I'd seen this ad of Italian Telecom sometime back. Just chanced upon it again today.
The power of Gandhi is a well-debated topic. The power of Gandhiji is the inherent strength in the concept of non-violence. It's again debatable whether non-violence was the right approach to win our freedom. Every other nation on earth went through some really violent struggles for nationhood. They value that freedom. I don't know if that means we take freedom for granted. Whether we would've been a more disciplined society. I guess not!
When India got independence, we could've taken two different paths - one is the way we are today a single nation politically, but more of a continent, culturally. The other way could be that we got split into independent nation states and princely monarchies. We would very well been another Africa - civil wars and tribal rivalries and equally forgotten to the rest of the world.
That's exactly the power of Gandhi! It's him who got us our spiritual maturity and political democracy. Salute to the Father of the nation!
Do watch this ad!
Monday, November 28, 2005
The Passion of Christ - the Movie
This movie will go down as the worst movie we have ever tried to watch! I say 'tried' because we couldn't watch it! What is point in making a movie so gross and so cruel and just show the sufferings of Jesus through the process of crucifixion.
It's the most atrocious attempt to show that Jesus suffered for us. There is so much violence shown against one man. We couldn't understand how human beings can be so cruel! Of an entire lot of guys trying to inflict wounds to a lone unarmed guy.
We wanted to watch it for just curiosity! Really regret that decision. For others, please .. to maintain your sanity, don't watch this movie! Don't even plan it.
It's the most atrocious attempt to show that Jesus suffered for us. There is so much violence shown against one man. We couldn't understand how human beings can be so cruel! Of an entire lot of guys trying to inflict wounds to a lone unarmed guy.
We wanted to watch it for just curiosity! Really regret that decision. For others, please .. to maintain your sanity, don't watch this movie! Don't even plan it.
The Crusades
We've been trying to catch up on the series on The Crusades on the history channel. My God! I had no idea that the crusades were so brutal and vengeful. Violence and so much of it to prove what? That My God is greater than yours!! The way the crusaders butchered and vanquished anything that came in their way is quite gross.
Here are two religions trying to take control of the 'Holy land' - Jerusalem. In a way, the persecution of the Jews started right then. I guess it started much earlier, but they bore the brunt quite some bit during the crusades. The word 'Jihad' was born in that period meaning holy war. I don't understand the concept of war - even less of 'spiritual wars'. What is the point?
The Abrahamic religions are very different from the eastern religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism are very mystical. And the western religions have something in them to prove that they're better than the others. The concept that 'only my way' is weird. Quite a contrast to what we are used to in terms of pluralism.
Christian crusaders described the Muslims as Pagans and the Muslims described the Christians as Infidels! Today these are the most dominant religions in the world in terms of numbers and wealth. Though the depth of belief in the Christian society is much lesser than the faith in the Muslim religion.
Religion itself is a oncept introduced for the sheep that follow the shepherd. The Abrahamic religions were spread with the concepts of devil, fear and heaven/hell concepts. So in today's individualistic societies, is there place for religion? I guess not.
There must've been some level of fanaticism that fuelled wars for 3 centuries! The kind of injuries and fatalities inflicted by the crusaders are part of Muslim folklore even today. Doesn't help much in the cause of world peace in the unstable world of today.
It's a very interesting series and gives a good insight into western religious conflicts. Yes, I'm on a history trip these days :)
Here are two religions trying to take control of the 'Holy land' - Jerusalem. In a way, the persecution of the Jews started right then. I guess it started much earlier, but they bore the brunt quite some bit during the crusades. The word 'Jihad' was born in that period meaning holy war. I don't understand the concept of war - even less of 'spiritual wars'. What is the point?
The Abrahamic religions are very different from the eastern religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism are very mystical. And the western religions have something in them to prove that they're better than the others. The concept that 'only my way' is weird. Quite a contrast to what we are used to in terms of pluralism.
Christian crusaders described the Muslims as Pagans and the Muslims described the Christians as Infidels! Today these are the most dominant religions in the world in terms of numbers and wealth. Though the depth of belief in the Christian society is much lesser than the faith in the Muslim religion.
