We don't like the same food.
We don't love the same person.
We don't enjoy the same movies
We don't like reading same books.
We don't listen to the same music.

How is it then that as a society we are supposed to love the same things?

A Big House
A Beautiful wife (or a handsome husband)
A big car
A fancy phone

There is something fundamentally wrong with us...and with the society

My Elegant Cricket XI

My Cricket Eleven whose video clippings I watch, just for sheer beauty and elegance.

1. Hashim Amla
2. Mark Waugh 
3. Brian Lara
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Kumar Sangakkara (wk)
6. Imran Khan (c)
7. Wasim Akram
8. Shane Warne
9. Michael Holding
10. Shane Bond
11. Allan Donald 

If I had to select a team that I would pay to watch, this would be it.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Sometimes I wonder that it must be terribly difficult to be rich and famous. How insecure must they be feeling while living in the constant fear of losing it all?

I don't like the movies of Karan Johar. But his public apology about casting Pakistani actors for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil made me feel like puking. How low will a person have to stoop to disown the people who worked for him? Here is a guy wanting to make millions by casting the famous Pakistani actors. And the moment he realises that his box office collections might get affected because a political party's goons threaten to sabotage its screening, he decides to publicly apologize. 

Similar was the case of Snapdeal removing Amir Khan as its brand ambassador after the "intolerance" fiasco. What are these people who sit on crores of rupees afraid of? How are they able to face themselves in the mirror? Why is it so rare to find people like Nana Patekar who actually stand for something good?

It's easy for me to say all this because I don't have my skin in the game. I have nothing to lose while shouting curses from my keyboard. Someday I might be tested and fail big time.

This post is a reminder to self to know what is the right thing to do. No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves otherwise. 

An old song, which perfectly captures the mood.  

For Tony Greig

My last post was about missing the joy I derived out of Cricket because of absence of Sachin Tendulkar. Another person, who made the Cricket a delight for me was Tony Greig. For a long time, I had thought that he was an Australian, since he appeared so similar to them in many ways. Then, after few years, I learned from my father that he was a former English captain. Even later, I learned that he was actually a South African. 

There have been many great commentators. Richie Benaud sits right at the top. But I saw very less of English and Australian cricket during an impressionable age to be able to admire his voice and insights. For me, it was always Tony Greig, a constant presence in the commentary boxes of India and Sharjah. He made Cricket far more exciting than it actually was.

One can appreciate how good the commentary was only a few years back when one could hear some of the most intelligent voices in world cricket - Tony Greig, Richie Benaud, Tony Cozier etc. These days, one has to bear with the mouth pieces of BCCI - Laxman Shivaramakrishnan, Sanjay Manjrekar, and Ravi Shastri. If not for anything else, BCCI should be sued for making the viewers listen to such pathetic commentary.

Some days, I watch old Cricket clippings just to hear Tony Greig. After Sachin, it's him I miss the most. 

P.S. This absolutely gem of a tribute from Richie Benaud for Tony Greig.

Memories

Today was the first day of India v/s England test match at Wankhede. I last went to see a Cricket match 3 years ago at the same venue when Sachin played his last game. I have fond memories of those 3 days, the only instance I went to see a test match. I remember having goosebumps when he walked in to bat and my eyes getting moist when he gave his farewell speech.

There are some good, probably great batsmen out there viz. Kohli, Joe Root, KaneWilliamson, Steven Smith. Ajinkya Rahane is a delight to watch, Amla's batting is like poetry in motion and there is Alastair Cook threatening all batting records in test cricket.

I still follow Cricket. Cricinfo is always open in the internet browser where I follow the scorecard of every match that is being played. But I hardly remember anything. If you ask me against whom India played the last test series, I'll have to take few moments to tell you the answer. But, I can tell you in exact sequence the matches India played 14-15 years ago with the venue names. Sometimes, I can even recall the final scores that the teams made some 20 years back.

But I don't like watching Cricket anymore. It doesn't excite me in any way. Unless India is losing very badly or consistently, I don't care who wins or loses. I don't even check the score cards once the match is over. Virat Kohli's heroics don't cheer me up. 

Something's gone. There's no Sachin any more. 

Year So Far

I missed out on what people usually call their new year resolutions. Didn't even come close.
Another year about to end.
Full of anxiety, insecurity, and restlessness.
Learned a lot about myself.
Not really enjoyable, but learning all the same. 

