Yes, I can hear the groans as people read the title and the weary voices which say, “not another one please.”
As I write this article (April 26) it is exactly five months to theday that Mumbai’s major institutions like the The Taj and CST stationfell a prey to terror attacks. Distance from the event lends toperspective.
I am very clear that 26/11 was the day that a nation’s perception ofitself changed. Till then, yes there was talk of a recession. The mood however was largely optimistic and there was still faith in the India story. Newspaper editorials largely talked of how India was finally ready to take its rightful place on the world stage riding on the backof its growing economic clout.
Five months on we know that this is not entirely true. Yes, India does get invited to the G-20 to discuss the global economic problems. On the other hand, there have also been job losses and salary cuts.
And yes, Indians are rushing to take terror cover from insurancecompanies and the IPL has been moved out of India to South Africa. TheIPL shift one may argue is a fallout of it coinciding with the elections and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan.South Asia one may argue is the most dangerous place in the world now and India is just unlucky to be there. Think of it 10 years or maybe even five years back would we have re-scheduled cricket matches just because they coincided with elections? Let me make it clear that I do not want to joint the blame game by pointing fingers at governments past and present but am merely stating facts.
This has brought home to us a simple truth. Economic growth is no substitute for security. This is the simple truth that has guided nations for centuries now.
Yes, we have reason to celebrate that the Indian economy is still growing at 5 per cent levels even when most of the developed world is in the midst of an economic crisis with Japan being officially in recession. This growth whether even if it continues will however not compensate for loss of lives. Economic growth has not been an insurance against terror attacks but the reverse in fact has beenquite true in India’s case. Whichever government comes to power in the ongoing elections will do well to remember that. To modify thecampaign slogan in a previous US election-it is the security stupid.That to me is the true significance of 26/11.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Beauty, Love and Umachander
“So that is what you are upto,” I asked Uma. Uma in this case was not the name of a beautiful lady but an ably built lad of around 15.His full name was Umachander. I had just peered into the mirror which he was holding in his hand, pretending to comb his hair and caught the reflection of the school heartthrob.
I was at that time studying at a school in Chennai and staying in the hostel there as my parents were abroad. Uma was one among my 10 odd room mates. The hostel, school and the residence of the school heartthrob were all a stone’s throw away from each other.
“Hey,” said Uma with unmistakable menace in his voice, “don’t you dare tell this to anyone else.” Not that I intended to owing to what PG Wodehouse described as The Code of the Woosters. Add to this the fact that Uma was about twice my size and I really had no desire to make public Uma’s reflections on the mirror.
This school heartthrob who must go unnamed to what I would call The Code of the Ravindrans’ had caught the fancy of another hostel mate too. He had gone to the chemistry laboratory and on quickly espying an opportunity had appended his initial to her name. Such was the stuff of school romance at the Hindu Senior Secondary School in Chennai. Many like Barkis in David Copperfield were willing but certainly lacked the courage of Barkis to proclaim their willingness.
This is however a hark back to another era and time about 30 years back. It was a world where love was conveyed through the eyes and silence was a much understood language. Unlike today where silence is mistaken for weakness.
There is yet another twist to this tale. This college heartthrob had her fair share of critics too. Her academic accomplishments which primarily consisted of being the class topper consistently were put down to factors other than her ability and application. This was because one of her relatives was on the school board. She however answered her critics in the best possible way—by topping the school in the tenth standard board exams. Not even her worst critics could accuse here of manipulation.
She had mastered a crucial lesson very early in life—the best answer to criticism is performance. She thus showed that she was more than a beauty with brains—one with strength of character too.
I was at that time studying at a school in Chennai and staying in the hostel there as my parents were abroad. Uma was one among my 10 odd room mates. The hostel, school and the residence of the school heartthrob were all a stone’s throw away from each other.