Religion itself is a oncept introduced for the sheep that follow the shepherd. The Abrahamic religions were spread with the concepts of devil, fear and heaven/hell concepts. So in today's individualistic societies, is there place for religion? I guess not.
There must've been some level of fanaticism that fuelled wars for 3 centuries! The kind of injuries and fatalities inflicted by the crusaders are part of Muslim folklore even today. Doesn't help much in the cause of world peace in the unstable world of today.
It's a very interesting series and gives a good insight into western religious conflicts. Yes, I'm on a history trip these days :)
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Who are my ancestors?
I came across a very interesting link about tracing human ancestral trees. Independent of that, I've wondered about my own ancestors. I don't know why it matters, but somehow I feel the urge to know what they did for a living, where they lived, how and why they migrated. I have only wondered about these questions and probably won't do more than that. But I'd love to speculate on them.
I belong to a Madhva family that has origins in Coimbatore. Now, that itself is a mystery in today's conditions. How did my ancestors land up in Coimbatore. They were probably just scholars or temple priests and probably moved to places where they had work. Traditionally, brahmins never owned anything in terms of property. So, brahmins never had any great emotions attached to a particular place or state or kingdom.
So who are the Brahmins? Should I believe in the Aryan invasion theory. I came across some very interesting points of view while researching this on the web. Firstly, I have always refused to believe that I'm Aryan. But if I'm Dravidian, why is my skin colour lighter than other proclaimed Dravidians? So, may be I'm a mix - which is most probably the case. I have wondered if our origins can be traced back to say, the Caspian Sea or the African continent. May be the Dravidians came from there - like some people say, the most original Dravidians are in the Andaman Islands.
What is Hinduism? Was it the religion or way of life of the Aryans or Dravidians? I had a theory regarding Ramayana and Mahabharata. Rama and Co were the Aryans and Ravana represented the Dravidians. And Ramayana was a propaganda war to enslave the dravidians. But somehow, things don't fit in with this theory! Dravidians were supposed to be worshippers of Shiva and Aryans of Vishnu. But the concept of Vaishnavism was completely in the south! So again things don't fall in place. So I don't believe in my own theory any longer.
May be, then, that Hinduism was the religion of the natives. Aryans just came in and got localized? What about the theory that the Rig Veda was written on the banks of the Saraswathi which was probably in Iran when the Aryans were moving from West to East? What about the Sanskrit origins of Aryan languages like German and Polish etc? So, there is some connection.
Lots and lots of things to figure out. It may not be important, but I'm just curious. Hope I will find answers soon .. somewhere .. Till then, I will keep time travelling on the blog.
I belong to a Madhva family that has origins in Coimbatore. Now, that itself is a mystery in today's conditions. How did my ancestors land up in Coimbatore. They were probably just scholars or temple priests and probably moved to places where they had work. Traditionally, brahmins never owned anything in terms of property. So, brahmins never had any great emotions attached to a particular place or state or kingdom.
So who are the Brahmins? Should I believe in the Aryan invasion theory. I came across some very interesting points of view while researching this on the web. Firstly, I have always refused to believe that I'm Aryan. But if I'm Dravidian, why is my skin colour lighter than other proclaimed Dravidians? So, may be I'm a mix - which is most probably the case. I have wondered if our origins can be traced back to say, the Caspian Sea or the African continent. May be the Dravidians came from there - like some people say, the most original Dravidians are in the Andaman Islands.
What is Hinduism? Was it the religion or way of life of the Aryans or Dravidians? I had a theory regarding Ramayana and Mahabharata. Rama and Co were the Aryans and Ravana represented the Dravidians. And Ramayana was a propaganda war to enslave the dravidians. But somehow, things don't fit in with this theory! Dravidians were supposed to be worshippers of Shiva and Aryans of Vishnu. But the concept of Vaishnavism was completely in the south! So again things don't fall in place. So I don't believe in my own theory any longer.
May be, then, that Hinduism was the religion of the natives. Aryans just came in and got localized? What about the theory that the Rig Veda was written on the banks of the Saraswathi which was probably in Iran when the Aryans were moving from West to East? What about the Sanskrit origins of Aryan languages like German and Polish etc? So, there is some connection.
