called welfare ventures for the city. Day after day I keep my eyes peeled for news of any ground breaking developments that the states will announce in order to alleviate the pain and suffering the people have gone through, I keep hoping that they will do soemthing to make sure the people have to never go through something like this again, but tragedy followed by negligence has just become too commonplace. Its as though the politicians know that the dust WILL settle and they can get away with anything and sadly this is the truth.
Ever heard of the Asashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan? Its the world's longest suspension bridge, but no, it wasnt built for this reason, the government of Japan built this bridge for all the right reasons. A boat carrying school children to the mainland sank killing all children on board. Saddened by this calamity and moved by the outrage of the people the government decided to take on this almost impossible task just to make sure something like this never happened again. Can our politicians learn nothing from this?? Let alone a bridge, why cant we at least have some urban planning to ensure that the city doesnt get bitten in situations like this? These are all the reasons why a state needs educated and intelligent people to administer it. But we are a land so drenched in the waters of bureaucracy, that all the wrong people are always up there. People who dont give a damn, but are there only for the power and money.
I love Mumbai, as much as I hate it for how despite having all the education and knowledge we are still third world. And this will not change unless we the people make a concious effort to bring the right people to office and make sure they do their jobs. If not, not even God can't save us.
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