A beautiful song sung by Mukesh

This song always reminds me of a tranquil, sleepy summer afternoon with warm but pleasant wind blowing and you can hear leaves colliding with each other, outside.

Please help if you can

I got this link from my sister. Nivedita needs to get done a hip arthroplasty operation done and the cost of treatment and rehabilitation is going to be tremendous. You can read all the relevant information on the link specified above. Today by the time I got the mail it was quite late, so I’ll definitely transfer some money to her account tomorrow. Please do your bit. If you cannot help financially, please link to her page so that more and more people can reach out to her and help her.

Nivedita

Kung Fu Panda is our favorite these days

Kung Fu Panda

I accidentally downloaded the promo of Kung Fu Panda for my three-year-old daughter from YouTube and ever since then it has been a regular part of our staple diet of videos while she is having her food. Eventually we had to get the movie and this is the first movie she ever watches (she watches it whenever she wants to watch something on my laptop) for more than 30 minutes. But she insists that only those parts be played that show the panda. The rest of the movie has to be fast forwarded. Oh yes, today in the morning she also found that scene funny when Tai Lung, the main villain escapes from prison because there is lots of sound and action.

Kung Fu Panda is an out and out Americanised version of a Chinese story and that is why most of its characters are slightly funny, slightly silly and slightly philosophical; this is an existential dilemma most of American animation characters go through: they desperately try to be funny, clumsy, and innocently, fumblingly, callous. But all in all it is an extremely lovable animation film.

Po is the fat, clumsy panda who works in his father’s noodle shop and dreams of becoming a Kung Fu fighter. When he hears that a ceremony is being conducted to choose the Dragon Warrior to save the Valley of Peace, he desperately wants to see the event but something or the other happens and he cannot enter the Palace Square. After lots of tries, he ties scores of firecrackers around himself and somehow lands in front of the master tortoise who declares him the Dragon Warrior. Everybody, including master Shifu (who currently trains everybody) is shocked. Nobody believes that he can become the Dragon Warrior, but the master tortoise. Master Shifu had already been preparing five great Kung Fu warriers: the Tigress, the Monkey, the Snake, the Crane and the Mantis, and he expected one of them being declared the dragon warrior.

Believe in yourself, is the central message of the film.

Before transcending to the heavens the master tortoise convinces master Shifu that he will believe that he can turn Po into the Dragon Warrior. Shifu eventually accomplishes that and then Po defeats Tai Lung.

Dustin Hoffman (Shifu), Angelina Jolie (Tigress), Jack Black (Po) and Jackie Chan (Monkey) are some of the Hollywood stars who have given their voices to the animation characters.

The metamorphosis of Po into the Dragon Warrior is not very convincing and this is the biggest shortfall of the film. The great 5 Kung Fu warriors had been training since they were kids and the Panda surpasses them just as Tai Lung breaks jail and reaches the Valley of Peace. In trying to render an American hue upon the characters the filmmakers have succeeded in making almost all characters look unsure and stupid, even master Shifu who is supposed to have reached the pinnacle of his spiritual consciousness. The scriptwriter certainly hasn’t worked hard on the script otherwise he or she should have devised some way to make things look more convincing. Other than that, for kids it’s a great film. Vasu simply loves the adorable Pandai (she calls him like that).

How to tell if you’re not mom’s favorite

An elephant drawing elephant

See the remaining pics.

The Amarnath Shrine Trust land imbroglio: both sides seem wrong

I haven’t had much time to follow the Amarnath shrine trust land controversy so I quickly went to Google news to check what’s going on.  The shrine trust was allocated the forest land to build the premises, and I thought the Kashmiris were against that particular point; the forest land must be protected at all costs and no religious activity should interfere with that. How secular and progressive, I thought.

I discovered they give two hoots about the destruction of their forests; they are agitated over the Indian government’s "conspiracy" to settle Hindu population in Kashmir.

Fair enough; Raj Thakare wants Maharashtra for the Marathas and the Kasmiris want their land just for the Kashmiris (even the local dog population manifests similar proclivities). But do they remember that millions of pundits who had to become refugees in their own country were Kashmiris too? Why didn’t their heart bleed when their fellow Kashmiris had to leave the valley? They are outraged at the very thought of outsider Hindus coming to the valley and settling there, but they didn’t even bat an eyelid when millions of Hindus who had been living in the valley for 100s of years had to abandon their homes and move to other parts of India; talk of blatant double standards.

