I was quite thoroughly. On Satuday, when India beat Australia by one strand of Merv Hughes' whisker. Or David Boon's. And then again on Monday night when we beat Pakistan. This time though it was even narrower. I am still perturbed though by Misbah's misbehaved shot with 4 balls to go and 6 to score. Then again a solitary non-batsman was left at the other end. So maybe the unflappable got palpable flapping.
I was most not. Yesterday. Changing two cabs because the cabbie gave up on taking me home through the lord's processions. Multiple processions. All over the city. very colorful. Very Indian. Very rich culture red curry lal gulal Indian. Hrrmph. Oh come on. If the establishment is going to allow it (and fine I'll give in- votes, elections, what not- will of the many versus the few), at least divide the roads properly. Rusted steel drums with ropes? No clue which road is functional, which one isn't. Rubbish.
I am not today either. Yaar, with Ganeshji, I still have a fear of being struck down by lightning. So I'll brave a walk home. But Dhoniji? Arre bhai. It is pouring. There isn't a cab or bus in sight. Me in maitai, polished shoes and propah shirt is looking more and more like a street urchin. And why? Because they decided to take out a processions for the crickets now. Hrrrrrrrrrmphhhh.
This however is entertainment.
President Ahmadinijad's visit to Columbia. I haven't been following all the press debate surrounding whether he should be allowed to speak there or not. But principally I am for it. Liberal arts, science and education I say. All points of view should be heard. And this guy is the ruling head of a country.
Anyway here is the fun:
Columbia President- Bollinger's introduction to the speaker:
(http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/07/09/lcbopeningremarks.html)
Excerpts:
- "to those among us who experience hurt and pain as a result of this day, I say on behalf of all of us we are sorry and wish to do what we can to alleviate it"
- "to be clear on another matter - this event has nothing whatsoever to do with any “rights” of the speaker but only with our rights to listen and speak. We do it for ourselves."
- "Let’s, then, be clear at the beginning, Mr. President you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator." (This statement obviously has a context in which it is made. Read the speech to know more).
- "Why are you so afraid of Iranian citizens expressing their opinions for change?"
- "Let me lead a delegation of students and faculty from Columbia to address your university about free speech, with the same freedom we afford you today? Will you do that?"
- (This one is the best:) "In a December 2005 state television broadcast, you described the Holocaust as a “fabricated” “legend.” One year later, you held a two-day conference of Holocaust deniers. For the illiterate and ignorant, this is dangerous propaganda. When you come to a place like this, this makes you, quite simply, ridiculous. You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated."
- "Why do you support well-documented terrorist organizations that continue to strike at peace and democracy in the Middle East, destroying lives and civil society in the region?"
- "A number of Columbia graduates and current students are among the brave members of our military who are serving or have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They, like other Americans with sons, daughters, fathers, husbands and wives serving in combat, rightly see your government as the enemy. Can you tell them and us why Iran is fighting a proxy war in Iraq by arming Shi’a militia targeting and killing U.S. troops?"
- (Sorry, I said earlier- something about that being the best. This para tops it:) "Frankly, and in all candor, Mr. President, I doubt that you will have the intellectual courage to answer these questions. But your avoiding them will in itself be meaningful to us. I do expect you to exhibit the fanatical mindset that characterizes so much of what you say and do. Fortunately, I am told by experts on your country, that this only further undermines your position in Iran with all the many good-hearted, intelligent citizens there. A year ago, I am reliably told, your preposterous and belligerent statements in this country (as in your meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations) so embarrassed sensible Iranian citizens that this led to your party’s defeat in the December mayoral elections. May this do that and more."
And here comes the President:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/24/AR2007092401042_pf.html
- At the outset I want to complain a bit from the person who read this political statement against me. In Iran tradition requires that when we demand a person to invite to be a speaker we actually respect our students and the professors by allowing them to make their own judgment and we don't think it's necessary before this speech is even given to come in with a series of claims...
- Certainly he took more than all the time I was allocated to speak, and that's fine with me. We'll just leave that to add up with the claims of respect for freedom and the freedom of speech that's given to us in this country. (Right on!!- see i said, entertainment)
Well actually I recommend reading it- the text.. I think he does okay. And this maybe because I have some Indian culture seeped inside me somewhere, but I think the Columbia President and whoever the moderator are either immature or pressured or seriously missing the point. The whole point of a lecture is to have one. To listen to a point of view. Not to score cheap shots.