“Hey,” said Uma with unmistakable menace in his voice, “don’t you dare tell this to anyone else.” Not that I intended to owing to what PG Wodehouse described as The Code of the Woosters. Add to this the fact that Uma was about twice my size and I really had no desire to make public Uma’s reflections on the mirror.
This school heartthrob who must go unnamed to what I would call The Code of the Ravindrans’ had caught the fancy of another hostel mate too. He had gone to the chemistry laboratory and on quickly espying an opportunity had appended his initial to her name. Such was the stuff of school romance at the Hindu Senior Secondary School in Chennai. Many like Barkis in David Copperfield were willing but certainly lacked the courage of Barkis to proclaim their willingness.
This is however a hark back to another era and time about 30 years back. It was a world where love was conveyed through the eyes and silence was a much understood language. Unlike today where silence is mistaken for weakness.
There is yet another twist to this tale. This college heartthrob had her fair share of critics too. Her academic accomplishments which primarily consisted of being the class topper consistently were put down to factors other than her ability and application. This was because one of her relatives was on the school board. She however answered her critics in the best possible way—by topping the school in the tenth standard board exams. Not even her worst critics could accuse here of manipulation.
She had mastered a crucial lesson very early in life—the best answer to criticism is performance. She thus showed that she was more than a beauty with brains—one with strength of character too.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Amar, Akbar Anthony
During this weekend I was viewing the haunting melodies of Mohammed Rafi on my DVD when the song ---“Parda hai parda----from Amar, Akbar Anthony came on screen. The movie is of course one of the classics of Indian Cinema and was a signpost in the rise of Amitabh Bachchan as a superstar.
I personally have three dominant memories of the movie.
The first was when the movie was released in 1977 and I went to see it with some family friends with whom I was spending a part of my vacation. We really enjoyed the movie and I loved the scene where a drunk Amitabh Bachchan stuck a plaster to the mirror.
The second came a few months later when again the song Parda hai Parda was shown on the popular film song programme—Chaaya Geet. That was the day it rained heavily and my building was flooded. Further, the building wall broke down and the water from the adjoining gutter flowed into the compound. I began my exploratory mission but before they could taken on anything like the adventures experienced by Tom Sawyer, I was pulled inside home by my mother and slapped for straying from the safety zone.
The third memory is that of when the movie was shown by Zee around 1993. That was when the satellite channel revolution was peaking and people were getting to see movies they hadn’t seen for a while or had even forgotten. At that time everyone was discussing the forthcoming telecast of the movie more than a week before. My friend Vaidy remarked –“Look at the impact of the movie. It has not been forgotten even today”.
Amar, Akbar Anthony of course has been telecast many times since then and will be telecast many times more. These three memories to me are the abiding ones about the movie. My mental images of Amar, Akbar and of course Anthony.
I personally have three dominant memories of the movie.
The first was when the movie was released in 1977 and I went to see it with some family friends with whom I was spending a part of my vacation. We really enjoyed the movie and I loved the scene where a drunk Amitabh Bachchan stuck a plaster to the mirror.
The second came a few months later when again the song Parda hai Parda was shown on the popular film song programme—Chaaya Geet. That was the day it rained heavily and my building was flooded. Further, the building wall broke down and the water from the adjoining gutter flowed into the compound. I began my exploratory mission but before they could taken on anything like the adventures experienced by Tom Sawyer, I was pulled inside home by my mother and slapped for straying from the safety zone.
The third memory is that of when the movie was shown by Zee around 1993. That was when the satellite channel revolution was peaking and people were getting to see movies they hadn’t seen for a while or had even forgotten. At that time everyone was discussing the forthcoming telecast of the movie more than a week before. My friend Vaidy remarked –“Look at the impact of the movie. It has not been forgotten even today”.
Amar, Akbar Anthony of course has been telecast many times since then and will be telecast many times more. These three memories to me are the abiding ones about the movie. My mental images of Amar, Akbar and of course Anthony.
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