And this is when the trust premises is just being built to create a resting place for the pilgrims heading to the Amarnath cave. Height of religious intolerance. Move the same people (OK, well, Muslims I mean) to some other democracy and even slightest incidents infringe upon their fundamental human rights.

The Hindu reactionary parties like the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and to an extent the BJP too are not doing what they should be doing, and as always are doing something that they should avoid. I call them reactionary parties because they only react, they never really do something good for the country. Isn’t it simply insane to burn down and destroy local properties for whatever is happening in Kashmir? If the government is giving forest lands to various trusts, irrespective of what religion the trusts represent, shouldn’t their main worry be that the forest land of the country is being destroyed? Instead of asking for the same piece of land, shouldn’t they ask for a place that does not belong to the forest? Forget about Kashmiris Muslims, aren’t they too fighting against the interests of the country?

Solution? Instead of the piece of land that belongs to the forest, the trust should be allotted another piece, of course somewhere in Kashmir, and at a place that should be convenient to the pilgrims. If the Kashmiris still protest? Well, too bad, the government will have to deal with it just like Putin deals with such problems and shows a finger if the other countries protest. And if the Hindus still protest, demanding for the same piece of the forest land? They should be treated in the same manner.

Oh! This is wishful thinking. The buggers in the government rarely do something that is good for the country as a whole; they are more worried about vote bank politics.

A pit of life and death

Very interesting reading.

Is having sex with a Robot hooker cheating?

I’m referring to this link. Having sex with robot hookers is soon going to be a reality; but don’t they already get sex toys that can be used for sexual gratification and isn’t that a cheating? Than what about masturbation? While masturbating can you guaranty that you are thinking about your partner and not your porn idol?

I think more than technical it is an emotional, psychological issue.  But I think it is a technical issue too; technical in the sense… let us say socio-technical. Why doesn’t one partner agree to the other partner having sex with someone else (I’m talking about conventional couples and not "liberated" and "ultramodern" couples)? It has a lot to do with having a sense of security. Sex is an important aspect in a relationship and lots of our decisions are based on sex.  If you begin to have sex outside of the ongoing relationship on a routine basis then a big binding force is missing.  This binding force often keeps a relationship intact and if it is missing it is very difficult to maintain the bond although I’m not saying that it is not at all possible.

Consciously or unconsciously we also attach sex with giving birth to children and we don’t want to bring up children with just about anybody; we choose the partners very carefully or with lots of social deliberations (as is the case in India where marriages are often arranged by parents and relatives). So since we are possessive about our children we also become possessive about the source, that is, the other partner. We want to preserve that sources exclusively for ourselves.  For instance you won’t like your husband’s kids popping up everywhere in the neighborhood and when your wife becomes pregnant you want to be sure that it is your child and not someone else’s.  This is also because so much effort goes into bringing up a child so you would only like to make so much effort for your own child.

But then a robot hooker will not be producing your kids so that problem gets sorted out on its own.

No matter how open our society becomes sex is still an intimate activity shared by two individuals in the most private corner of their existence. It is a special activity with your most special person. Your partner feels complete when he or she is able to satiate your sexual needs.  When you seek sexual gratification from other sources, for instance, a robot hooker, then it means your partner is not able to provide you that gratification, and this further means a distance developing between you and your partner. The issue is not about having sex with some other person or a robot, the issue is that at that moment you are not having sex with your partner. Your partner has an unwritten right on your every orgasm. The writer in the above link says it’s okay to have sex with a robot hooker because there is no emotional attachment.

Do you agree to that? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

What’s so wrong in downplaying religion

The problem with religion is that it has two sides: a dark side from where major evils of the world originate, and a fair side, out of which lots of good happens. The problem is religion has fewer advantages and lots of disadvantages.  Most cruelties in this world take place in the name of religion. Of course there is the race factor but it can also be somehow traced to religion. So what’s wrong if a state wants to teach its children that religion doesn’t matter and when they grow up they can choose whatever religion they feel like?  I think I would like to give this choice to my daughter rather than calling her a Hindu or a Sikh.

People feel threatened by such endeavors because they will have to pull the shutters of their religion shops down. Lots of business and politics and black marketing happens in the name of religion; what will these people do if religion loses its control over the masses? From India’s perspective, from the BJP to the Congress to the communists and to the terrorists, every major organization and group uses religion to influence people. If people are taught that religion is not as important as it is made out to be, these people and organizations won’t be able to wield their power.  The Congress won’t be able to divide Hindus and Muslims and the BJP won’t be able to instigate the Hindu masses to garner votes and the communists won’t be able to protect people from Hindu fundamentalism.  Similarly the terrorists won’t get sympathy from Islamic countries.