Things to Learn - Investment

I think Investing is an art which everybody should try his/her hand at. More than anything else, it requires a deep learning of human behaviour, patience, psychology, philosophy, statistics, and not to mention, business knowledge. A lot of investment principles can be applied to all walks of life.

My boss in my company gave me the following two part advice : 

1. If you have to read one book, only one book on investment, read "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham. If you ever feel like reading another book, read "The Intelligent Investor" again.

2. All the wisdom lies in the financial statements and annual reports of the companies. It's good to read books, but one can learn a lot more from the financial statements.

I've bought  "The Intelligent Investor" and am wondering why I didn't read it much earlier. More than about making money, it's about how to stay disciplined and act on the basic principles. The principles, though simple in theory, are very difficult to implement as they require patience and deter us from following the herd.

Even if one doesn't make money after applying the principles of Ben Graham (though I doubt that), one stands to gain a lot from the book regarding human conduct and how to take decisions. 

I don't know how to invest, but I want to learn and I have been making efforts in that direction. It will take time, but I hope to get better in due course. 

We’ll Always Have Paris

I first saw Casablanca some 6-7 years back, a movie that is considered a landmark in the motion pictures history. I remember that I didn’t enjoy it much then, was even bored at certain points and at its completion, I was wondering why it still captured the audience's imagination.

Yesterday, I saw it again and this time, the movie touched me deeply. One of the best things about great pieces of art, be it books, movies, songs, paintings, sculptures is that they will change as you do. Every now and then, I found myself nodding in agreement to what Rick (Humphrey Bogart) or Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) expressed, feeling their emotions when Sam sings the song “As Time Goes By”, understanding the predicament of Ilsa regarding her departure. It is difficult not to get lost in the story of the characters, which somewhere reminds us of our own dreams and unrequited love. 

It’s not that the movie is the greatest piece of art that there is, but Bogart and Bergman stand out because of their performances. Bogart was in his 40s when the movie was released and it was only from his late 30s that he produced some of his most famous works (The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Casablanca etc.). But there was a certain charm about his suave mannerisms; the way he held cigarette, his baritone, and the manner his eyes expressed the underlying emotions. I had missed all of this in my first viewing. 

There are few actresses who appear as enchanting as Ingrid Bergman has in the movie. The only other I can think of is Joan Fontaine in Rebecca and in Suspicion. There’s much pain in her voice and a deep longing for the old times when she asks Sam to play the song. (Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake. Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."). I can watch the movie again for this one scene alone.

The movie scores big on almost all the fronts. It has some of the best quotable dialogues; “We’ll always have Paris”, “Here’s looking at you, kid” which I have been hearing from people since time immemorial without knowing their exact origin. There is tension between the old lovers beautifully depicted by Bogart and Bergman. Much humour was provided by the witty dialogues of Capt. Renault who is on the lookout for his interests alone, but deep down despises the Germans. Then there are scenes like the one involving the playing of German and French anthems simultaneously which gives goosebumps to the viewer. And the music. I have been repeatedly playing the songs "As Time Goes By", and "Knock on Wood" on Youtube. 

However, I have one grouse which perturbs me a lot in the old movies, whichever language they belong to. Here in the movie are people from all nationalities (German, French, Czech, Norwegians, Russian, even the locals of Morocco) in the movie and they all speak with flawless American accent. To come to think of it, the waiter in the movie seems to be making fun of a German couple because of their lack of understanding of the English language. I found this joke to be outright dumb. 

Barring this aberration, I found the movie to be thoroughly enjoyable. It has stood the test of time and it still enchants the viewers because of the wonderful acting, iconic dialogues, soulful music and above all a story that was given wonderful treatment by all those involved in its making. I will watch it again soon.

Little Sleep's-Head Sprouting Hair in the Moonlight

If one day it happens
you find yourself with someone you love
in a café at one end
of the Pont Mirabeau, at the zinc bar
where white wine stands in upward opening glasses,

and if you commit then, as we did, the error
of thinking,
one day all this will only be memory,

learn,
as you stand
at this end of the bridge which arcs,
from love, you think, into enduring love,
learn to reach deeper
into the sorrows
to come – to touch
the almost imaginary bones
under the face, to hear under the laughter
the wind crying across the black stones. Kiss
the mouth
which tells you, here,
here is the world. This mouth. This laughter. These temple bones.

The still undanced cadence of vanishing.