Lots and lots of things to figure out. It may not be important, but I'm just curious. Hope I will find answers soon .. somewhere .. Till then, I will keep time travelling on the blog.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Whistle-blower!
Manjunath was an honest man. He wanted to set right a few things. He was just doing his job. But, he's been killed just for doing his job. I salute his conviction and his ability to stand by what he believed was the right thing to do. But, did he have to pay the price with his life?
What is this society we are trying to create? Corruption! The word is so rampant in our daily lives. We accept it for convenience. We always shrug our shoulders and say what can one man do. We accept defeat even before the battle begins. He was 27 years old. IIM-Lucknow. SJCE, Mysore before that. Nice brands. Big future! Good career. Does his death have a meaning?
Corruption itself can be of several kinds. The common form of corruption we see in India is people and officers taking bribes to do just their job. Ministers and politicians take money to just shut their mouths. If they remain silent on an issue, it's bad! If they talk, it's even worse! Deve Gowda - the man who holds Bangalore's future in his hands the biggest example. Lalu Yadav - held Bihar in darkness to achieve his own goals - which are themselves not recognizable to the common man. We see it rampant in every Government office. Is there a solution?
This is the second such death in recent times. SK Dubey, of the IIT Kanpur fame, did the same job, that of a whistle-blower. He too was just blown away, just like that! Isn't death too heavy a price to pay for honesty?
What is this society we are trying to create? Corruption! The word is so rampant in our daily lives. We accept it for convenience. We always shrug our shoulders and say what can one man do. We accept defeat even before the battle begins. He was 27 years old. IIM-Lucknow. SJCE, Mysore before that. Nice brands. Big future! Good career. Does his death have a meaning?
Corruption itself can be of several kinds. The common form of corruption we see in India is people and officers taking bribes to do just their job. Ministers and politicians take money to just shut their mouths. If they remain silent on an issue, it's bad! If they talk, it's even worse! Deve Gowda - the man who holds Bangalore's future in his hands the biggest example. Lalu Yadav - held Bihar in darkness to achieve his own goals - which are themselves not recognizable to the common man. We see it rampant in every Government office. Is there a solution?
This is the second such death in recent times. SK Dubey, of the IIT Kanpur fame, did the same job, that of a whistle-blower. He too was just blown away, just like that! Isn't death too heavy a price to pay for honesty?
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Book Review: God of Small things
I finally read it! It was second attempt at reading it, first time I couldn't cross Page 50 because I thought I was going into a depression. But that was four years ago! I'm much more grown up now and like to read for the sake of reading.
The book is a perspective of life as seen by a real cynic. Happiness is not common to the people of Ayemenem, one would believe, after reading the book. It's a reflection on south Kerala society. Deep divisions between the touchable(the Syrian Christians, the Pillais and other caste Hindus) and the untouchables(the Paravans, as they're called in Kerala).
The language used is beautiful and the creates its own vocabulary. The description of some incidents just transports you to that place and environment. Description of development over the Meenachal river brings out the conflict between environment and economics in a nice way. The best description in the book is that of a Kathakali performance in the Ayemenem temple. The description of the incidents of Mahabharata and the expressions of the performers described is so real. It felt as if I witnessed the whole performance live!
The Story - it's a lot of sadness packed into this book. The concept of the 'laws of love' - that prescribe "who should be loved, how and how much?" is brought out powerfully. The story is that of non-identical twins Rahel and Estha. And of their family - Ammu, her brother Chacko, Baby grand aunt Baby Kochamma and the grandmother Mamachi. Almost every man is shown as a wife-beater, drunkard or an unfaithful. Except of course Velutha. Velutha is the untouchable Paravan who has achieved more than his due as per the laws of the society. The style of narration does not maintain chronology in the strict sense. So, it takes you back and forth in time and the puzzle is revealed part-by-part.
It also gives a good description of the Syrian Catholic society of Kerala. Of the rise of communism and how comrade EMS' appeal to the Hindu masses of Kerala. Descriptions of the adventures of Estha and Rahel to the other side of the river are so real. The story of Sophie Mol - the child of Chacko and Margret Kochamma is touching.