But as people we should strive for a society where religion does not play a dominant role. Instead more stress should be given to developing fundamental human values that are universal everywhere. There should be education against the irrelevance of religion, caste, class segregation, racialism and prejudice.  The society should be value-based and not religion-based.  There should be no Hindus, no Christians, no Muslims and no Jews; there should only be good people and bad people.

Field Marshal Manekshaw Vs. Sehwag

This is the first-page scan of our Hindi newspaper:

And this is the first page scan of our English newspaper – unless you look careful you won’t even notice the news:

India’s first Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, whose military victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war led to the creation of Bangladesh, died yesterday. What caught my attention was the way both the newspapers carried the news. In the Hindi newspaper scan you’ll notice that Sehwag (he’s a cricket player) gets more exposure due to his performance against some match again Pakistan, and in The Pioneer the news is so small that it’s embarrassing. Contrary to this, Aishwarya Roy gets front-page coverage even if she sneezes.

In such details lie the values and ethics of the society, but is it really? This is how it seems media alters our perception. Both Alka and I found the way our newspapers have covered the news infuriating. There must be thousands of others feeling the same thing, but you ask the representatives of these newspapers and they will very cutely say, “Our public is more interested in Sehwag than Field Marshal Manekshaw.” I don’t think so.

Without being rude to Sehwag, does it make a difference if tomorrow Sehwag stops playing? But Manekshaw did help re-orient the boundaries of the Indian sub-continent and even the thankless Bangladeshi’s silently agree to that.

This is what this Hindu links says of Field Marshal Manekshaw:

A soldier’s General, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw crafted India’s greatest military victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war that created just not history but also a new nation.

Affectionately called "Sam Bahadur", Manekshaw (94) was the architect of many a military triumph but his finest hour came when Pakistani forces were vanquished in 14 days flat. And Bangladesh was born.

Handsome, witty and sporting his trademark handlebar moustache, Manekshaw had the rare distinction of being honoured for his bravery - Military Cross - right on the battle front itself during the Second World War. He was also the first Indian officer to command the Gorkhas after India got Independence.

Manekshaw, who got a second life after the young Captain survived near fatal wounds during the Second World War in Burma, is the first of only two Indian military officers to hold the highest rank of Field Marshal of the Indian Army (The other being Field Marshal K M Cariappa).

His distinguished military career spanned four decades from the British era and through five wars, including the Second World War.

Flamboyant by nature, Manekshaw always had his way with people, including his seniors and even the country’s Head of Government.

Just before the Bangladesh operations in December 1971, the then prime minister Indira Gandhi asked Manekshaw ,who was the Army Chief then, "General are you ready" (for the war). Pat came the reply from the dapper officer, "I am always ready sweetie." Gandhi was not unpleased, nor offended.

On another occasion, Gandhi asked him whether he was planning to take over the country. Pointing to his long nose, the General replied: "I don’t use it to poke into other’s affairs."

When Gandhi asked him to go to Dhaka and accept the surrender of Pakistani forces, Manekshaw declined, magnanimously saying that honour should go to his army commander in the East (Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora).

Manekshaw said he would only go if it were to accept the surrender of the entire Pakistani army.

A shrewd tactician, Manekshaw meticulously planned the Indian attack on Pakistan on both fronts — East and West. While the Indian forces captured the then East Pakistan in the eastern sector, the army made heavy inroads in the western sector going up to Lahore.

Adopting a mature war strategy, he masterminded the rout of the Pakistan Army in one of the quickest victories in the recent military history to liberate Bangladesh.

The Indian government, as is normally the norm during the various Congress governments, made a highly costly strategical blunder by sidelining him during the Indo-China war just because he didn’t wag his tail:

In 1961, his outspoken frankness got him into trouble with Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon and his protege of the time Lt Gen B M Kaul. He refused to toe Menon’s line and was sidelined.

Manekshaw was vindicated soon after when the Indian army suffered a humiliating defeat in North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh, the next year, at the hands of the Chinese that led to Menon’s resignation. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru rushed Manekshaw to NEFA to command the retreating Indian forces. This had an electrifying effect on the demoralised officers.

In no time, Manekshaw convinced the troops that the Chinese soldier was not "10 feet tall". His first order of the day said, "There will be no withdrawal without written orders and these orders shall never be issued." The soldiers showed faith in their new commander and successfully checked further ingress by the Chinese.

Here’s a nice link on Manekshaw. This link contains a very beautiful line:

When I die I would rather have people say why there is no monument to me than why there is.