And when you are hosting someone... sample this, so called thank you from the moderator:
"I'm sorry that President Ahmadinejad's schedule makes it necessary for him to leave before he's been able to answer many of the questions that we have, or even answer some of the ones that we posed to him. But I think we can all be pleased that his appearance here demonstrates Columbia's deep commitment to free expression and debate. I want to thank you all for coming to participate"
Crap.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The game always wins
I just finished reading Sacred Games. I take a long time to read books. For one, I don't sit and read for six hours at a stretch. For two, I read slow taking it in.
I picked up Sacred Games because of the cover. Honest. I judged the book by its cover and it was good. It has a Sardar inspector on the cover. For one, I can't think of any other novel you would find in bookstores with a Sardar on the cover except maybe some of the stuff that Khushwant Singh keeps dishing out. Either way, it has a Sardar inspector on the cover and another Mahrashtrian fellow who is apparently a Mumbai don. And the book cover says it relates to the former investigating the latter's death.
It's 900 pages long. Given my lifestyle nowadays, it is surprising I ever finished it. But that's the thing. It is fantastic. It is not plot boiler subterfuge and spies and gang wars and stuff. Sure some of it. But no heroes, no action nothing.
It has characters, some- fantastically etched out, most- believable.
Sartaj Singh is my new favorite fiction character. He is the surdy cop and apparently finds mention in Vikram Chandra's other book of short stories, 'love and longing in bombay..'. So I'm going to read that next.
What is interesting? The book concludes. The multiple persons' stories end. They have satisfactory closure. Most of them are not abrupt. But none of the closure is necessarily fair- bleak or white. All the characters are related in their contexts. I can't think of a villain. Except maybe Suleiman Isa (who is loosely modeled on Dawood Ibrahim) who is really a side character, a presence and never explored. And a spiritual guru, who speaks well, but if you are a libertarian (which I am), you won't be able to really justify him at all.
Outside of these fellows, you have:
a. Mumbai gangsters/ warlords
b. Cops- corrupt, semi-corrupt and otherwise
c. Dance bar proprietors
d. Pimps
e. Spies
f. Women who have sold themselves
g. Innocent girls who grew up in villages inPunjab
h. Persons who committed murders during partition
i. Naxalites
.. and maybe more..
And then there are all sorts: the abusive and the pious, the tolerant and the intolerant, bisexuals and heterosexuals..
And everyone of them written about in a casual nonchalant fashion.
And maybe, that's the reason this is a fine novel. There aren't judgments on anything. They are yours to make. You could love any one of the characters or hate them. You could say the novel ends happily or you could say it is a tragedy. You could feel that the world within it is turning for the better at its close. Or you could say it is doomed.
And all of this is against the backdrop of Mumbai- so the world is really Mumbai. And these contradictions sit nicely, fittingly with the city.
I picked up Sacred Games because of the cover. Honest. I judged the book by its cover and it was good. It has a Sardar inspector on the cover. For one, I can't think of any other novel you would find in bookstores with a Sardar on the cover except maybe some of the stuff that Khushwant Singh keeps dishing out. Either way, it has a Sardar inspector on the cover and another Mahrashtrian fellow who is apparently a Mumbai don. And the book cover says it relates to the former investigating the latter's death.
It's 900 pages long. Given my lifestyle nowadays, it is surprising I ever finished it. But that's the thing. It is fantastic. It is not plot boiler subterfuge and spies and gang wars and stuff. Sure some of it. But no heroes, no action nothing.
It has characters, some- fantastically etched out, most- believable.
Sartaj Singh is my new favorite fiction character. He is the surdy cop and apparently finds mention in Vikram Chandra's other book of short stories, 'love and longing in bombay..'. So I'm going to read that next.
What is interesting? The book concludes. The multiple persons' stories end. They have satisfactory closure. Most of them are not abrupt. But none of the closure is necessarily fair- bleak or white. All the characters are related in their contexts. I can't think of a villain. Except maybe Suleiman Isa (who is loosely modeled on Dawood Ibrahim) who is really a side character, a presence and never explored. And a spiritual guru, who speaks well, but if you are a libertarian (which I am), you won't be able to really justify him at all.
Outside of these fellows, you have:
a. Mumbai gangsters/ warlords
b. Cops- corrupt, semi-corrupt and otherwise
c. Dance bar proprietors
d. Pimps
e. Spies
f. Women who have sold themselves
g. Innocent girls who grew up in villages inPunjab
h. Persons who committed murders during partition
i. Naxalites
.. and maybe more..
And then there are all sorts: the abusive and the pious, the tolerant and the intolerant, bisexuals and heterosexuals..
And everyone of them written about in a casual nonchalant fashion.