-- Galway Kinnell


Picked from "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

Movie Review : Mary & Max (2009)

Director : Adam Elliot

Genre: Animation, Dark Comedy, Drama

Cast : Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman

IMDb : 8.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

Mary & Max is a claymation movie based on the lives of two pen friends, Mary, a lonely eight year old girl growing up in Melbourne suburbs and Max, an autistic 44 year old obese jew in New York. It's a dark comedy where two people living across continents become friends through letters. They have a lot in common as both love chocolate, enjoy watching a cartoon show called Noblets, and are without friends. 

Max is struggling with obesity, depression and Asperger's syndrome, while Mary suffers from neglect of her parents, and is teased by her peer group at school because of a birth mark on her forehead. They exchange letters (and chocolates) offering support and advice to each other and are brought closer by their isolation and adversities. Over the years we see a beautiful and complex friendship develop which goes through its ups and downs as the characters move ahead in their lives. 

Most of the movie is narrated by Barry Humphries, except the scenes where the characters read the letters. It is unique not only in terms of storytelling but also in the visual appeal, colour scheme and animation style. I doubt if the kids can enjoy the movie as the issues discussed are real life, and the witty narrative even though humorous has a dry gloomy tone. Throughout the movie I laughed a lot, as well as felt sad. A lot of wisdom is hidden in lines like the below one.

Max : [to Mary] Dr. Bernard Hazelhof said if I was on a desert island, then I would have to get used to my own company - just me and the coconuts. He said I would have to accept myself, my warts and all, and that we don't get to choose our warts. They are part of us and we have to live with them. We can, however, choose our friends, and I am glad I have chosen you.

This sweet tale of unlikely friendship is dark and grim, yet full of life. The movie took almost five years to complete and it shows in the great attention to detail in the way New York and Melbourne suburbs are depicted (I read it in the reviews by Americans and Australians). It's a refreshing departure from the usual Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar animation flicks and stands out because of its novelty and the depth of the story. 

प्रयत्न

आज इतिहास के विषय में कुछ सोच रहा था. याद कर रहा था कि दसवीं कक्षा में  इतिहास में क्या क्या पढ़ा था. सहसा  दिमाग़ में एक प्रश्न उठा कि syllabus को हिन्दी में क्या कहते है. पुरज़ोर कोशिश की लेकिन याददाश्त ने जवाब दे दिया. Google पर देखा तो याद आया कि syllabus का अनुवाद हिन्दी में "पाठ्यक्रम" होता है.

तभी ये एहसास हुआ कि अब मेरी हिन्दी काफ़ी कमज़ोर हो चली है जो बचपन में अच्छी हुआ करती थी. मेरे परिवार में अधिकांश लोग अच्छी हिन्दी बोलते हैं. इसका श्रेय मेरी दादी को जाता है जो हिन्दी की अध्यापिका थी. मैं बचपन में प्रेमचंद का साहित्य और हिन्दी के अख़बार काफ़ी पढ़ा करता था. स्कूल के अध्यापक कहा करते थे कि यदि हिन्दी सुधारनी है तो राजस्थान पत्रिका पढ़ो और अँग्रेज़ी सुधारनी है तो Times of India. इस बात को कोई 17-18 साल हो चले हैं.

आज न राजस्थान पत्रिका में अच्छी हिन्दी पढ़ने को मिलती है और न ही  Times of India में अच्छी अँग्रेज़ी. कुछ खिचड़ी सी लिखते हैं दोनों. बोलचाल की भाषा में भी अब हम अँग्रेज़ी का काफ़ी प्रयोग करते हैं और अच्छा हिन्दी साहित्य भी पढ़ने को नहीं मिलता.

इस साल कोशिश करूँगा कि कुछ किताबें हिन्दी की भी पढ़ूँ. प्रेमचंद के कुछ उपन्यास रह गये हैं , शिवानी की भी एक भी किताब नही पढ़ी है. आगे से इस blog पर थोड़े बहुत post हिन्दी में लिखूंगा. इसी बहाने  मेरी भाषा जो काफ़ी भ्रष्ट हो चली है, शायद थोड़ी सुधार जाए.

Ram Ke Naam

It's been more than 2 decades since the Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya. Much blood has been spilled on the issue of Lord Ram's birthplace. The  issue, almost dead now, evoked passions across the country, something whose repercussions we still feel today. 

There's an eerie familiarity between the current political climate in the country and what happened around 25 years back. 

Here's a documentary from Anand Patwardhan which was made in the aftermath of riots that gripped the country following the mosque demolition. It might serve as a reminder to those supporting blind nationalism. Then, it was the muslims who were called the traitors; today, it's the liberals.