Overall, a very good book. But read it slowly and let the words and language sink in. One does get a feeling of melancholy when he/she reads it! Pooja also can certify this as a book that is beautiful but the story is very sad.
The book is a perspective of life as seen by a real cynic. Happiness is not common to the people of Ayemenem, one would believe, after reading the book. It's a reflection on south Kerala society. Deep divisions between the touchable(the Syrian Christians, the Pillais and other caste Hindus) and the untouchables(the Paravans, as they're called in Kerala).
The language used is beautiful and the creates its own vocabulary. The description of some incidents just transports you to that place and environment. Description of development over the Meenachal river brings out the conflict between environment and economics in a nice way. The best description in the book is that of a Kathakali performance in the Ayemenem temple. The description of the incidents of Mahabharata and the expressions of the performers described is so real. It felt as if I witnessed the whole performance live!
The Story - it's a lot of sadness packed into this book. The concept of the 'laws of love' - that prescribe "who should be loved, how and how much?" is brought out powerfully. The story is that of non-identical twins Rahel and Estha. And of their family - Ammu, her brother Chacko, Baby grand aunt Baby Kochamma and the grandmother Mamachi. Almost every man is shown as a wife-beater, drunkard or an unfaithful. Except of course Velutha. Velutha is the untouchable Paravan who has achieved more than his due as per the laws of the society. The style of narration does not maintain chronology in the strict sense. So, it takes you back and forth in time and the puzzle is revealed part-by-part.
It also gives a good description of the Syrian Catholic society of Kerala. Of the rise of communism and how comrade EMS' appeal to the Hindu masses of Kerala. Descriptions of the adventures of Estha and Rahel to the other side of the river are so real. The story of Sophie Mol - the child of Chacko and Margret Kochamma is touching.
Overall, a very good book. But read it slowly and let the words and language sink in. One does get a feeling of melancholy when he/she reads it! Pooja also can certify this as a book that is beautiful but the story is very sad.
Sandpaper article
My article on the diljales' work for the Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind got published.
As usual, the photos are thanks the best digital photographer known to the discovered world - wifey, Pooja.
http://sandpaper.bitsaa.org/12_community/diljales.htm
As usual, the photos are thanks the best digital photographer known to the discovered world - wifey, Pooja.
http://sandpaper.bitsaa.org/12_community/diljales.htm
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Cities and People
It's amazing how we form an opinion on a person based on where s/he's from. In India, in particular cities seem to have character and characteristics. And based on which city a friend likes, you can judge a lot about his/her character and what s/he enjoys the most in life.
Let's take the city of Bangalore. Once a sleepy pensioner's paradise, I would still rate it to have the best climate in the whole world. Good natured people are a natural consequence of such an ambience. Even people who come from outside love to absorb Bangalore into them and feel good about it. A long walk and feel like sipping a coffee, it takes 5 rupees and an idly to cool you off. English is understood and spoken by most residents. Nature is part of life - there are no air-conditioners and weekend getaways are plenty and interesting. So, a typical Bangalorean loves nature, loves the rain, loves his coffee! Bad roads and crazy traffic are just collateral damages of the unplanned expansion of the IT world into Bangalore.
Bombay. I have never lived in it. So all my opinion is based on perceptions and what I've heard from friends. Well, Bombay is hard working, work-hard, party hard kind of place. It has resilience and is mighty active. Food again is cheap and plenty. South or North Indian - any food is available. It's also the city of Bollywood. Plenty of action out there in terms theater. Again, rain is part of life and so is the train. The local trains carry people up and down from work places and the city just does not sleep! Weather's okay - I love humidity so it doesn't affect me much.
Delhi. Fast and furios. Agressive and brazen. New Delhi is an awesome place for checking out cinemas, monuments and is full of history. It's been a capital city of the sub-continent for centuries. But, it's populace is largely of refugee composition. Have fought their way up in life from harsh conditions of the partition and the aftermath. The landscape is a dull shrubbery and lots of dust in the air. There is a natural amount of SPM in the air! The city has extreme weather. With horrible summers and not-so horrible winters. Two months in the year are lievable! Overall, I'm a bit biased against this city - it's people seem loud and have started occupying the rest of the country with aggression.