And maybe, that's the reason this is a fine novel. There aren't judgments on anything. They are yours to make. You could love any one of the characters or hate them. You could say the novel ends happily or you could say it is a tragedy. You could feel that the world within it is turning for the better at its close. Or you could say it is doomed.
And all of this is against the backdrop of Mumbai- so the world is really Mumbai. And these contradictions sit nicely, fittingly with the city.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Turin vs. Anakin
Watching Star Wars 3 the other day, I was struck by the 'dismal fate' of Anakin Skywalker. It's a common premise, possibly- in a lot of fiction. Anakin is plagued by 'human' weaknesses. They lead him to the Dark Side. These weaknesses are pride and attachment definitely- maybe arrogance if you stretch it a bit and greed if you stretch it a lot and fear if you can sense the Force, but I can't.
What is striking (and what also makes Episode 3 eminently watchable relative to 1 &2) is that the reasons behind Anakin's downfall are understandable. Or rather, his behavior is. The Dark side is not all dark. The descent into the Dark side has a context. (This is possibly also what made Return of the Jedi more complex and interesting than Episode 4, but that is probably disputable).
But the connection I am seeking to make is a different one. It's the motif:
Anakin is brave. He is able. He is in fact the most gifted of all Jedi. He's self made (albeit with some coaching, but he's come up from scratch in any case). He can drive whatever space crafts he lays his hands on faster than everyone else. I can't say if he is smashing looking, but he manages to snare royalty for a girlfriend, so he's doing all right.
In the middle of all this though, he is doomed from the start. He is always going to fall. In fact the higher he goes, the harder he is supposed to come down. And that's not because of immoral decisions he takes, but because of human weaknesses which somehow are the path to the dark side. It's almost as if he is cursed.
Which brings me to Turin Turambar. That dude, seriously gets the short end of the stick. His father goes into battle with the Dark Lord, manages to get his kin cursed and that's that. Turin too has everything going for him. Wise. Brave. Great warrior. Learned in the elven tongue as well. BUT, he is doomed as well. For some of the same reasons. None of his actions are morally wrong. They are proud, angry sometimes. In that sense the dark side casts a shadow over him even though he does not belong to it.
The difference is- Turin never turns. Anakin does. And in that, Turin never becomes the dark one himself. BUT, even so Turin does bring about the destruction of the Middle Earth.
What is striking (and what also makes Episode 3 eminently watchable relative to 1 &2) is that the reasons behind Anakin's downfall are understandable. Or rather, his behavior is. The Dark side is not all dark. The descent into the Dark side has a context. (This is possibly also what made Return of the Jedi more complex and interesting than Episode 4, but that is probably disputable).
But the connection I am seeking to make is a different one. It's the motif:
Anakin is brave. He is able. He is in fact the most gifted of all Jedi. He's self made (albeit with some coaching, but he's come up from scratch in any case). He can drive whatever space crafts he lays his hands on faster than everyone else. I can't say if he is smashing looking, but he manages to snare royalty for a girlfriend, so he's doing all right.
In the middle of all this though, he is doomed from the start. He is always going to fall. In fact the higher he goes, the harder he is supposed to come down. And that's not because of immoral decisions he takes, but because of human weaknesses which somehow are the path to the dark side. It's almost as if he is cursed.
Which brings me to Turin Turambar. That dude, seriously gets the short end of the stick. His father goes into battle with the Dark Lord, manages to get his kin cursed and that's that. Turin too has everything going for him. Wise. Brave. Great warrior. Learned in the elven tongue as well. BUT, he is doomed as well. For some of the same reasons. None of his actions are morally wrong. They are proud, angry sometimes. In that sense the dark side casts a shadow over him even though he does not belong to it.
The difference is- Turin never turns. Anakin does. And in that, Turin never becomes the dark one himself. BUT, even so Turin does bring about the destruction of the Middle Earth.
wuzz that please?
Why is 'so how're the things?' so? What the heck is it in any case?
In an inspired (or inspirational depending on how you look at it) moment I came up with the name of the Blog, courtesy a colleague who uses the expression frequently, whenever greeting persons, male or female. It's a tremendous phrase. An opening gambit which few can counter. A greeting in a question mired in questionable intent. Huh? What? Which things? It is, as I said- truly inspirational.
In an inspired (or inspirational depending on how you look at it) moment I came up with the name of the Blog, courtesy a colleague who uses the expression frequently, whenever greeting persons, male or female. It's a tremendous phrase. An opening gambit which few can counter. A greeting in a question mired in questionable intent. Huh? What? Which things? It is, as I said- truly inspirational.
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