Alive 'n Kickin'

This blog celebrates its 7th anniversary today.I don't write often and the posts have become more impersonal in the past couple of years. Rather than inner musings, I've posted more of movie and book reviews.

A friend recently commented that the blog shows how I have evolved over the years. Maybe it's true, maybe not. Nevertheless, I hope to start writing more frequently soon and be regular with the posts. I want to do it not for others but for myself so that I'll be able to go back in time and see how I changed.

Like this blog, I've lost touch with many close friends in the past two years. I hardly meet new people and have almost stopped quizzing, one thing that I've loved most in past. I'm proud of none of it and would like to go back to doing things that made me happy.

I'm still alive. :)

Annihilation of Caste : A Review

I read this small 50 page powerful text by B.R. Ambedkar which was originally intended to be a speech delivered in Lahore on request of an organization called the Jat Pat Todak Mandal. The radical nature of speech forced the organizers to cancel the event and later, Dr. Ambedkar got the address published himself for circulation. 

It is a strong commentary about the ills of the caste system and how deeply it has affected the Indian society. He champions the ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity and emphasizes that there cannot be any political or economic reform unless they're preceded by social reform. I found many arguments put forth by him to be extremely enlightening. 

" Religion, social status, and property are all sources of power and authority, which one man has, to control the liberty of another. One is predominant at one stage; the other is predominant at another stage. That is the only difference. If liberty is the ideal, if liberty means the destruction of the dominion which one man holds over another, then obviously it cannot be insisted upon that economic reform must be the one kind of reform worthy of pursuit. If the source of power and dominion is, at any given time or in any given society, social and religious, then social reform and religious reform must be accepted as the necessary sort of reform. "

He strongly speaks out against people like Gandhi and Arya Samaj who under the garb of Varnasharm actually supported Caste system. Point by point he rips apart the arguments given by the caste system apologists and exposes the fallacies in their logic.

The problem starts in the second half of the lecture where he proposes to get rid of almost all the religious text of hindus and to have one book as the  the solution to the problem. This is where I disagree with him the most. 

" The real remedy is to destroy the belief in the sanctity of the Shastras."

The authority of Hindu scriptures is probably the most important issue raised by Dr. Ambedkar. He assumes the Hindus to be a monolithic entity like the Muslims and the Christians, a very contentious claim which needs to be debated. He insists that the tolerant nature of Hindus is actually the result of their indifference and weakness on the whole because they were always a divided lot. To anybody who finds such arguments credible, I would recommend reading "The Hindu View of Life" by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. 

Repeatedly he has quoted verses from Manusmriti (the law book of Hindus) to give sanction to his views regarding the horrible practice of untouchability. It's true that many heinous practices of Hindus find their origin in Manusmriti. However, Manusmriti is not only a very recent text, in many ways it is also contradictory to what has essentially been preached in Vedas. That is why to form any assumption about Hinduism based on Manusmriti would be grossly inaccurate. 

"There should be one and only one standard book of Hindu Religion, acceptable to all Hindus and recognized by all Hindus. This of course means that all other books of Hindu religion such as Vedas, Shastras, and Puranas, which are treated as sacred and authoritative, must by law cease to be so, and the preaching of any doctrine, religious or social, contained in these books should be penalized."

It is such simplistic measures which have had led to the rise of  dangerous ideologies like Nazism, and violent Communism. Also, the dogmatic belief in "one book" is the root cause of the rise of Islamic terrorism today. His proposal of involving religion with state is what I found to be the most ill-thought out argument. 

"A priest should be the servant of the State, and should be subject to the disciplinary action of the State in the matter of his morals, beliefs, and worship, in addition to his being subject along with other citizens to the ordinary law of the land. "

We only have to look across the border and at the middle east as to what horrors religion can unleash when it becomes a state matter. 

Irrespective of what I find to be its shortcomings, Annihilation of Caste is one of the most important work of political writing in India. Caste system is still prevalent in its most dangerous form in many parts of the country. This work by Dr. Ambedkar is a must read for many who have not experienced the worst of caste system.

This essay, written almost 80 years ago is still relevant and it changes the perspectives of the reader on the Indian society.In the second edition, Dr. Ambedkar has published the criticism from Mahatma Gandhi and has replied to it in a very lucid and passionate manner and exposed how hollow some of Gandhi's beliefs were.  It's an eye opener for anybody who believes in the superiority of Hindusim and makes him face the ground reality as to why huge population of India converted to other religions over the years.

You can read this text here and the pdf can be found here.