Pondicherry! The word is a magic. Beautiful seashores, lovely beaches and warm people define this 'not-really-a-city'. But, I've lived in it for most of my life. The air is dense with water vapour - but love humidity. Life is slow paced and the landscpaes are occupied by kids playing cricket and basketball and football. Eating some french cuisine and visiting the serene places of the Ashram and Auroville are a pleasure. Like the Pondicherry tourism advertises, it's a place to 'Give time a break'.
Dallas. Resembles Delhi in landscape and climate. Big cars and fat texan dudes and a whole lot of George Bush worshippers. That's not much of a praise for the city. I hate flat landscapes. It's boring and all one can do is drive a few thousand miles to find the nearest green spot. Finding a tree is an achievement here. Shopping and watching TV is about the only thing one can do here. Desis in plenty in this Amru city! Overall, too much of an indoor place.
There's one other city I've lived in and I really hated every moment of it! Madras. Chennai. Horrible weather. This is the city where I hated humidity! Always thirsty. Always short of water. When it rains, it stinks. When doesn't, it still stinks. But I've always got along well with people from Chennai. English speaking. Philosophical. And I love the beach in Besant Nagar :). But it's main asset - it's only 160Kms to Pondicherry from there.
Let's take the city of Bangalore. Once a sleepy pensioner's paradise, I would still rate it to have the best climate in the whole world. Good natured people are a natural consequence of such an ambience. Even people who come from outside love to absorb Bangalore into them and feel good about it. A long walk and feel like sipping a coffee, it takes 5 rupees and an idly to cool you off. English is understood and spoken by most residents. Nature is part of life - there are no air-conditioners and weekend getaways are plenty and interesting. So, a typical Bangalorean loves nature, loves the rain, loves his coffee! Bad roads and crazy traffic are just collateral damages of the unplanned expansion of the IT world into Bangalore.
Bombay. I have never lived in it. So all my opinion is based on perceptions and what I've heard from friends. Well, Bombay is hard working, work-hard, party hard kind of place. It has resilience and is mighty active. Food again is cheap and plenty. South or North Indian - any food is available. It's also the city of Bollywood. Plenty of action out there in terms theater. Again, rain is part of life and so is the train. The local trains carry people up and down from work places and the city just does not sleep! Weather's okay - I love humidity so it doesn't affect me much.
Delhi. Fast and furios. Agressive and brazen. New Delhi is an awesome place for checking out cinemas, monuments and is full of history. It's been a capital city of the sub-continent for centuries. But, it's populace is largely of refugee composition. Have fought their way up in life from harsh conditions of the partition and the aftermath. The landscape is a dull shrubbery and lots of dust in the air. There is a natural amount of SPM in the air! The city has extreme weather. With horrible summers and not-so horrible winters. Two months in the year are lievable! Overall, I'm a bit biased against this city - it's people seem loud and have started occupying the rest of the country with aggression.
Pondicherry! The word is a magic. Beautiful seashores, lovely beaches and warm people define this 'not-really-a-city'. But, I've lived in it for most of my life. The air is dense with water vapour - but love humidity. Life is slow paced and the landscpaes are occupied by kids playing cricket and basketball and football. Eating some french cuisine and visiting the serene places of the Ashram and Auroville are a pleasure. Like the Pondicherry tourism advertises, it's a place to 'Give time a break'.
Dallas. Resembles Delhi in landscape and climate. Big cars and fat texan dudes and a whole lot of George Bush worshippers. That's not much of a praise for the city. I hate flat landscapes. It's boring and all one can do is drive a few thousand miles to find the nearest green spot. Finding a tree is an achievement here. Shopping and watching TV is about the only thing one can do here. Desis in plenty in this Amru city! Overall, too much of an indoor place.
There's one other city I've lived in and I really hated every moment of it! Madras. Chennai. Horrible weather. This is the city where I hated humidity! Always thirsty. Always short of water. When it rains, it stinks. When doesn't, it still stinks. But I've always got along well with people from Chennai. English speaking. Philosophical. And I love the beach in Besant Nagar :). But it's main asset - it's only 160Kms to Pondicherry from there.
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